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 straniera new style and its restless harmonic shifts into remote keys did not please all. 45 years later it was stated that "Bellini's style was abstruse, discontinuous, distorted, and lacking in distinction, that it alternated among the "serio" and the "buffo" and the "semi-serio"." 19th century performances The opera was first performed at La Scala, Milan on 14 February 1829, with Henriette Méric-Lalande and Domenico Reina in the leading roles. Alessandro Sanquirico, the well-established set designer of the time, designed the sets, and the opera was presented on a triple bill, along with the ballets "Buondelmonte" and "L'avviso ai maritati". Within