Tune in next week for an exclusive interview with the world's leading expert on Louise Bertin, musicologist Dr. Denise Boneau!

On this episode of the world’s first podcast about “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (“Notre-Dame de Paris”), we discuss the opera “La Esmeralda” (1836), the only “Hunchback” adaptation Victor Hugo participated in creating.

Composed by Louise Bertin, a young disabled woman, this controversial opera was only performed six times during its original run. Bertin was so traumatized by the backlash against it that she never composed another opera.

What’s to blame for the failure of “La Esmeralda”? Government censorship? Sexist critics? Audiences of hecklers, including “The Three Musketeers” author Alexandre Dumas? Joins us as we grapple with this nearly 200-year-old question.

LISTEN TO “LA ESMERALDA ...