Paris under Louis-Philippe literature by Henri Murger in a series of stories called "Scènes de la vie de Bohème" (Scenes of Bohemian Life) published in Paris between 1845 and 1849, which in 1896 was made into the opera "La Bohème" by Puccini. The term spread from Paris to the rest of Europe, and came to be used for anyone who lived an artistic and unconventional life. Prostitution was common in Paris. Beginning in 1816, prostitutes were required to register with the police. Between 1816 and 1842, their numbers grew from 22,000 to 43,000. They were mostly young women from the French provinces who
Giacomo Puccini The performance was enough of a success that Casa Ricordi purchased the opera. Revised into a two-act version with an intermezzo between the acts, "Le Villi" was performed at La Scala in Milan, on 24 January 1885. However, Ricordi did not publish the score until 1887, hindering further performance of the work. Giulio Ricordi, head of G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers, was sufficiently impressed with "Le Villi" and its young composer that he commissioned a second opera, which would result in "Edgar". Work was begun in 1884 when Fontana began working out the scenario for the libretto. Puccini finished