Les Misérables (musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | Les Misérables |
| Music: | Claude-Michel Schoenberg |
| Book: | Alain Boublil |
| Literary source: | Victor Hugo The wretched |
| Premiere: | 17th September 1980 |
| Place of premiere: | Paris, Palais des Sports |
| Playing time: | about 3 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Toulon, 1815; Montreuil-sur-Mer and Montfermeil, 1823; Paris, 1832 |
| Roles / people | |
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Les Misérables is a French musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music) and Alain Boublil ( libretto ). The plot is based on the novel The Wretched by Victor Hugo .
action
prolog
1815, Toulon : Convict Jean Valjean, number 24601, is released from the penitentiary where he had spent the last 19 years, 5 years for stealing bread and the rest for his four attempts to escape. The police inspector Javert gives him his yellow passport, which betrays him as a convict on probation, and advises him to leave, never to forget him ( Work Song ). Jean Valjean is full of hope that he can now start a new life, but has to find out what kind of life this pass gives him: He is only paid half the usual wage, no hostel accepts him ( On Parole ).
Only the Bishop of Digne takes pity and welcomes him. The embittered Valjean, however, steals some of his silver, but is immediately caught. The bishop, who knows Valjean's past, gives him two "forgotten" silver candlesticks and explains to his captors that he gave Valjean the silver. He exhorts him goodbye to change his life. Valjean feels his inner transformation ( Valjean's Soliloquy ) and decides to do what the bishop advised him - he tears up his yellow passport.
first act
1823, Montreuil . "At the end of the day" the poor sing their song. The factory workers are coming. Among them is a girl named Fantine. She has received a letter that she wants to read. But another worker snatches it from her and it is revealed that she has an illegitimate child. There is a fight. The mayor, Monsieur Madeleine, separates the disputing parties. What is only known to the viewer at the time: Monsieur Madeleine is none other than Jean Valjean. But he leaves the actual arbitration to the foreman, whose advances were previously rejected by Fantine. Now he takes revenge by throwing her out on edge. Fantine sings about her past ( I dreamed a long time ago ). But she has to pay the Thénardiers for her child, Cosette, who lives with a host family called Thénardier. She sells her necklace first, then her hair. After all, she has no choice but to prostitute herself ( light girls ). One of her suitors, M. Bamatabois, whom she turned away, reports her and claims that she attacked him. Javert, now an inspector in Montreuil-sur-mer, is called and Fantines is arrested .
But Madeleine / Valjean intervenes. He realizes that Fantine is seriously ill and orders that she be taken to the hospital. Shortly afterwards an accident happens: A man is trapped under the axle of his car ( The runaway cart ). Valjean frees him by lifting the carriage with its occupants and luggage. Javert remembers seeing only one man in his life who was strong enough to commit such an act: a convict who disappeared on parole, namely Jean Valjean, whom he believes has been arrested. In the following, he reports to his mayor about the unmistakable characteristic of the former chain convict: He has a brand with his convict number 24601 on his chest ( Der Karren ). This man has now been caught and will soon be tried. Valjean struggles to identify himself in order to save the innocent ( Who am I ) and proves his claim by showing the number on his chest.
He escapes the court and arrives at the hospital just in time for Fantine's death . He promises to take care of her child. Javert comes to arrest him. Valjean asks him three days to get Cosette, but Javert doesn't believe that this is his plan. He doesn't believe that former evildoers will get better. At the same time, Valjean swears to dead Fantine that he will bring her child, and Javert Valjean that he will still have him ( The Double Oath ). This song contains one of the most important, if not the most important, key passages in the play: Javert reveals in an argument with Valjean that he was born and raised in prison - albeit the son of a guard.
