The Lady of the Camellias (French: La Dame aux camélias) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848. Adapted for the stage, La Dame aux camélias premiered at the Theatre de Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. An instant success, Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the female protagonist "Marguerite Gautier" renamed "Violetta Valéry". In the English-speaking world, La Dame aux Camélias became known as Camille and sixteen versions have been performed at Broadway theatres alone. The Lady of the Camellias is "Marguerite Gautier" who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real life lover of author Dumas, fils.
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Stage performances
Since its debut as a play, numerous editions have been performed at theatres around the world. The role of the tragic "Marguerite Gautier" became one of the most coveted amongst actresses and includes performances by Lillian Gish, Eleonora Duse, Margaret Anglin, Gabrielle Réjane, Tallulah Bankhead, Eva Le Gallienne, Isabelle Adjani, plus Sarah Bernhardt who played the role in a 1912 film and on the stage in Paris, London and in several Broadway revivals.
Film adaptations
In addition to inspiring La Traviata, The Lady of the Camellias has been adapted for approximately twenty different motion pictures in numerous countries and in a wide variety of languages. The role of "Marguerite Gautier" has been played on screen by Sarah Bernhardt, Clara Kimball Young, Theda Bara, Yvonne Printemps, Alla Nazimova, Greta Garbo, Micheline Presle, Francesca Bertini, Isabelle Huppert and others.
Films entitled Camille
- Main article: Camille (film)
To date, there have been at least eight adaptations of The Lady of the Camellias entitled Camille.
Other films based on La Dame aux Camélias
In addition to the Camille films, the story has been the adapted into numerous other screen versions:
- Kameliadamen, the first movie based on the work. Kameliadamen was a 1907 Danish silent film directed by Viggo Larsen and starring Oda Alstrup, Larsen, Gustave Lund and Robert Storm Petersen.
- La Dame aux Camélias, a 1911 French language silent film, directed by André Calmettes and Henri Pouctal. It stars Sarah Bernhardt.
- La Signora delle Camelie, a 1915 Italian language film. It was directed by Baldassarre Negroni and Gustavo Serena. It stars Hesperia, Alberto Collo and Ida Carloni Talli.
- Damen med kameliorna, a 1925 Swedish film adapted and directed by Olof Molander. It stars Uno Henning and Tora Teje.
- La Dame aux Camélias, the first sound adaptation. La Dame aux Camélias was a 1934 French film adapted by Abel Gance and directed by Gance and Fernand Rivers. It stars Yvonne Printemps and Pierre Fresnay.
- Greta Garbo had the starring role in Camille (1936), directed by George Cukor
- A 1944 Spanish language version was produced in Mexico. It was adapted by Roberto Tasker and directed by Gabriel Soria, and stars Lina Montes and Emilio Tuero.
- La Dame aux Camélias, a 1953 French film adapted by Bernard Natanson and directed by Raymond Bernard. It stars Gino Cervi, Micheline Presle and Roland Alexandre.
- Camelia, a 1954 Mexican film adapted by José Arenas, Edmundo Báez, Roberto Gavaldón and Gregorio Walerstein. It was directed by Gavaldón, and stars María Félix.
- La Mujer de las camelias, a 1954 Argentine film adapted by Alexis de Arancibia (as Wassen Eisen) and Ernesto Arancibia, and directed by Ernesto Arancibia. It stars Mona Maris.
- La Dame aux Camélias, a 1980 French language film adapted by Jean Aurenche, Enrico Medioli and Vladimir Pozner, and directed by Mauro Bolognini. It stars Isabelle Huppert.
The story also partly inspired the plot of the movies Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge!.
Storyline / Content
It is a story of a young man who has an affair with a courtesan, Marguerite. His father ends the affair, and Marguerite dies of tuberculosis. The Worcester Evening Gazette published an extremely condensed summary of La Dame aux Camélias: [1]
ACT I—PARIS He—You are sick. I love you. She—Don't. You can't afford it. ACT II—PARIS She—I think I love you. But good-bye; the Count is coming. He—That man? Then I see you no more. But no! An idea! Let us fly to the country. ACT III—THE COUNTRY His Father—You ruin my son! Leave him. She—He loves me. His Father—You are a good woman. I respect you. Leave him. She—I go. ACT IV—PARIS She—You again? I never loved you. He—Fly with me, or I die. She—I love you; but good-bye now. ACT V—PARIS She—(Very sick.) Is it you? Is God so good? He—Pardon me. My father sent me. She—I pardon you. I love you. I die. [Dies. Tears. Sensation. Curtain.]
See also
References & Notes
- ^ Gottlieb, Robert. "The Drama of Sarah Bernhardt", The New York Review of Books, Volume 54, Number 8, 10 May 2007. Accessed 10 May 2007.
