Marie Duplessis was based on Duplessis. It appeared within a year of her death. In the book, Dumas became "Armand Duval" and Duplessis "Marguerite Gautier". Dumas also adapted his story as a play, which inspired Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La traviata" and various films. Biographical Studies Citations Marie Duplessis Marie Duplessis (15 January 1824 – 3 February 1847) was a French courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent and wealthy men. She was the inspiration for Marguerite Gautier, the main character of "La Dame aux Camélias" by Alexandre Dumas the younger, one of Duplessis' lovers. Much of what is known about her
La descente d'Orphée aux enfers the myth of Orpheus as told by Ovid in Book 10 of the "Metamorphoses". It is debatable whether the opera as it survives in the manuscript is complete or not. The musicologist H. Wiley Hitchcock believes Charpentier may have planned (and composed) a third, concluding act. The opera is not to be confused with an earlier work by Charpentier, "Orphée descendant aux enfers", which is a cantata for three male voices. Orphée (Orpheus) is celebrating his marriage to Euridice (Eurydice) in a beautiful, pastoral landscape. Euridice and her nymph companions gather flowers, but Euridice steps on a snake, is stung