La Cambiale Matrimonia by Gioacchino Rossini premiered in 1810 on November 3 at the Teatro San Moise of Venice. The libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi, one of the preeminent librettists of the early nineteenth century. He based his text on an earlier libretto called Il matrimonio per lettera di cambio by Giuseppe Checcherini, and a play by Camillo Federici. Rossini composed La Cambiale Matrimonia when he was only 18 years of age. It is only a one-act farsa, but it exhibits Rossini's precocious and sophisticated approach to the comic idiom. Already in place are some of the structures which were to transform the world of nineteenth century bel canto opera in another decade. The uproarious plot involves a Canadian business man, a matrimonial contract, and penniless lovers.

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