The Lady of the Camellias (French La Dame aux cam?lias) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils first published in 1848 and subsequently adapted for the stage. The Lady of the Camellias premiered at the Th??tre du Vaudeville in Paris France on February 2 1852. The play was an instant success and Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about putting the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the female protagonist Marguerite Gautier renamed Violetta Val?ry.
