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 on 25 May 1874 and he announced in 1886 that La Scala would host the premiere of what was to become his penultimate opera, "Otello". The premiere of his last opera, "Falstaff" was also given in the theatre. In 1982, the Filarmonica della Scala was established, drawing its members from the larger pool of musicians that comprise the Orchestra della Scala. The theatre underwent a major renovation from early 2002 to late 2004. The theatre closed following the traditional 7 December 2001 season opening performances of "Otello", which ran through December. From 19 January 2002 to November 2004, the opera