Cavalleria rusticana on stage. They were invited to submit a one-act opera which would be judged by a jury of five prominent Italian critics and composers. The best three would be staged in Rome at Sonzogno's expense. Mascagni heard about the competition only two months before the closing date and asked his friend Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, a poet and professor of literature at the Italian Royal Naval Academy in Livorno, to provide a libretto. Targioni-Tozzetti chose "Cavalleria rusticana", a popular short story (and play) by Giovanni Verga, as the basis for the opera. He and his colleague Guido Menasci set about composing the
Blagica Pop Tomova Summer, Skopje cultural Summer, Ohrid cultural Summer, first performance of Wagner with Macedonian Philharmonic - conductor Tim Tchashel, 7 December 1998, 28 May 1999. She debuted at Macedonian opera scene at 27 May Opera Evenings with the small role of Ines in the opera Trovatore. In 2001, she became a member of the Macedonian Opera and Ballet with leading roles in the operas "Cavalleria Rusticana", "Carmen", "Tosca" and "Turandot". She has since appeared in the major roles of Santuca in "Cavalleria Rusticana", Mikaela in "Carmen", Tosca in "Tosca", Madame Glavari in "Merry Widow", Liu in "Turandot", Dona Ana in "Don