Graciela Rivera year she made her operatic debut as Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini at the New Orleans Opera. In December 1951, she became the first Puerto Rican to sing a lead role at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Lucia in the production of Lucia di Lammermoor. She earned accolades for her performance from critics around the world. In 1953, Rivera was proclaimed "Citizen of the Year" by the City of New York. In 1954 Rivera was featured as a guest singer in Name That Tune, and later that year, at an instance of Your Show of
Gioachino Rossini Académie des Beaux-Arts. Prize-winning works were produced by the Société des Concerts, Institut de France, from 1885 to 1911. The bequest sought to reward composers of music which emphasized melody, which Rossini wrote "today is neglected" (""). The prize for librettists was to be given to writers who observed "the laws of morality, which the modern writers completely ignore" (""). The prizes were exclusively for French composers and librettists (""). Rossini was a foreign associate of the institute, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour and recipient of innumerable orders. Immediately after Rossini's death, Giuseppe Verdi proposed to collaborate with