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 Scala, Fortitude Valley La Scala, Fortitude Valley La Scala is a heritage-listed detached house at 517 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Thomas Ramsay Hall and built . It was originally known as "Craig Athol". It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. The three-storeyed timber house was built in 1914 for Dr Thomas Henry Reeve Mathewson to a design by architect Thomas Ramsay Hall. Mathewson named the house "Craig Athol". He operated his practice from the ground floor and lived in the house above. In 1923 he moved his practice to