Soon after the clamorous success of Ballo, which took place at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, on 17 February 1859, Verdi became officially involved with the Risorgimento for the first time. On that occasion a political demonstration was backed by the words ‘Viva Verdi’, with the understanding that the composer's surname spelt ‘Vittorio Emanuele Re d'Italia’. But Ballo was primarily a public success, and the critics remained lukewarm. In spite of this, the opera was revived at the Teatro Apollo for the carnival seasons up to and including 1861. From May 1859 onwards, the war against Austria anxiously occupied the minds of every Italian, and Verdi ceased working altogether. On 14 June a sort of anthology of pieces from Il Trovatore, in the French version entitled Le Trouvère, including the entire first and last acts, was performed at La Scala in front of Vittorio Emanuele II and Napoleon III. At Busseto the composer placed himself and his family at the head of a list of subscribers (promoted by him) for the aid of the wounded and their families. But his participation in public ceremonies was still rather infrequent and cautious: in July, for example, he refused to write a ‘cantata’ which the Marzi brothers (impresarios at La Scala) had requested in honour of the French emperor.