Les Misérables in Concert

There are many recorded versions of Les Miserables. This review compares the 10th (1995) and 25th (2010) anniversary concerts. The 1995 concert featured a “Dream Cast”—most of whom had performed in the London or Broadway versions, and they include some of the most highly regarded singers associated with Les Miserables. Some of the 2010 cast (Samantha Barks, Earl Carpenter, Katie Hall, and Norman Lewis) were drawn from contemporary London productions; others had other significant singing experience. Whether this is "The Musical Event of a Lifetime" a matter of opinion. It is certainly a spectacular performance. In general, the two concerts are equally good; in casual listening, you may not be able to tell one from the other. At this time, Amazon ratings show identical 88% favorable results for the 1995, 2010, and 2020 concerts!) But some differences are notable.I watched these two concerts expecting to conclude which was better. In fact, the two are very similar. Both had the same producer, the same conductor, and backed up the soloists with a large choir and a large orchestra. There are slight differences in the contents of these concerts. Neither one reproduces the full musical. Some singers have such similar voices and deliveries that it is difficult, from only listening to their songs, to distinguish one concert from the other. Viewers may well differ on which concert they prefer.The 1995 DVD is a single double-sided disc. It has several features that are absent from the 2010 DVD. Most notably, in addition to optional English subtitles, it provides captions to describe what is happening on the screen. These are very helpful, even to those who know the story. The DVD also includes a fairly detailed synopsis of the story, a very brief biography of Victor Hugo, and thumbnail portraits and brief biographies of the major actors. As an encore performance actors who portrayed Jean Valjean in 17 different countries take turns singing “Do You Hear the People Sing,” and then join the full cast with a rendition of “One Day More.”The 2010 DVD reflects the planning that went into the 25th Anniversary Concert. The choreography, lighting, sound recording, and camera work are better than in the earlier concert. The DVD includes “A Whiz Through Miz” (a selective 5-minute montage of video and music clips from performances of Les Miserables over its first 25 years), and offers optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and several Asian languages. As an encore, the 2010 DVD offers brief comments from producer Cameron Mackintosh, and authors Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. After the original 1985 cast comes onstage, Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones, Simon Bowman, and Alfie Boe sing, “Bring Him Home,” and the principals of the 1985 cast sing, “One Day More.” The production concludes with a procession of over 200 students singing, “Do You Hear the People Sing?”VALJEANColm Wilkinson (1995) is an award-winning singer, the original and, some think, the best Valjean. He has a powerful voice, but does not always employ it; his performance emphasizes emotional expression. Alfie Boe (2010) tends to sing with more power than Wilkinson. Boe had once trained for the opera, and it shows. He was 37 when this concert was recorded—roughly 20 years younger than Valjean in his final years. Some make-up would have obscured this age discrepancy.JAVERTPhilip Quast (1995) won several awards over his long stage career, He is best known for playing Javert, and his long hair and sideburns resemble Hugo’s character. Norman Lewis (2010) had sung in a wide variety of musicals for nearly 20 years. Quast and Lewis are both very capable singers.FANTINEBy the time they appeared in these concerts, both Ruthie Henshall (1995) and Lea Salonga (2010) had extensive experience in musical theatre. Both give excellent portrayals of Fantine, although Henshall, fitted with a blonde wig, looks more like the character in the novel.THENARDIERHugo’s Thenardier is extremely sleazy and sinister. In the musical, M. Thenardier is a somewhat comical figure. Perhaps the authors felt the need for some comic relief from the generally dark story line. Alun Armstrong (1995), a very versatile performer, had a long career in various roles. He sings more musically than Matt Lucas (2010), his costume and make-up are more appropriate, and he manages to project an image that is alternately threatening and comical.Mme THENARDIERJenny Galloway (1995 and 2010) had this role in both concerts. Although much of her career was as a television actress, she also possesses musical talent. Physically, she strongly resembles Hugo's character.EPONINELea Salonga (1995) was an established star when she sang this role. Samantha Barks (2010), who turned 20 just a day or so before the concert, had portrayed Eponine in London for just a few months. “On My Own” is one of the best songs in the musical. It demands a wide range of emotions, tempos, registers, and dynamics. If a singer has any weaknesses, this number will disclose them. Both Salonga and Barks deliver very strong performances.MARIUSIt is in this role that the two concerts are most noticeably different. Michael Ball (1995), one of the most popular singers in the cast, demonstrates talent in both singing and acting, although he had little or no training as a singer. Ball was 33 when the 1995 version was recorded. Nick Jonas' (2010) abilities are diverse. In addition to singing, he is a song writer, and producer, and plays piano, guitar, and drums. But most of his previous work had been on music videos. He had briefly performed the role of Marius in the West End several months earlier, but he had turned 18 only weeks before the 2010 concert. His rendering of “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” demonstrates