La donna del lago to Naples in early June with no projects in the offing, except to become involved with overseeing a new production of his "La gazza ladra" there. Also, a commission from Milan's La Scala for an opera, which would become "Bianca e Falliero", had been offered and was planned for December of that year. Suddenly, the Italian composer Gaspare Spontini withdrew from a commitment to write two operas for the Naples house that season, thus leaving a huge gap. Rossini was quickly asked to write an opera for a September premiere; rather than use an existing libretto, the house insisted upon
Fernando de la Mora (tenor) Fernando de la Mora (tenor) Fernando de la Mora (born 1958) is a Mexican operatic tenor. He began his music education in the National Conservatory of Mexico and studied with Leticia Velázquez and Rosa Rimoch. He made his debut in Jalapa with "Madama Butterfly" in 1986, later in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, San Diego, La Scala in Milan, Vienna State Opera, Opéra Bastille of Paris, Covent Garden of London and many others. He has worked with conductors like Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Charles Mackerras, Eduardo Mata, and Richard Bonynge.