Iron Crown of Lombardy
Cimarosa himself directed the première of "The Italian Girl in London" in 1778 or 1779 from the harpsichord and it was by far his greatest success to date. Papal edict forbade the appearance of women on the stage, so Livia was played by the 17-year-old male castrato Crescentini (whose later career was so illustrious that he was granted the Iron Crown of Lombardy by Napoleon), and Madama Brillante by Giuseppe Censi.