Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis "La gazza ladra" for the grand inauguration of the newly built Teatro Nuovo in Pesaro. Rossini had grand ideas for the occasion and he wanted Isabella Colbran and Andrea Nozzari for a colossal production of his "Armida"; however budget constraints forced him to downsize his dreams, but when an attempt to secure his friend Rosa Morandi for "La gazza ladra" failed, he engaged Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis and, at a reduced fee, her husband Giuseppe de Begnis as the Mayor. This move left him with enough money to engage a first class tenor like Alberico Curioni. In January 1819, Giuseppina
La Fenice sooner had the opera house been rebuilt than a legal dispute broke out between the company managing it and the owners, the Venier family. The issue was decided in favor of the Veniers. At the beginning of the 19th century, La Fenice acquired a European reputation. Rossini mounted two major productions there: "Tancredi" in 1813 and "Semiramide" in 1823. Two of Bellini's operas were given their premieres there: "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" in March 1830 and "Beatrice di Tenda" in March 1833. Donizetti, fresh from his triumphs at La Scala in Milan and at the Teatro di San Carlo