In the later 20th century there were major productions in Florence (1972), Geneva (1979, 1991), La Scala (1988), Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1989), Covent Garden (1990), and then Opéra Bastille (2003)[REF] as well as at the Sportspalace in Pesaro (lasting over 5 hours, 1995).
According to an anecdote, when an admirer told the composer that he had heard his opera the previous night, Rossini replied "What?