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
Central City Opera House which tells the story of wealthy mine-owner Horace Tabor and his second wife Baby Doe Tabor. It was first performed in 1956. In 2001, it was the first opera company in the United States to produce "Gloriana" of Elizabeth I by Benjamin Britten. Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" was performed by the Central City Opera in 2015. Samuel Ramey and Beverly Sills have performed at the opera house. It was noted by Daniel Rule, who managed the Central City Opera company, that 29 of the performers of the Metropolitan Opera in New York had performed at Central City. The