The opera was composed during the months of January to July 1869, but Tchaikovsky destroyed the score in 1873, preserving only a few numbers from the opera. The opera has never been performed in its entirety.

The only extracts that survive are:

Introduction

• Aria: "Waterfall, my uncle, streamlet, my brother" (Undina)
• Chorus: "Help, help! Our stream is raging"
• Duet: "O happiness, O blessed moment" (Undina, Huldbrand)
• Chorus: "O hours of death" (soloists, chorus)

At least three of these pieces – the aria, the duet, and the final chorus – were performed at the Moscow premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on March 28, 1870.

Some music from the opera was subsequently re-used in Tchaikovsky's other works.