 After conducting the premiere of "I masnadieri" in London and within a week of Verdi's arrival in Paris on 27 July 1847, he received his first commission from the company, agreeing to adapt "I Lombardi" to a new French libretto.The adaptation meant that Verdi could "try his hand at grand opera" without having to write something entirely new, a strategy which both Donizetti and Rossini had employed for their Paris debuts.There are significant changes in the location and action of the French version of "Lombardi", especially given the need to set the story for French involvement in the First Crusade of 1095–1099.