The more lenient French censorship was not, of course, the only attraction beckoning Donizetti to Paris. Principally he was drawn there by the prestige that a Parisian success could add as a crowning touch to a composer's career. And from a purely practical point of view he did not scorn the fatter fees paid there, nor the prospects of more favorable terms with publishers. Neither was he immune to the thought that there musical properties enjoyed better protection than they did in Italy, where for more than a decade he had been complaining about both the loss of income and the distortion of his music at the hands of the pirates.

The steps leading to Donizetti's going to Paris had been carefully planned for at least three years. At the time of Marin Faliero, in the early months of 1835, he had engaged an agent to represent his interests in Paris – the loquacious and improvident Michele Accursi – and he had acquired a Paris banker in the person of August de Coussy, whose wife Zélie would alternately fawn over and tyrannize Donizetti. He was at pains to cultivate his contacts in Paris, particularly those with people active in the musical life of the city.