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
Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) premieres of operas, including John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles", Phillip Glass's "The Voyage" and the US premiere of Nico Muhly's "Two Boys" in 2013. When the Metropolitan Opera is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to the annual Spring season of American Ballet Theatre (ABT). It regularly hosts touring opera and ballet companies including the Kirov, Bolshoi, and the La Scala companies. In addition, the Met has presented recitals by Vladimir Horowitz, Renée Fleming, Kathleen Battle and others. Philip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach" was staged independently at the Met in 1976. Concerts by Barbra Streisand, The Who,