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
Lisa Gasteen National Opera School musical faculty members included Lisa Gasteen AO, John Fisher, Giovanni Reggioli, Margaret Baker-Genovesi, Sharolyn Kimmorley AM and Jill Stoll. UK-based psychotherapist and expert on psychogenic dysphonia (voice problems due to emotional mismanagement) Phiroze Neemuchwala was amongst the members of the non-musical faculty. Faculty members have been associated with leading international and national opera companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Opera Australia, Teatro la Fenice, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Welsh National Opera, the Théâtre de la Monnaie, De Nederlandse Opera and Opera Queensland, as well as the Rossini Opera Festival,