song "Gruri i ri" () with a text of Dhimitër Shuteriqi, which was put on stage from Pjetër Gjoka along with other songs which were brought to the 1950 Festival in Tirana. At the beginning of the 1952 festival in Albania there were high quality soloists and good symphonic orchestras. In June 1952 poet Llazar Siliqi was put in charge to write a poetry on youth's work on a new hydroelectric power station, which was being built on the Mat river. The piece started as a song, but afterward it took a longer shape and was divided into two movements called Dritë mbi Shqipëri (), and was presented in 1952 in Tirana. The piece was nothing but the embryo of the first Albanian opera, Mrika, which was worked upon by Jakova in the following 6 years and eventually rehearsed on 2 May 1958, and put on stage on 12 November 1958. Rehearsing was done in the House of Culture, the Old Theatre and the new Migjeni Theatre in Shkodër. On 27 November the general rehearsal was given and on 1 December 1958 the opera premiered in the Migjeni Theatre, and after some performances in the city, on 27 and 28 December it showed in the theater of the Academy of Music and Arts of Albania, where Enver Hoxha, then Albania's premier, assisted it. At the end of the show Kadri Hazbiu, then Minister of Interior, thanked all the artists and raised a toast to Jakova. The event was considered important and Jakova received telegrams of congratulations from many of his peer composers all around the world for the success of his first opera. The extraordinary success of Mrika led to an encounter between Enver Hoxha and Jakova. Hoxha asked Jakova to write another opera, this time on Albanian national hero, Skanderbeg, but Jakova answered that "operas are not like loafs which can be put in the oven at any time". It is reported that Hoxha laughed at that response and that he immediately assured Jakova, that he personally would provide to all the necessary conditions to guarantee the opera's success. Skënderbeu would indeed premiere 10 years after Mrika and was of a much better artistic quality then Mrika. Jakova worked very intensively on the music while at the same time he had other responsibilities as the director of the House of Culture and also teaching assignments. He spent several months