Portrait of Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868"

La Scala’s bond with Gioachino Rossini was formed in 1812 with the success of the premiere of La pietra del paragone, and it has accompanied two centuries of the Theatre’s history. Rossini was an
absolute player on the European cultural scene from the first half of the nineteenth century, and as such, it was at La Scala that he achieved his first triumphs; and it was here that he met two men who, for different reasons,
proved fundamental in his future successes: Domenico Barbaja and Stendhal.
However, the vast spaces of Piemarini’s stage also embraced the set designs of Alessandro Sanquirico and Paolo Landriani that represented the spectacular visual supports of Rossini’s musical imagination, as well as performer’s whose
names resound down the centuries, such as Giuditta Pasta and Isabella Colbran.
From La Scala, Rossini’s fortune was to reach Naples, and from there, the whole of Europe; he became the subject of reflection for philosophers and writers, the target of comments in drawing-rooms and the cause of political discussion.
His production included serious and comic operas, he drew on literary sources that ranged from Voltaire to Walter Scott, from Schiller to Shakespeare, and his popularity was indeed extraordinary in that it was widespread and long-lasting.