Here the paradoxical situation of the opposing characters Valjeans and Javert is revealed. On the one hand Valjean, on paper the sinner, the breaker of the circulation, who lives under a false name, but is morally on the side of the law and is consistently portrayed in the play as noble and refined (which incidentally does not correspond to the literary model) On the other hand there is Javert, a formal representative of law and order, who grew up in prison, eaten away by hatred of those with whom he had to spend his childhood - incomprehensible to the plight of those who, in his eyes, sinned before God and the law. He, who only knows black and white, reveals to us in this subordinate clause ( I am from the gutter too / lattice broke my cradle light ) the real reason for his fanatical delusion to protect and obey the written law. Whether it is the word of the law ( You broke the law! ) Or that of the Bible ( … so it is written on the doorway to paradise… ), he does not care, it is the most valuable asset for him.
Since he cannot convince Javert of his honesty, Valjean finally knocks down Javert and flees.
Still in 1823, Montfermeil . Cosette is doing very badly in the Thénardiers' house, and so she dreams while she is working ( In my castle ). Madame Thénardier sends you out to fetch water ( who has we here ). The tavern fills up in the evening, it becomes clear that it is a bad hole ( I am master of the house ). Valjean meets the anxious Cosette in the forest and pays the Thénardiers to take Cosette with them ( The Trade ). He leaves Montfermeil with her.
1832, Paris . The beggars of Paris complain to passers-by (and thus also to the audience) of their suffering ( look here ). Revolutionary students, including two named Marius Pontmercy and Enjolras, plan the barricade fight. Thénardier is also in Paris with his gang consisting of Brujon, Babet, Claquesous and Montparnasse. Like everyone else, he wants to beg alms from a man and his daughter who are very generous in distributing money among the poor. His daughter Éponine flirts with Marius, who accidentally runs against the man's daughter and falls in love with her at first sight. Thénardier recognizes Valjean in this man, his alleged daughter is Cosette. In the scuffle that followed, Thénardier saw the number on Valjean's chest. Javert, now an inspector in Paris, arrives. Valjean flees with Cosette, but Thénardier betrays him. Javert lets him go, knowing that he will always be where Valjean is ( Javert's intervention ) and swears by the stars that he will not give up until he has arrested Valjean ( Sterne ). Marius asks Éponine, who is in love with him (which he does not know, however), to look for Cosette ( Éponine's errand ). Then Marius comes to the ABC café, where the students meet. There Marius is mocked for his love for a stranger. The students sing about their revolution ( Red and Black / The Song of the People ). In the meantime, Cosette sits alone in the garden of her house on Rue Plumet and thinks of Marius ( already so long ). Valjean comes and for the first time she asks him questions that Valjean doesn't answer. Then come Marius and Éponine. Marius goes in to Cosette ( My heart calls for you ). Outside come Thénardier and his gang. They want to blackmail Valjean with their knowledge of his identity ( The Robbery ). But Éponine, who wants to protect Marius, screams to attract attention. Marius leaves when he sees Valjean coming. Cosette tells Valjean a fairy tale about shadows behind the wall. Valjean fears Javert has found him.
He realizes that he is no longer safe in France and wants to flee to England ( Der Aufbruch ). Now everyone is singing about the next day: Valjean about his hope of being able to live in safety, Cosette and Marius about their separation, Éponine about their lovesickness, the students now want to build the barricades, Thénardiers are happy about the slaughter, they promise themselves profit , Javert has decided to dress up and spy on the students ( tomorrow already ). Marius decides to join the uprising as life without Cosette has no meaning anymore.
Second act
The students build their barricade, Javert is given the task of finding out the number of enemies ( here on this square / Upon These Stones ). Éponine gets the order from Marius to bring a letter to Cosette, but she is intercepted by Valjean, who reads the letter first. He realizes that Cosette is in love. Éponine sings about her love for Marius, realizes that he will never love her as much as she does him ( just for me ) and also decides to go to the barricade. This is now done ( win or go under ). Javert comes back ( Javert on the barricade ), but now he is exposed by the street boy Gavroche ( We little ones ). You take him away. Then Éponine climbs seriously injured over the barricade. She was shot and dies in Marius' arms ( The rain falls ).
