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
Madame Chrysanthème (opera) Madame Chrysanthème (opera) Prior to "Madame Chrysanthème", Messager had begun to establish himself as a composer with several ballet scores performed, success at the Opéra-Comique in 1890 with "La Basoche" and incidental music for the play "Hélène" in 1891. Refused by Carvalho at the Opéra-Comique "Madame Chrysanthème" was first performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris on 21 January 1893 with Jane Guy and Louis Delaquerrière in the principal roles; there were 16 performances at the theatre in the first year. There were two performances in Monte Carlo on 21 December 1901 and 3 January 1902 with Mary