Tuberculosis in human culture the disease, which allegedly helped them to see life more clearly and to act decisively. In 1680 John Bunyan referred to it as "the captain of all these men of death". Several major operas have exploited the theme of heroines dying tragically of tuberculosis, including Mimì in Puccini's opera "La bohème". Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" features the consumptive Violetta Valéry, based on Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas, "fils"'s 1848 novel "La Dame aux Camélias". In Jacques Offenbach's opera "The Tales of Hoffmann", Antonia has tuberculosis and is under the control of a Svengali-like quack doctor who forces her to sing
Sarah Bernhardt a limited run. It starred Janet McTeer as Bernhardt and it was directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel . Recordings of performances by Bernhardt: Other external links: Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard, 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including "La Dame Aux Camelias" by Alexandre Dumas, "fils", "Ruy Blas" by Victor Hugo, "Fédora" and "La Tosca" by Victorien Sardou, and "L'Aiglon" by Edmond Rostand. She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet.