Hubicka (The Kiss) was the first opera Smetana composed after losing his hearing. Billed as a popular opera in two acts, it was first performed at the Provisional Theater in Prague on November 7, 1876, but because of his deafness, Smetana was not able to conduct. However, it was easily the most successful of his premieres, and it would go on to become one of his most popular works.

The libretto is by Eliška Krásnohorská after a short story of the same title by Karolina Svìtlá, published in 1871. Though he was not initially interested in the subject, Smetana was taken with Krásnohorská's libretto. The primary plot point of The Kiss is Vendulka's refusal to allow her fiancé, Lukáš, a widower and father, to kiss her until they are married because she does not want to upset Lukáš' dead wife. Krásnohorská injects moments of levity into the story through Vendulka's aunt, Martinka, who is a smuggler.

Smetana's overture is conceived along symphonic lines. After a Moderato introduction, an Allegro section begins that has two important themes. This gives way to a polka-like passage that anticipates some of Lukáš' music at the end of Act I. The structure is rounded by a return to the beginning.

The Kiss is the most through-composed of Smetana's operas, evident in the continuity and integration of the individual acts. There is minimal recitative, and discursive text is set in arioso that flows into arias almost imperceptibly. Ensembles and orchestra interludes proceed in a manner not possible in a piece with set numbers. The best example is the duet for Vendulka and Lukáš and its orchestral prelude in Act I. Such moments make The Kiss more intimate and less grandiose than Smetana's previous operas, with a focus on the delineation of characters. The orchestra's changing colors depict nature and the characters' relationships to it. One of the first things Smetana composed was the forest scene in which the chorus of smugglers enters. Here, a four-measure ostinato creates a sense of suspense as people sneak through the dark shadows. There are folk elements, such as Lukáš' polka and the two lullabies for Vendulka. The first of these lullabies is an exact rendering of the folk song, "Go to sleep my little angel," which Smetana found in a collection of Czech national songs. The second is an original song in the folk style, "A little white dove flew."

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