I am almost certain that the cholera will arrive in time to close the theatres; but as soon it threatens to come near, I'll leave Milan." About this time he had received an offer to compose for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and, in return, had imposed some harsh terms, totally objecting to the English soprano Marianna Lewis, "a donna who is below mediocrity: does not know how to sing, is a sausage on stage ..." He continues by stressing the need for a good tenor were he to come to Naples and, in a separate letter to be forwarded by Florimo, tells Principe di Ruffano, then the superintendent of the royal theatres, that he doubts that Barbaja would even agree to the fee already offered to him by La Scala, a total of 2,400 ducati, when he would want 3,000 ducati from Naples for all the additional expenses which he would incur. In a post script, Bellini adds an indignant objection to what he has heard about the proposed casting of Capuleti in Naples. It is clear that he regards Barbaja as an enemy. Norma was completed by about the end of November. Bellini then had to deal with the issue of piracy in regard to vocal reductions for piano of La sonnambula as published by Casa Ricordi. These scores were then fully orchestrated and sold to unsuspecting opera houses as full orchestral scores. This illegal action caused Bellini to publish a notice in major Italian newspapers putting such "pirates" on notice, but Weinstock comments that such attempts to control were not likely to succeed until Italian unification provided laws applicable to the country as a whole. After rehearsals began on 5 December, Pasta baulked at singing the Casta diva in act 1, now one of the most famous arias of the nineteenth century. She felt that it was "ill adapted to her vocal abilities", but Bellini was able to persuade her to keep trying for a week, after which she adapted to it and confessed her earlier error. At the opening night, the opera was received with what Weinstock describes as "chill indifference". To Florimo on the night of the premiere, Bellini wrote "Fiasco! Fiasco! Solemn fiasco!" and proceed to tell him of the indifference of the audience and how it affected him. In addition, in a letter to his uncle on 28 December, Bellini tries