La gazza ladra complete the composition of the opera. As such, "The Thieving Magpie" is best known for the overture, which is musically notable for its use of snare drums. The unique inspiration in the melodies is extreme, famously used to bizarre and dramatic effect in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange". It was referenced by Haruki Murakami in his work "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.". This memorable section in Rossini's overture evokes the image of the opera's main subject: a devilishly clever, thieving magpie. The first performance of "The Thieving Magpie" was on 31 May 1817, at La Scala, Milan. In 1818, Rossini revised
Classical music of Birmingham Company - specialises in staging innovative performances in unusual venues (in 2005 it performed Monteverdi's "Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria" in a burnt-out ice rink in the Chinese Quarter). Its artistic director, Graham Vick, has also directed at La Scala, Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House in London. Visiting opera companies such as Opera North and Welsh National Opera perform regularly at the Hippodrome. Birmingham's other principal classical music venues include The National Indoor Arena (NIA), CBSO Centre, The Bradshaw Hall at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the Barber Concert Hall at the Barber Institute