La traviata is an Italian opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi , libretto by Francesco Maria Piave , after Alexandre Dumas , fils 's novel La dame aux camÃ lias , published in 1848 . La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave . It is based on La dame aux CamÃ lias ( 1852 ) , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas , fils .