On this special episode of the definitive podcast about “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (“Notre-Dame de Paris”), we sit down with musicologist Dr. Denise Boneau, the world’s leading expert on composer Louise Bertin, for an exclusive interview about the opera “La Esmeralda” (1836), the subject of our previous episode.

A graduate of the University of Chicago, Dr. Boneau’s doctoral dissertation revived academic interest in Louise Bertin, who by that point had faded from public memory. Her passion for Bertin’s work has taken to France to see the first productions of Bertin’s operas in nearly 200 years, none of which would have been possible if Dr. Boneau hadn’t brought Bertin’s work back into public view.

We’d like to express our sincerest thanks to Dr. Boneau for generously offering her time and expertise!

LISTEN TO “LA ESMERALDA” WI ...