Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé will premiere at the Bucharest National Opera with performances scheduled for July 2 and July 3. The opera has been absent from the stage of the Bucharest institution for more than half a century, director Andrei Șerban noted. The director broadens the significance of Lakmé , placing it among the great stories of impossible love, alongside works such as Romeo and Juliet , Aida , and Madama Butterfly .