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
Attila (opera) Ramey "unquestionably rack[ed] up more performances in the role than any bass since its creator" in houses such as La Fenice and San Francisco, finally making an audio recording in 1989 and a video recording in 1991, both under Riccardo Muti. Ramey again appeared in the title role in a production staged by La Scala in 1986 and filmed for DVD release. In February 2000 a concert performance was given by the Opera Orchestra of New York, again featuring Ramey as Attila. The Royal Opera House premiered it on 13 October 1990, with Ruggero Raimondi in the title role, Josephine