Visions of the Village offers a new look at the cultural, social, and political context of operas by some of the most famous Czech composers in history. Beginning the study in the works of the 1860s, author Christopher Campo-Bowen analyzes the work of Bed%rich Smetana, Antonín Dvo%rák, and Leoš Janá¿ek, among others, demonstrating how Czech identity was constructed through reference to operatic representations of idealized village life.