Giuseppe Verdi have, uniquely in his oeuvre, heroines who are, in the opera critic Joseph Kerman's words, "women who come to grief because of sexual transgression, actual or perceived". Kerman, like the psychologist Gerald Mendelssohn, sees this choice of subjects as being influenced by Verdi's uneasy passion for Strepponi. Verdi and Strepponi moved into Sant'Agata on 1 May 1851. May also brought an offer for a new opera from La Fenice, which Verdi eventually realised as "La traviata". That was followed by an agreement with the Rome Opera company to present "Il trovatore" for January 1853. Verdi now had sufficient earnings to
Variation on a Theme (play) Variation on a Theme (play) Variation on a Theme is a 1958 play by the British writer Terence Rattigan. It is a reworking of Alexandre Dumas, fils's nineteenth century novel and subsequent play "La Dame aux Camélias". Directed by John Gielgud, the play opened (after a pre-London tour), at the Globe Theatre, London, on 8th May 1958, with the following cast: While not received well by the critics, the play ran for 132 performances. Kenneth Tynan wrote in "The Observer":"As far as I could see the star of the show was Norman Hartnell, from whose contributions – a white diamanté