The libretto was written by Vida Ognjenović, based on her theatre play about Mileva Marić. The libretto includes excerpts from Shakespeare and Goethe’s poem Urworte. The opera’s languages include Serbian, English (the Shakespeare quotation and Einstein’s own spoken explication of the E = mc2 formula), and German (the quotation from Goethe’s poem and Einstein’s letters to Mileva).

The opera received very good reviews, in the press, on the radio and television alike, as well as in professional journals. These may be illustrated by the following excerpt from the opera’s complex but affirmative reception in the Croatian press:
‘Risking to get stuck in gender stereotypes, we might define Aleksandra Vrebalov and Vida Ognjenović’s Mileva as a “women’s opera”. Such a definition does not simply stem from the gender identity of the authors and the main character. Rather, the entire piece is presented from a female perspective – not only that of Mileva Marić, split in two (and simultaneously interpreted by two singers – “Mileva Jr.” and “Mileva Sr.”), but also that of other female characters – Mileva’s sister Zorka, mother (“Mrs. Marić”), and Mileva’s friends Milana, Ružica, and Helena. Here, the men – including Albert (Einstein) himself – are mostly mere décor, a means in the narration of a primarily female story. The same applies to the choir, which at one point, due to a staging intervention, literally becomes depersonalised. Each of these dramaturgical ideas also found its reflection in Aleksandra Vrebalov’s music. At first sight, it is a typically postmodernist colourfully eclectic score that features quotations from the folklore of Vojvodina hand in hand with Mozart’s Magic Flute and more contemporary musical expression, including occasional use of electronic and concrete music. Still, one should note the way in which the composer used certain elements – in those places where the quotations and paraphrases are recognisable, they serve only as illustrations, whereas their deeper meanings come only upon later reworking, decontextualisation, and deconstruction within a rather uniquely shaped musical expression. After all, music has the last word: in the final duet of “Mileva Sr.” and “Mileva Jr.”, following the final sung words, the singers continue to vocalise in the extensive finale for quite some time, which is, despite the lack of words – or, in fact, precisely because of it – perhaps the most touching moment in the entire opera.’ (Zarez, 20 December 2012).

This is how the jury explained its decision:
‘Aleksandra Vrebalov first wisely chose her subject from the life of Mileva Einstein and then also the postmodernistically conceived direction of its realisation, whereby different arts were made to collaborate in a contemporary and spectacular way. This is a grand opera that communicates with many historical stage forms, ranging from Greek tragedy and its choral prosody, to a heated romanticism and verismo. Under the auspices of her chosen subject and extremely well thought-out concept, Aleksandra Vrebalov’s rather focused creative imagination produced a work of great artistic worth. The opera Mileva belongs among those works that significantly enrich Serbian musical culture.’