Édouard Viénot L. D. R..." and "Portrait de Monsieur A. L..." (both at the Paris Salon 1870). Viénot also painted Marie Duplessis (reproduced in the Royal Opera's programme for Verdi's "La Traviata" at the Royal Albert Hall in May 1998). Marie Duplessis was the real-life actress and courtesane on whom Dumas modelled the heroine in "La Dame aux Camélias", on which "La Traviata" is based. Viénot's portrait of the Emperor Pedro II of Brazil is in the Imperial Museum in Brazil (housed in what was formerly his summer palace). Also in Brazil is his "Retrato de Menina" [a portrait of a young
Gustavo III (Verdi) be Colonial Boston. This setting became the "standard" one until the mid-20th Century. Most productions today locate the action in Sweden. However, a "hypothetical reconstruction" of "Gustavo III" under its original name was performed by the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden during the 2002/03 season. In early 1856 Vincenzo Torelli, secretary to the Teatro San Carlo's management approached Verdi with a contract offer, the proposed opera being "Re Lear", an opera based on Shakespeare's "King Lear". It was known to be a subject dear to the composer, but this libretto, for which Somma and Verdi had worked for some time, raised