La Dame aux Camélias 1878 "Scribner's Monthly" reported that "not one other play by Dumas, "fils" has been received with favor out of France". The success of the play inspired Giuseppe Verdi to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera "La traviata", set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. The female protagonist, Marguerite Gautier, is renamed Violetta Valéry. "La Dame aux Camélias" has been adapted for some 20 different motion pictures in numerous countries and in a wide variety of languages. The role of Marguerite Gautier has been played on screen by Sarah Bernhardt, María Félix, Clara Kimball
La Esmeralda (opera) La Esmeralda (opera) La Esmeralda is a grand opera in four acts composed by Louise Bertin. The libretto was written by Victor Hugo, who had adapted it from his novel "Notre-Dame de Paris" ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame"). The opera premiered at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 14 November 1836 with Cornélie Falcon in the title role. Despite the lavish production, the premiere was a failure, and "La Esmeralda" proved to be the last opera composed by Bertin, although she lived for another 40 years. Partially paralyzed from birth, and basically chair-bound, Louise Bertin had