Following the world premiere run of the original French version, Herbert Kretzmer and James Fenton were given the task of adapting the material into English. This new version, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, opened on October 8, 1985, at the Barbican Arts Centre in London.
It premiered in Paris in 1980 but only for three months. Three years later, Cameron Mackintosh heard a recording of the concept album and decided to make an English-language musical. With the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mackintosh created the musical we know and love and staged it at the Barbican Centre in 1985.
The original Broadway production starred Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Terrence Mann as Javert, Randy Graff as Fantine, Frances Ruffelle as Eponine, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, and Donna Vivino as Young ...
Although consisting of more than 100,000 participants, the rebellion failed and was soon over as it lacked wider public support. The June Rebellion inspired French novelist Victor Hugo to write one of his most famous novels, Les Misérables, published in 1862.
While some the events in Les Miserables actually happened, the characters in the novel are fictional. The final conflict at the barricades in Les Miserables is based on the Paris Uprising of 1832, a short-lived rebellion that ended after only two days.
Why the Music in Les Misérables (2012) is Worse than you Thought
Who was the inspiration for Jean Valjean?
Valjean's character is loosely based on the life of Eugène François Vidocq, an ex-convict who became a successful businessman widely noted for his social engagement and philanthropy. Vidocq helped Hugo with his research for Claude Gueux and Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (The Last Day of a Condemned Man).
Following the world premiere run of the original French version, Herbert Kretzmer and James Fenton were given the task of adapting the material into English. This new version, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, opened on October 8, 1985, at the Barbican Arts Centre in London.
Grantaire is often drunk and is unconscious for the majority of the June Rebellion. Despite his pessimism, he eventually declares himself a believer in the Republic; he and Enjolras are executed by the National Guards after the barricade falls.
As has been the subject of much buzz surrounding the film, Les Misérables director Tom Hooper made the unconventional choice to record the movie's vocals on set (rather than the typical approach of recording in a studio a few months before production begins and having the actors lip-sync to a playback of the music).
Although set hundreds of years ago, its themes are universal; we still live in a world dogged by inequality, poverty and injustice. If all art is political, then Les Mis is a piece of theatre that wants to help you escape difficult times, but also make you question the present by looking at a long-lost past.
What do the words "les miserables" mean in English?
In English, the novel's title literally translates to "the miserable ones." However, the meaning in French is more specifically about the disenfranchised, which describes most of the main characters.
It is a musical best classified as a megamusical due to its lack of dialogue and European style. It could be classified as a pop opera rather than megamusical for this very reason, but it uses vocal techniques similar to musical theater and pop singers rather than operatic training despite its classical composition.
Major conflict Valjean struggles to transform himself from a thief into an honest man; over the years he struggles to stay a step ahead of the zealous police officer Javert and tries to raise his adopted daughter, Cosette.
The main theme of Les Miserables is social injustice. Many of the characters in the novel are victims of injustice who are unable to seek recompense through traditional channels. Jean Valjean, as a former convict, is scorned because of his mistakes.
Some of the most well-known are: “I Dreamed a Dream”, “One Day More”, “On My Own”, “Bring Him Home”, “Do You Hear the People Sing?”, “Who Am I?”, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, “Stars”, and “A Heart Full of Love”.
Originally a beautiful and naive girl, Fantine is eventually forced by circumstances to become a prostitute to support her daughter, losing her beauty and health until she finally dies of tuberculosis.
Enjolras is one of the more difficult roles to cast. He should be a natural leader oozing with charisma and have a very strong high baritone or a tenor voice. The original Enjolras won a Tony Award for his performance. Casting a true leader in this role is one way to ensure the character is believable.
Cosette (French pronunciation: [kɔzɛt]) is a fictional character in the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly.
How historically-correct are the events in Les Miserables? The story is historical fiction because it contains factual and historic events. Jean Maximilien Lamarque (1770–1832) was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of French Parliament.
Emma Oliveros The most miserable or tragic character in Les Miserables for me is Eponine. As soon as I read about her, my heart really felt sad about her. Like she was an innocent, poor one. I honestly forgot she was once evil to Cosette.
Born in a prison (his mother a fortune-teller and his father serving in the prison galleys), Javert sees himself as excluded from a society that "irrevocably closes its doors on two classes of men, those who attack it and those who guard it." He becomes a law officer on the basis of "an irrepressible hatred for that ...
Poor old Jean Valjean, of course, loved Cosette only as a father; but, as we noted earlier, into this fatherly love his lonely single status in life had introduced every other kind of love; he loved Cosette as his daughter, and he loved her as his mother, and he loved her as his sister; and, as he had never had either ...
What is Fantine forced to do after she loses her job?
Fantine is forced to sell her hair and then finally herself. However, when the time comes, she cannot bring herself to it and gets into a fight with the gentleman. Javert appears and arrests Fantine, showing her no mercy. Valjean sees her and recognizes that her misfortune is partially his doing.
