Twenty years of continued music life had passed between the world premiere of the first Croatian national opera Love and Malice composed at the height of the Illyrian movement by Vatroslav Lisinski (March 28, 1846) and the foundation of a permanent Opera ensemble in 1870.

It was preceded by a rich tradition of Italian seasonal productions, German and Croatian plays with singing and operettas, which, thanks to a versatile artist Josip Freudenreich, were on the repertoire of the Croatian National Theatre since 1863.

The earlier artistic theatre ensemble was enlarged with a choir and an orchestra, singers - soloists, and soon after with ballet dancers, and the first director was the composer Ivan pl. Zajc, who in the next twenty years staged more than 50 operas and 10 operettas, and gave the local audience a chance to experience the work of great domestic and world famous artists such as Verdi, Suppé, Mozart, Weber, Lisinski, Smetana etc. His operas Mislav, Ban Leget, Nikola Šubić Zrinjski, Lizinka, Zlatka, etc. were also performed during the same period.

Even though the opera was very popular, in 1889 the permanent ensemble was shut down and only periodical opera productions were given. But in 1894, with the appointment of Stjepan Miletić as the Manager of the Croatian National Theatre this changed. The golden period of Zagreb´s opera with Nikola Faller as the director of the Opera began. The repertoire was expanded with the works of Beethoven, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Puccini, Massenet, and young Croatian and Slovenian composers, Bersa, Parma, Vilhar, Adamović, Albini.

In 1902, once again the ensemble was shut down, but even this annulment was unable to stop the continuity of the Zagreb Opera. Preference was given to the operetta. The repertoire was very extensive and enlarged by the works of Strauss, Offenbach, Lehar and new works of local composers, Zajc, Prejc, Albini, Savin. The performances were given not only in Zagreb, but in other Croatian towns as well.

The Zagreb Opera entered its third period in 1909, with Srećko Albini as its director. In that period the Zagreb Opera, as a permanent theatre institution, began the process of its final evolvement and recognition, both on a national and international level.

The works of local composers like Blagoje Bersa, Josip Hatze, Fran Lhotka caused a radical break with the earlier sentimental opera tradition. The result was one of the peaks of the Croatian opera opus represented by the works of Jakov Gotovac, (Morana and Ero the Joker), Krešimir Baranović, Boris Papandopulo, Krsto Odak, Stanko Horvat, Milko Kelemen, Ruben Radica, Miro Belamarić, whose repertoire, the so-called national direction, played an important role in the recognition of the Zagreb Opera as the leading stage in the historical development of the Croatian opera.

The Zagreb Opera raised generations of excellent musicians and conductors; Milan Sachs, Lovro pl. Matačić, Mladen Bašić, Milan Horvat, Nikša Bareza, Vjekoslav Šutej et al. who continued their careers in the greatest world opera houses.

The Zagreb Opera also achieved recognition for many world famous opera soloists like Milka Trnina, Zinka Kunc, Sena Jurinac, Dragica Martinis, Marijana Radev, Nada Puttar Gold, Božena Ruk Fočić, Ruža Pospiš- Baldani, Dunja Vejzović, Josip Gostič, Tomislav Neralić, Vladimir Ruždjak, Rudolf Francl, Neven Belamarić etc.

As a reputable Opera House, the national Opera gave guest performances in London, Paris, Moscow, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Athens, Tokio, Salzburg, Luxemburg, Torino, Trieste, Venice, Berlin and many other German cities.