Musical theatre responsible for "Les Misérables", which became the longest-running international musical hit in history. The team, in collaboration with Richard Maltby Jr., continued to produce hits, including "Miss Saigon", inspired by the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly". The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber saw similar success with "Evita", based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón; "Cats", derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot (both of which musicals originally starred Elaine Paige); "Starlight Express", performed on roller skates; "The Phantom of the Opera", derived from the Gaston Leroux novel, "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra"; and "Sunset Boulevard" (from the classic film of
Germania (opera) Germania (opera) Germania is an operatic "dramma lirico" consisting of a prologue, two acts, an intermezzo and an epilogue by Alberto Franchetti to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. The opera premiered on 11 March 1902 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Illica, known for penning the librettos for some of Giacomo Puccini's best loved operas, originally gave the libretto for "Tosca" to Franchetti after the latter had obtained the rights to the Victorien Sardou play on which it was based. However, after Puccini expressed interest in it, Franchetti relinquished his rights, and Illica gave the composer "Germania" instead.