Musical theatre responsible for "Les Misérables", which became the longest-running international musical hit in history. The team, in collaboration with Richard Maltby Jr., continued to produce hits, including "Miss Saigon", inspired by the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly". The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber saw similar success with "Evita", based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón; "Cats", derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot (both of which musicals originally starred Elaine Paige); "Starlight Express", performed on roller skates; "The Phantom of the Opera", derived from the Gaston Leroux novel, "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra"; and "Sunset Boulevard" (from the classic film of
Poor Butterfly Poor Butterfly "Poor Butterfly" is a popular song. It was inspired by Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" and contains a brief musical quote from the Act two duet "Tutti i fior" in the verse. The music was written by Raymond Hubbell, the lyrics by John L. Golden. The song was published in 1916. It was introduced in the Broadway show "The Big Show", which opened in August 1916 at the New York Hippodrome, and was sung in the show by Sophie Bernard. The song has become a pop standard, recorded by many artists. The two biggest hit versions in 1917