same letter, Bellini informed his publisher that: "I have arranged the contract with Lanari to compose the opera for Venice; there I'll have the divine Pasta, and on the same terms as the contract with La Scala for Norma". He continues by stating that, in addition, he will receive one hundred percent of the rental rights of the scores. Within a few days, Bellini was in Milan, from there writing to his friend Santocanale in Palermo that "I'm ... trying to find a good subject for my new opera for Venice. In August, I shall go to Bergamo for the production of my Norma with Pasta." From Bergamo, he wrote to Romani, excited to tell him that: Our Norma is decidedly a great success. If you heard how it's performed in Bergamo, you'd almost think that it was a new work ... [Pasta] even moves me. In fact, I wept [with] the emotions I felt in my soul. I wanted you near me so that I could have these emotions with you, my good advisor and collaborator, because you alone understand me. My glory is intrinsic to yours. After the successful production in Bergamo, which was favourably reviewed by the same writer from the Gazzetta privilegiata di Milano who was not enthusiastic about the original Milan production, Bellini spent a few days with Turina, and then, by mid-September, had returned to Milan anxious to meet Romani to decide on the subject for the following February's opera for La Fenice for which a contract had become official. In addition, it had been agreed that the new opera would be preceded by performances of Norma and that they would open the season. Beatrice di Tenda: Venice 1833 Beatrice di Tenda, with the leading role requiring a strong female character to be written for Pasta, composer and librettist met to consider a subject. Much of the initial work fell upon Romani, who had to look at a number of possible sources, and he became irritated by the task, finally hoping that a shipment of books from Paris would reveal a suitable one. It appears that by 6 October, a subject had been agreed upon: it would be Cristina regina di Svenzia from a play by Alexandre Dumas which had appeared in Paris in 1830. However, by one month later, Bellini was writing to Pasta to state that: "The subject has been changed, and