Skopje, 24 February 2023 (MIA) — The National Opera and Ballet will stage Giacomo Puccini’s “La bohème,” conducted by chief conductor Bisera Chadlovska and directed by Dejan Proshev. The performance also marks Chadlovska’s 20th anniversary at the National Opera and Ballet. 

“The first female conductor in Macedonia, she is also considered one of the most prolific Macedonian opera and ballet conductors, with an enviable number of over 50 opera and ballet titles during her 20 years of work as the National Opera and Ballet’s chief conductor,” the National Opera and Ballet said in a press release.

This is her first time conducting Puccini’s most famous opera, which she chose especially for the occassion.

“Music is an inexhaustible source of beauty, and I've always wanted to conduct ‘La bohème,’” Chadlovska is quoted as saying in the release, adding the opera's score was beautiful and emotive. 

“La bohème,” an opera in four acts, tells the 19th-century love story of a poor French couple, a poet and a seamstress. The Italian libretto, written by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, is based on the “Scènes de la vie de bohème” by Henri Murger.

The set was designed by Zoran Nikolovski. The costume designer is Marija Pupuchevska, the concertmaster is Verica Lambevska, the choirmaster is Jasmina Gjorgjeska.

The cast includes Gjorgi Cuckovski, Sandra Mitrovska, Marjan Jovanoski, Dragan Ampov, Aleksandar Stefanoski, Nade Talevska, Neven Siljanovski, Borko Bidzhovski, Jane Dunimagloski, Aleksandar Nikodinovski, Dime Petrov, and the National Opera and Ballet choir and orchestra. mr/