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
Sarah Bernhardt Nonetheless, her film is cited as one of the first examples of a sound film. Eight years later, in 1908, Bernhardt made a second motion picture, "La Tosca". This was produced by Le Film d’Art and directed by André Calmettes from the play by Victorien Sardou. The film has been lost. Her next film, with her co-star and lover Lou Tellegen, was "La Dame aux Camelias", called "Camille". When she performed on this film, Bernhardt changed both the fashion in which she performed, significantly accelerating the speed of her gestural action. The film was a success in the United States,