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) the outline of the opera was complete, and Verdi began to create musical sketches of significant scenes. At the same time, word came of the seven requirements imposed by the Naples censorship. These included that (i) "The King must become a Duke"; (ii) "the action must be transferred to a pre-Christian age"; (iii) the conspirators must not hate the Duke because they wanted to take power; and (iv) "no firearms". Somma had several suggestions, including a possible new title, "Il duca Ermanno" with a 12th Century setting, which Verdi rejected; but he did accept the proposed change to Pomerania. The