Javert is now tied to a chair behind the barricade, then a man comes to the insurgents. It's Valjean on the barricade . He wants to protect Marius because his Cosette loves him, but then he recognizes Javert. The first attack follows. Valjean shoots a rifleman who almost killed Enjolras. When Enjolras thanks him, Valjean asks him to be allowed to shoot Javert. Enjolras agrees. But as soon as he is unobserved, Valjean releases Javert, even gives him his address ( you again ) and shoots into the air to make everyone believe that he killed Javert. The rebels lie down to sleep ( drink with me ). Valjean prays for Marius ( bring him home ), he is ready to give up his only purpose in life, Cosette.
The next morning the insurgents ran out of cartridges. In the second attack, Gavroche steals the enemy corpses and is shot ( Gavroche's death ). Finally, the final attack follows , in which everyone with the exception of Valjeans and Marius, who is seriously injured, is killed. Valjean and Marius flee through the sewers. Javert looks for Valjean behind the barricade, but he doesn't find him. He realizes where he's fled to when he realizes that he doesn't have the strength to lift the top of the sewer, which only strong Valjean can do. He goes to arrest him at the exit on the Seine.
Thénardier steals the corpses in the sewers . Valjean comes with Marius. Thénardier steals Marius' ring, but Valjean wakes up before he can steal it. Thénardier recognized him, however. Valjean drags on with Marius. Javert is waiting at the exit. Valjean can persuade him to give him time to take Marius to the doctor. Javert lets him go, only realizes a little later what he has done ( The Double Oath (Reprise) ). He can no longer see a way out, he has broken his oath and all of his principles, he has to realize that a former thief can very well get better, finally he throws himself into the Seine ( Javert's suicide ).
The women of Paris mourn the dead ( next ). In the ABC-Cafe, Marius sings about his friends ( dark silence at the tables ). Cosette takes care of him, Marius keeps wondering who saved him ( every day ). Valjean confesses to Marius who he is and wants to stay out of her life ( Valjean's confession ). Marius promises him that Cosette won't find out anything.
Marius and Cosette celebrate their wedding . Thénardier comes. He now wants to blackmail Marius with his alleged knowledge that Valjean is a murderer. He saw Valjean in the sewers on the morning of the uprising - with a body. As proof, he shows Marius his own ring. Marius realizes that Valjean saved him. He and Cosette go straight to Valjean. Thénardier turns the celebration on its head ( beggar at the buffet ).
epilogue
Valjean is an old man now. In the light of the bishop's candlesticks, he writes his confession for Cosette. Cosette and Marius arrive, Marius thanks Valjean, Cosette is horrified when she realizes that Valjean is going to die. The ghosts of Fantine and Éponine lead Valjean to the afterlife, where the ghosts of all those who died - Gavroche, Enjolras and the rest of the students - sing The People's Song again .
Performances
"Les Misérables" celebrated its world premiere on September 17, 1980 in the Palais des Sports , Paris, under the direction of Robert Hossein . This original version was specially tailored to the French audience. Since the novel is part of general education in France, Boublil and Schönberg dispensed with essential parts of the plot. The premiere of the revised version as it is played today took place on October 8, 1985 at the Barbican Center in London . Cameron Mackintosh was the producer , while Trevor Nunn and John Caird of the Royal Shakespeare Company directed. The play moved from the Barbican Theater to the larger Palace Theater in December 1985 . It ran there until 2004, before another transfer to the Queen's Theater was carried out to enable a comprehensive interior renovation of the Palace Theater. It has been the longest running show in London since 2006. The Broadway premiere was on March 12, 1987. After 16 successful years that made "Les Miz" the third-longest running musical on Broadway, the last curtain fell in New York on May 18, 2003. October 21 In 2006 a revival production started for 6 months at the Broadhurst Theater in New York.
In 2010 the musical celebrated the 25th birthday of the revised version. On this occasion, three different productions of the play were shown in parallel in London. In addition to the regular performance in the Queen's Theater, the anniversary tour of the play was hosted in the Barbican Center from September 14th to October 2nd. This was a new production of the work of Matthew Powell and Laurence Connor. Thus “Les Misérables” is the first piece that can be seen as a large-scale production by the same organizer in two productions in the same city. In addition, on October 3, 2010, a concert performance of the musical took place in the O₂ in Greenwich .
