This sinfonia (or overture) was the last thing composed for the Rossini's opera La Gazza ladra (known in English as The Thieving Magpie). Rossini, famous for being able to compose very quickly, was quoted in a 19th century biography about the conductor (Alessandro Rolla) ordering him locked in an upper room of Milan's Teatro alla Scala the day before the premiere under guard from four stagehands in order to complete the overture. As Rossini completed a page of score it was handed to one of his 'guards' who then tossed it out the window to a copyist below.

The overture is famous for its use of snare drum to invoke the antics of the diabolically clever thieving bird. The opera premiere was given in Milan on May 31, 1817. As with the other overtures, this one has not been treated very well by publishers over the decades. Part of the problem stems from the composer's own manuscripts which were the product of rapid composing under pressure. In addition, the opera itself was very popular and thus revised several times over the following decades by the composer for various performances in Europe. Many things which were simply assumed by performers of the era from their first appearance and applied to analogous passages weren't by those of later eras. This new performing edition prepared by Clark McAlister was previously issued in by defunct publisher E.F. Kalmus in 2006. Serenissima is now pleased to offer not only the present study score, but the large score and orchestral parts.