musical taste, and a stronger voice than he shows in most of his other numbers. He suffers when his voice is juxtaposed with those of the other lead singers in the 2010 concert; but, strangely, he often seems to be holding back.COSETTEJudy Kuhn (1995) and Katie Hall (2010) have similar singing styles. Kuhn had performed in various musical roles (including Cosette in the Broadway cast), and had received numerous award nominations. Katie Hall had played the role of Cosette in the West End and on tour, but she was a last minute selection for the 2010 concert, and had very limited time to rehearse with other cast members. Kuhn, a 37-year-old brunette, does not look like Cosette. At 20, Hall does, and she has marvelously expressive facial features—more than Kuhn, she both sings and acts the part. In 2010, Hall lacked Kuhn’s experience, but she has subsequently had important roles in Phantom of the Opera (Christine), West Side Story (Maria), Sweeny Todd (Johanna), and Les Miserables (Fantine). An occasional reviewer has commented unfavorably on the youth of Barks and Hall, but considering that they were portraying Eponine and Cosette, who were 16 years old, younger singers like Barks and Hall were perhaps the logical choice for these parts.ENJOLRASMichael Maguire (1995) won a Tony Award for his singing as Enjolras in Les Miserables on Broadway. In a long stage career, Ramin Karimloo (2010) has appeared four times in Les Miserables. Both men are very strong capable singers.The VENUES1995: Royal Albert Hall (RAH) has a capacity of roughly 5,000. In the 1995 concert, singers awaiting their cues were seated on stage behind those actually singing, an arrangement that resembles a high school talent show. Although lighting and camera angles tend to obscure this, it can be distracting (as when, during “Beggars at the Feast,” we see Wilkinson in the background quenching his thirst with a bottle of water). In the RAH concert, actors apparently had to sing more or less directly into relatively large microphones which occasionally obstruct, or cast shadows on actors' faces. There were a few problems with lighting and sound. Many close-ups were shot from below the performers; and sometimes there is a wide-angle view when a close-up would have been better. There were several large screens on which were projected images of the action on the stage, and of certain events as portrayed in West End stage performances. Projected images of the on-stage barricade battle were more evocative than the elaborate light effects employed in the 2010 concert.2010: The 25th anniversary concert took place in the massive O2 arena. Its normal capacity is 20,000—even with some space taken up by the concert stage, the capacity must have been over 12,000 (and there were two performances on that day). For this event, more thought was evidently given to lighting and sound. Smaller microphones were used, which are seldom noticeable. Only those who are actually performing appear on the stage. The credits list 18 lighting technicians. And the 20 camera operators provided multiple views, which have been well edited. The large screen behind the choir displays enlarged pictures of the actors on the stage—helpful for the live audience, less so for viewers of the digital version.THE NOVEL COMPARED WITH THE MUSICALLes Miserables is a remarkably long and complex book. In presenting Hugo’s story with effective music in a relatively smooth production, the musical is a major artistic achievement. The musical necessarily omits many of the details but captures the major developments in the story.The most important theme in the novel and the musical is the conflict between Valjean and Javert, between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Their respective soliloquies reflect this conflict and express the superiority of the spirit of the law. In the novel, his experience of prison and parole leave Valjean with a "hatred of human law." In his soliloquy near the beginning of the musical, Valjean renounces the law, tears up his yellow passport, and assumes a new identity. Like Javert’s soliloquy near the end of the musical (“The world I have known is lost in shadow”), Hugo’s narrative describes Javert’s consternation: “There was a revelation of feeling entirely distinct from the declarations of the law. His only standard hitherto.” “So is there something more than duty?” Hugo suggests that Valjean, like all men, possesses a “divine element, . . . which evil can never entirely extinguish.” Viewers of the concert will have trouble seeing Valjean as an evil man. In the novel, after losing her job in Valjean’s factory, Fantine feels compelled to sell not only her body, but also her hair and her teeth. In the musical, she sings about her abortive affair with Tholomyes in which Cosette was conceived. Although he is too late to save Fantine, Valjean demonstrates his essential goodness by protecting Cosette.There were revolutions in France in 1789, 1830, 1832, and 1848. Why did Hugo choose to write about that in 1832—the least successful and least significant of these? Some of the musical’s lyrics suggest that the 1832 revolution was a failure: Grantaire asks, “Will the world remember you when you fall?” The Turning women sing,”Nothing changes, nothing ever can.” And Marius laments, “My friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for.” But Hugo’s view was different . The insurgents were seeking to replace the monarchy with a democracy; this, they believed, would lead to the end of despotism in the world. To Hugo, it did not matter that they did not succeed. “Even when they fail, they are venerable, and it is perhaps in failure that they have the greatest majesty.” The words in “Do You Hear the People Sing” express Hugo’s optimism: “Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you want to see?” “It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes.” In the novel, Enjolras makes a speech predicting that, in the 20th century, all the world’s problems will have been solved—needless to say, this was omitted from the musical.The Thenardier family are almost entirely absent from some retellings of the story. But Hugo must have considered them important—he entitled his novel, Les Miserables, a term he applies only to the Thenardier family. In the musical, Thenardier is converted into a sort of buffoon—a source of comic relief in this generally tragic story. Among the miserables, Hugo perceives "the infamous," and "the unfortunate." He clearly sees M. and Mme. Thenardier as the infamous. They “were becoming steeped more and more thoroughly in intensifying viciousness.” Their children, victims of their parents' depravity, are the unfortunate. When “moral light dies out within; . . . man meets the weakness of woman and childhood and compels them to disgraceful uses.” Marius considers Eponine and her sister sad creatures “for whom . . . there is nothing more in this world, neither liberty, nor virtue, nor responsibility.”But Eponine is so complex that the musical can scarcely begin to capture her character. She and Cosette are almost exactly the same age; the difference in their situations can be attributed to their contrasting upbringing. Although the actresses cast in this role are usually attractive, Hugo describes Eponine’s appearance as appalling, enough to “make people shudder or weep.” But, as she tells Marius, “We weren’t always what we are now.” Her face still bears “a remnant of beauty.” She is literate and is excited by books. Like Cosette, she primps in front of a mirror. Unlike Cosette, she knows her way around Paris, attends the theatre (complaining that the audience included "coarse people," and some who "smell bad"), and sings love songs. She sometimes sleeps in ditches, apparently to avoid her father, who occasionally beats her. The musical focuses on her unrequited love of Marius, who regards her only as a friend (in the novel, she is his neighbor, but not his friend). But her significance lies in how she responds to this situation. She doesn’t succumb to depression. She doesn’t try to keep Marius and Cosette separated, and she doesn’t attempt any hostile action against Cosette. In fact, she leads Marius to Cosette’s home, telling him along the way to keep his distance from her because, “It won’t do for a fine young man like you to be seen with a woman like me.” (In the musical she sings, “He was never mine to lose.”) At this time, Eponine had been living alone on the street and sleeping rough, but Hugo says, “Strangely, she had become more impoverished and more beautiful.” To him, beauty was more than skin deep. On three occasions, Eponine acts to protect Cosette and Valjean; the musical shows only one. In the novel, this scene is more dramatic, as Eponine causes six heavily armed members of her father’s gang to back down, suspecting the supernatural when confronted by a skinny unarmed teenage girl. Writing of Eponine’s final hours, Hugo perhaps thought of Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame—an extremely ugly person who protects, and wishes to be united in death with, an attractive person of the opposite sex. But Eponine is not really a reincarnation of Quasimodo. The musical departs from Hugo’s account of how Eponine lures Marius to the barricade to die—thinking if she can’t have him, no one will. Hugo’s account does not mesh with what he has previously written about Eponine, nor with the expectations of the insurgents at the barricade. In the musical Eponine is wounded en route to the barricade. In the novel (and in the 2012 film), Eponine dies after deliberately taking the bullet intended for Marius.The musical does fairly well in depicting Marius—a dropout who found legal work boring and preferred to spend time in contemplation. His political philosophy is rather inchoate and is overwhelmed by his infatuation with Cosette. But his failure to work and earn money make it impossible for him to marry Cosette, or to follow her to England. He has taken a “sacred oath” to die if he cannot be with her. Hugo tries to portray Marius as a hero, but his actions at the barricade reflect this death wish rather than heroism. There is a sense in which Nick Jonas’ somewhat quiet, hesitant singing is better suited to this character than Michael Ball’s powerful and confident voice.Hugo could have done more to develop Cosette’s character. But, in dealing with Cosette, he misses obvious opportunities. When Valjean and Cosette visit the Thenardier’s tenement, Cosette, incredibly, fails to recognize Thenardier. What would Cosette and Eponine, childhood adversaries, say if they ever talked to each other as grownups? What would Cosette say if she learned that, it was Eponine who brought Marius to Cosette's house, and Eponine who saved his life at the barricade? Evidently anticipating such questions from readers, Hugo concocts flimsy explanations for the absence of these seemingly inevitable conversations. Hugo leaves us with a Cosette who is almost completely disengaged from the real world, while Eponine is almost completely engaged in it. Though limited by Hugo’s narrative, the musical does what it can with Cosette, but fails to give her any show-stopping songs.In Hugo’s account, when Valjean dies, “his white face looked up toward heaven” and “some mighty angel was standing, with outstretched wings, waiting for the soul.” The scene is about Marius and Cosette saying farewell to Valjean. The musical simply replaces the “mighty angel” with two angelic beings (Fantine, and Eponine) who, together with Valjean, made possible a happy future for Cosette and Marius. Perhaps Hugo would approve.

