About the work
La pietra del paragone is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Luigi Romanelli, premiered on 26 September 1812 at La Scala in Milan. It was Rossini's first commission from a major opera house.
Plot
The wealthy Count Asdrubale is courted by three women and wants to find out who loves him for himself: he stages his own financial ruin by posing as a foreign creditor demanding payment. Only the Marchesa Clarice stands by him while the others withdraw; once his fortune proves intact, Clarice even disguises herself as her own twin brother to test his loyalty a second time before the two become engaged.
Cultural significance
The premiere was a triumph, receiving 53 performances in its first season alone. Napoleon's viceroy in Milan, Eugène de Beauharnais, is said to have been so impressed that he asked the interior minister to exempt the young Rossini from military service so that Italy would not lose his talent.