Royal Swedish Opera architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was commissioned by King Gustav III, a strong adherent of the ideal of an enlightened absolutism and as such was a great patron of the arts. The Swedish Opera company had first been located in Bollhuset, but there was a need to separate the Opera from the theatre and give them separate buildings. Construction began in 1775 and the theatre was inaugurated on 30 September 1782 with a performance of the German composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann's "Cora och Alonzo". It was also the place for public masquerade balls, events inspired from the famous opera-balls in Paris,
Gustavo III (Verdi) Verdi became determined to find another location for his opera. In March 1858, after contacting his friend, the sculptor Vincenzo Luccardi in Rome, and requesting information on the performances of a play "Gustavo III" currently being presented there, he proposed that Rome stage the work. Verdi sent the libretto of the opera under the name of "Gustavo III", which at that point was identical to "Una vendetta" but with the original setting and names restored. When Jacovacci, impresario of the Teatro Apollo (where "Il trovatore" had been presented successfully) received the libretto, his reaction was encouraging, but he warned the