The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film) June 21, 1996 to generally positive reviews and was a commercial success, grossing over $325 million worldwide and becoming the fifth highest-grossing release of 1996. The film received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Menken's musical score. A darker, more Gothic stage adaptation of the film, was rewritten and directed by James Lapine and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical in Berlin, Germany, as "Der Glöckner von Notre Dame", and ran from 1999 to 2002. A direct-to-video sequel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II", was released in 2002. In 1482 Paris, Clopin, a gypsy puppeteer, narrates the origin of
Esmeralda (opera) toured to multiple theatres. In 1888, the opera reached Australia, where it was staged in Melbourne by Amy Sherwin and her company of singers. A revised version of "Esmeralda" was performed in a French translation of the libretto by Paul Milliet at the Royal Opera House in London on 12 July 1890 with Jean De Reszke as Phoebus and Nellie Melba in the title role. The revised version was also performed in English for the US premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City on 19 November 1900. The following month the same company staged "Esmeralda" in Chicago