The first non-English-language performance of the London version of "Les Misérables" was the Hebrew version from 1987. The performance in Tel Aviv was brought about by the singer David "Dudu" Fischer, who saw the musical in the West End and was enthusiastic about it. He played the role of Jean Valjean in Tel Aviv.
"Les Misérables" was translated into German in 1987 by Heinz Rudolf Kunze . The German-language premiere was then seen in Austria on September 15, 1988 in the Raimund Theater in Vienna. There were over 420,000 visitors in 400 performances up to the last performance on March 31, 1990. In the summer of 2006, the first Austrian open air production took place on the Staatz Felsenbühne. In the summer of 2018, the musical was performed again with great success on the Staatz Felsenbühne.
In Germany, the licensed production ran in a building specially built for the musical ( Theater am Marientor ) from 1996 to 1999 in Duisburg and from September 26, 2003 to December 31, 2004 in the Theater des Westens in Berlin . There were also new productions at various city theaters and opera houses in German-speaking countries.
In the summer of 2018 the play was performed in Germany's largest open- air music theater on the open-air stage in Tecklenburg .
The Swiss premiere took place in 2007 at the St. Gallen Theater. In the summer of the same year, the piece could be seen at the Thuner Seespiele .
By August 2005, more than 51 million people had seen the play in 38 countries and 227 cities. It has been translated into 23 languages. Among his more than 50 international awards there are 8 Tony Awards, the "Oscar" of the musical scene. As part of a guest performance in Shanghai in 2002, “Les Misérables” was the first western musical to be performed in China; it should find a permanent place in Shanghai. It is the first piece whose performance rights are available as a special “school version”. This concept turned out to be extremely successful, and the school version is very popular in English-speaking countries, even if some not entirely unimportant passages have been deleted or simplified.
Some of the most notable events in the history of the musical include:
- a concert in front of an audience of 125,000 on January 26, 1989 on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Australia in a park in Sydney
- a benefit concert in front of an audience of 60,000 in August 1989 at the Skydome in Toronto, Canada
- the concert on the occasion of the 10th birthday on October 8, 1995 in London's Royal Albert Hall . As a highlight at the end of the performance, 17 actors who played Jean Valjean in international productions stood on the stage to each part of the song “Do you hear the people sing?” (German: “The song of the people”) in their own Present the national language (for Germany : Jerzy Jeszke , the then Jean Valjean in Duisburg , and for Austria Reinhard Brussmann ).
- a special performance at Windsor Castle on November 18, 2004 in honor of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Entente cordiale between France and Great Britain at the request of Queen Elizabeth II and in the presence of the President of France ( Jacques Chirac ).
- the two concerts on the occasion of the 25th birthday on October 3, 2010 in the O2 Arena in London . There was a matinee and an evening concert. The leading roles were sung by Alfie Boe (Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Nick Jonas (Marius), Katie Hall (Cosette), Samantha Barks (Éponine), Lea Salonga (Fantine) and Ramin Karimloo (Enjolras). British TV comedian Matt Lucas ( Little Britain ) took on the role of Thénardier. As an encore, four singers who had played the role of Valjean over the years sang the piece Bring him home together . In addition to Boe, it was the "Ur-Valjean" Colm Wilkinson as well as John Owen-Jones and Simon Bowman. Then other members of the London ensemble from 1985 came on stage, including the British musical star Michael Ball , and sang the piece Morgen already together with the anniversary ensemble . It concluded with speeches by Cameron Mackintosh , Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, as well as another performance of the play Das Lied des Volkes by young people who were currently participating in licensed school productions of Les Misérables in British schools . A recording of the evening concert was later published as a video recording, the quartet of the four Valjean actors appeared as a sound recording.
Recordings
There are two recordings in German: the first from Vienna (on 2 CDs from 1988), the second from Duisburg (on 1 CD from 1996). None of these recordings contain the full musical. A soundboard recording from Berlin that was never sold only contains nine songs.
