The Lady of the Camellias

The Lady of the Camellias
Alphonse Mucha's poster for a performance of the theatrical version, with Sarah Bernhardt (1896)
Original title	La Dame aux Camélias
Written by	Alexandre Dumas fils
Date premiered	2 February 1852 (1852-02-02)
Place premiered	Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paris, France
Original language	French
Genre	Tragedy[1][2][3][4]

The Lady of the Camellias (French: La Dame aux Camélias), sometimes called Camille in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, France, on February 2, 1852. It was an instant success. Shortly thereafter, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi set about putting the story to music in the 1853 opera La traviata, with female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Valéry.

In some of the English-speaking world, The Lady of the Camellias became known as Camille, and sixteen versions have been performed at Broadway theatres alone. The title character is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real-life lover of the author.^[5]