As we speak, it is a month before the movie is due to come out in theaters. I have been waiting for this for close to my entire life and rehashing the DVD is the only thing keeping me going right now. So: this performance was wonderful, pretty much every minute. The performance itself can't really be compared to the 10th Anniversary; it's a different entity. Some pieces were cut, some were added, a few lyrics were changed. The orchestra had a very different sound, most noticeably in Javert's Soliloquy where the melody as carried by the strings seemed to be completely lost. I don't know if that was deliberate or a flaw in the recording. But this is Les Mis, anyway, and it couldn't be bad no matter how hard it tried. The biggest difference between this and 10th is that this one had a set--just one, but used very creatively--and there was some acting, with a few small props, not just people standing at a microphone singing at each other. The overall effect was spellbinding and I did have tears in my eyes a few times (just the opening of "At the End of the Day" can do it for me!).As for the singing:Alfie Boe, a youngish operatic tenor, was not what we are used to vocally, but in a very nice way. Certainly he has that appropriately noble and saintly look.Lea Salonga did well as Fantine, but sounded so different from when she played Eponine--her voice then was so silvery and pristine where now it is richer, more vibrato. I wouldn't say she was better than and worse now, she has just developed in a rather different direction.Norm Lewis makes Philip Quast look like somebody's kindly old grandpa. His performance is super-intense, disturbed, very human. The down-through-the-floor voice helps.Enough has been said about poor Nick Jonas. I will add that I didn't think he was that bad. His singing was adequate, except his inability to sustain a note when required, and sometimes (like EC at ET) was better than adequate. It was his frozen pose and expression that were ridiculous. If you like close your eyes or turn off the screen or something it helps.Katie Hall I thought had the loveliest soprano I have ever heard, sweet and yearning, not shrill for one second ever. I heard she was an understudy? I don't know who they could've had lined up that was better.Samantha Barks was a showstopper. I'm happy she got the part in the movie. I did find her a tiny bit overpowering and am curious to see how that translates to the screen, especially after having heard Anne Hathaway's very subdued "I Dreamed a Dream."Who am I missing? The Thenardiers were loveably contemptible. Monsieur was considerably slimier than the last one and funnier too. Gavroche was the best I've seen and heard, outrageously cheeky. This kid is like the definition of Hugo's little gamin. There was a woman in the ensemble who I bet was related to him. They had a cute moment.Other great moments: Fantine walking off literally into the light and turning to watch young Cosette as they cross paths. Enjolras' wordless exchange with Grantaire, hinting at the complicated relationship that till now the musical ignored. Cosette's "I'm awake..." And the extras. "Bring Him Home" with Colm Wilkinson cannot be described in human terms. The wonderful, adorable and irreplaceable Michael Ball: "My place is here..." Throughout the whole segment, I laughed and cried--frequently at the same time--and I wasn't the only one either; the camera stops several times on women in the audience who are smiling from ear to ear with mascara all over their faces.Would I recommend this? Yeah, I don't know, I have to think about it. Just kidding. Buy it! Buy the 10th Anniversary too. Then buy the Complete Symphonic Recording, just to compare! And the original Broadway soundtrack, just for fun!And with that I would like to thank Amazon for giving me the chance to yak on and on about one of my favorite subjects, even if no one ever reads this.