Having scored a huge success with I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini was asked to compose another work for La Fenice, the Venetian opera house most famous for having "risen" from its own ashes on several occasions. The result, Beatrice di Tenda, would mark Bellini's final collaboration with his longtime librettist, Felice Romani—and would fail to repeat the achievements of his earlier work. It was premiered at La Fenice on March 16, 1833. From the beginning, Bellini intended his new opera to feature Giuditta Pasta, the star prima donna of the day, in the leading role. In fact, Bellini allowed the diva to choose her own topic, the story of the powerful noblewoman Beatrice di Tenda who becomes ensnared in a net of romantic intrigues. This caused friction between the composer and Romani, who had always been free to choose his own topics.

Their relationship worsened during the composition process, and they ended their collaboration on poor terms when Romani issued a written apology for the poor quality (in his opinion) of the finished product. The arguments between Romani and Bellini went public, with both men and their supporters entering into a paper war in the newspapers and musical publications. Each blamed the other for the lateness of the production, and both accused each other of behaving unprofessionally. Romani blamed Bellini's philandering and lack of commitment, and Bellini called Romani the King of Sloth. Much of Beatrice was written quite hurriedly, due both to the late receipt of libretto portions from Romani and the last-minute substitution of Orazio Cartagenova into the role of the Count. As a result, the piece did not hold together as well as some of Bellini's other works, and the opening run of performances was not well received. However, there is much beautiful music in Beatrice, and the opera was produced on several occasions in the years following Bellini's death.

No major opera company staged Beatrice di Tenda during the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries until 1959, during the heart of the bel canto revival. That resulted in a critical reappraisal which vindicated Bellini's claims that Beatrice was the equal of any of his more successful works. Contemporary audiences have proven forgiving toward the plot's similarities to Anna Bolena and have admired the many genuinely lovely passages in the opera. The most popular of these is the trio for Beatrice, Agnese, and Orombello in the last act, which Bellini in fact adapted from his other failure, Zaira, though he made it simpler and more memorable in this presentation. He also gave a particularly effective scene to Filippo, as well as several show-stopping scenes for the soprano. On the whole, it is not an innovative work, either for Bellini as a composer or for the developing bel canto genre, but it does have considerable power to please audiences with its constant flow of melodic arias, duets, and ensembles.

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