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
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