La pietra del paragone La pietra del paragone La pietra del paragone (The Touchstone) is an opera, or melodramma giocoso, in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Romanelli. "La pietra del paragone" was first performed at La Scala, Milan, on 26 September 1812. It was the composer's first commission from a major opera house and was an instant success, being performed 53 times during its first season. Napoleon's Viceroy in Milan, Eugène de Beauharnais, was so impressed by the opera that he wrote to the Minister of the Interior, "You will kindly arrange for Maestro Joachin Rossini to
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