This production has many fingerprints of French rule in Milan: the verso of the sheet contains a quote from a French author (Voltaire) the sonnet is addressed to “Citizen” Elisabetta Gafforini, a form of address that came into use after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the publication is dated Anno X, that is, Year Ten of the Republican calendar. In November 1801 she sang in the premiere of Giuseppe Mosca’s Il Sedicente filosofo, and shortly thereafter an etched portrait of her was published, together with an adulatory sonnet.
Although she occasionally performed opera seria roles, she had a delightful comic talent that made her perfect for opera buffa. In March 1801 the contralto Elisabetta Gafforini made the first of many appearances at La Scala. To the extent that the French regime in Milan had any effect on La Scala, it seems to have been beneficial the number of opera performances increased, and the time of French rule were golden years for ballet and stage design. Napoleon enjoyed music, and a gala concert in his honor was organized at La Scala for the evening of 4 June.
On 2 June 1800 Napoleon, at that time still General Bonaparte, made a triumphal entry into Milan, driving out the Austrians, who had ruled Lombardy since 1713.
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