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The Lost One is the English-language title for the 1948 adaptation of Giueseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata. Departing somewhat from the original plotline, the film accommodates a "framing story" involving Verdi (Nerio Bernardi) and Alexandre Dumas Jr. (Massimo Serato), author of the opera's source novel La Dame aux Camelias. Standing by the grave of legendary Parisian courtesan Alphonsine Plessis, who died of a broken heart after falling truly in love for the first time in her life, Verdi and Dumas are inspired to immortalize Plessis' story in print and on stage. The film then segues into the opera proper, as the tragically coquettish Violetta (Nelly Corradi) enters into a romance with handsome and wealthy young Alfredo (Gino Mattera), ultimately and sadly coming to the realization that their marriage will never take place due to her soiled reputation. For the benefit of English-speaking audiences, The Lost One was provided with a voiceover narration, in which the heroine records the events of her life in her diary.