Friedrich von Flotow studied at the Paris Conservatoire. Greatly influenced by Gounod and Offenbach, von Flotow wrote his first opera Pierre et Cathérine in 1835. The first real success, however, came after the first performance of his Le Naufrage de la Médeuse, in 1839. Von Flotow's most popular compositions are Alessandro Stradella and Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond. Both operas were created using the words by F.W. Riese. Von Flotow, later, wrote 15 more operas but it is his Martha that had become one of the most popular operas in the theatre repertoire today.