After the great success of the opera Urh, grof Celjski (Urlich, Count of Celje), composed by Viktor Parma (1858–1924) and premiered in 1885, the composer created Ksenija (1897), mostly remembered by the audience for its music, as its famous interlude became a genuine hit – or a Slovenian equivalent to the renowned operatic pieces from the late 19th century, composed by such great music writers as Mascagni and Puccini. Until the World War II it was regarded the most frequently performed Slovenian operatic piece beside the Gorenjski slavček (Nightingale of Gorenjska). Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello.