Mrika is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 in three acts composed by Prenkë Jakova with a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 in Albanian

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

 by Llazar Siliqi

Llazar Siliqi

Llazar Siliqi is a notable Albanian poet. He was the librettist of the first Albanian opera, Mrika, composed by Prenkë Jakova.-References:...

. It premiered (in a four-act version) in Shkoder

Shkodër

Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 in 1958 at the Migjeni Theatre

Migjeni Theatre

Migjeni Theatre is a theatre in Shkodër, in northwestern Albania. Considered the second most important theatre in Albania, the theatre is noted for its romantic and poetic productions, often with nationalistic themes....

. The revised three-act version (and the one used today) premiered in Tirana

Tirana

Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

 at the Academy of Music and Arts of Albania

Academy of Music and Arts of Albania

Albanian University of Arts is the main institution that offers higher education in the arts in Albania.-Brief History:...

in December 1959. The work is based on a "musical action" in two scenes, Dritë mbi Shqipëri (Light over Albania), a previous collaboration between Jakova and Siliqi which had premiered in Tirana in July 1952. Mirka is considered to be the first Albanian opera.