Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the novel and theatre play La dame aux camélias (1848 and 1852) by Alexandre Dumas son. After its initial rejection, Verdi’s only opera set in a contemporary setting, La traviata, based on Alexandre Dumas’ The Lady of the Camellias, has become one of the composer’s most acclaimed works. This success is due to the universal values highlighted by the tragedy of a high society courtesan – another one of those that have marked the history of opera – who gives up her very life to protect her lover’s honor.