Notable English recordings are the "Tenth Anniversary Concert Recording" (often abbreviated as TAC), the recording of the concert mentioned above, which is considered the best recording by most fans, and the so-called "Complete Symphonic Recording", which has long been the only one full recording of the musical was. In the meantime, however, there is a second complete recording from the Czech Republic from 2005.
There is also the original recording from London from 1985 in English, which still contains some passages that are no longer sung today, including another overture; as well as the original recording from Broadway, 1986. There are at least two heavily abridged recordings (Manchester single 1996, the so-called "soundtrack recording", sung by only two singers) and a radio recording of the "21st Anniversary Concert". This recording, produced by the BBC, has been severely shortened, with a narrator summarizing the missing plot elements. On the occasion of the twenty-five year anniversary of the premiere, an almost complete live recording of the British tour production was released on CD in 2010. This is the first recording to date in which a revised version of John Cameron's orchestrations has been used for smaller orchestral formations.
The first non-English recording of the Cameron Mackintosh version of the musical is the little-known, since it is no longer produced, Hebrew recording of the performance from Tel Aviv.
Also worth mentioning are the six Japanese recordings, which are called Blue Cast, Red Cast etc. after the color of the CD sleeves. Most of these recordings are also almost complete, apart from very small cuts.
In French there is a recording of the original version (1980), usually referred to as "French Concept Recording". There is also a recording of the new version from 1991, which is based on a reverse translation of the libretto and also only contains a selection of titles.
Recordings are also available in: Dutch (Amsterdam 1991, Antwerp 1998, Rotterdam 2008), Swedish (Stockholm 1990, Värmland 1996), Danish (1992), Spanish (Madrid 1993), Hungarian (Budapest 1988), Czech (Prague 1991 and 2004) . There are also recordings from Brazil (2002), Mexico (2003), Argentina (2000), Korea (1993), Poland (2001) and the Basque Country, which were either never intended for sale or, like the Korean recording, are copyrighted -Represented an offense and were subsequently banned.
documentation
- Les Misérables - a musical for Berlin. The theater of the west in a new rhythm. Documentation, Germany, 2003, 43 min., First broadcast on rbb: September 26, 2003, script & direction: Jeremy JP Fekete , production: rbb
filming
On the DVD of the concert performance on the occasion of the 25th anniversary, Cameron Mackintosh announced that after a long period of uncertainty (there were first plans as early as the late 1980s), a film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables should actually be made. In mid-January 2012 it was announced that Tom Hooper would be directing this. The film version stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the couple Thénardier and Anne Hathaway as Fantine. Filming lasted from March 8 to June 23, 2012; the film ran on December 25, 2012 (USA) / 11. January 2013 (UK) / 21. February 2013 (Germany) in cinemas.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.lesmis.com/
- ↑ Chapter Maskenball - Die Musicals (p. 147 ff) in: Holger Zürch : Silbermond samt Stirnenfuß - Texts and music by Heinz Rudolf Kunze between 1980 and 2005. Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-938873-31-0
- ↑ a b Facts and Figures on the official website of the musical. Retrieved May 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Article in the Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Article on musical photo journalism. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 30, 2013 ; Retrieved May 13, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Article on French Musicals. Retrieved May 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Les misérables at um. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 2, 2014 ; Retrieved May 13, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Hooper to direct Les misérables, Times of India
- ↑ Hugh Jackman is russel Crowe's quarry in Les Miserables Film, Playbill.com ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Helena Bonham Carter will be Madame Thénardier, playbill.com ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Evans, Linzi Hateley and more confirmed for Les Miz-Film, playbill.com ( memento of the original from January 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Cameron Mackintosh Confirms Anne Hathaway for Les misérables-Film, broadwayworld.com
- ↑ Twitter message from Hugh Jackman about the beginning of the shooting, and the end of the shooting on June 23, 2012 broadwayworld.com
- ↑ Les misérables (2012) at the imdb
