Its premiere had been delayed when the singer who was to take the leading male role was shot and seriously injured during the Austrian crackdown on Croatian nationalists in July 1845. Most of the protestors who were shot were (like the composer himself) adherents of the Illyrian Movement.Samson, Jim (2013). Music in the Balkans, p. 242.BRILL. March, Richard (2013). The Tamburitza Tradition: From the Balkans to the American Midwest. p.49. University of Wisconsin Press. Croatian Radiotelevision. "Vatroslav Lisinski" . Retrieved 16 May 2015 .Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. "Opera". Retrieved 16 May 2015 .
