Various Artists - Les Miserables Original London Cast

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I agree with most of the reviews - the London staging is the very best of the English language versions of 'Les Miserables'. Forget the New York (Broadway) production, much too polished (sanitized ?). It pales in comparison. The American version benefits from greater sophistication but at the cost of the original book.

BUT, for the first production of this musical, go to the recording on the 'Anthology' (French) label, issued by FGL Productions (the complete 1980 version). It has the cast of the premier, with 'guest appearances' by some big names in yesterday's French popular music, Michel Sardou, Salvatore Adamo, and Michel Delpech. And a list of superb actor-sings, like Maurice Barrier (Valjean), Rose Laurens (Fantine), Yvan Dautin (Thenardier), and Richard Dewitte (Marius), the list is long.

Of course, it is all in French, but this IS a French musical, and this is what the composer, Claude-Michel Schonberg, and the librettists, Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, created. Here you have it, without embellishments added to fit 'Anglo-American' tastes. A much more raw interpretation, closer to Victor Hugo's very thick novel (interestingly written in France, and in England, when the author was in self-imposed exile). The words in the French production are quite different from the English-language versions. The recording on two cds comes without a text, but the actors enunciate perfectly. Every word is audible, if you understand the language. Great stuff !





July 6, 2008

Les Miserables Original London Cast

Beautiful Music, Beautiful Voices. I have thouroughly enjoyed it. We saw the show when it came to Atlanta several years ago and it also was wonderful.
NKG July 4, 2008

A huge disappointment

We have owned the Les Miserable music book for quite a while and play them on the piano ourselves. Some of those songs are so grand and emotional that I was looking for a great treat from the "Original London Cast". We also bought the Les Miz movie and loved Liam Neeson in it. After watching it, I was really excited to listen to the London CD. I should have saved my money and time.

The singing was like a high school musical -- Shallow, immature, Broadway Imitation voices; too rapid delivery; lacking in emotion and expression. Cosette's song, which should be a tear-jerking, plaintive plea sounded like a kindergarten kid rushing to get it over with. Jauvert's song should have been passionate and deeply emotional. Instead it had all of the emotional depth and expression of a junior high-school rock band's home-grown rant. Wait for someone to do it right. February 18, 2008

I'm biased toward the Broadway cast, but...

This isn't every single musical note from the show, but it's the full cast recording from the 1985 London version, spanning 2 discs. It includes more of the songs than the Broadway highlights album and is similarly priced.

This London production was the first English-language version of Les Mis and some songs have been tweaked for the later Broadway productions.

My first exposure to the wonderful music of Les Misérables was through the Broadway cast highlights CD, so I am a little biased toward that version (although this is the original).

This version is a little different from the Broadway version. "Who Am I?" is sung a little slower and seems more thoughtful. "A Heart Full Of Love" has differnt lyrics and is incorporated into a three-song "Love Montage".

This cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean (he also played that role on Broadway and in the Tenth Anniversary Concert), Roger Allam as Javert, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Rebecca Caine as Cosette, Michael Ball as Marius, Frances Ruffelle as Eponine, David Burt as Enjolras, and Alun Armstrong as Thénardier.

I prefer Terrence Mann's rendition of "Stars" (from the Broadway cast) to Roger Allam's version on this CD. I really do. Maybe it's because I'm used to that one.

And Thénardier has a strong British-type accent on this CD, so "Master Of The House" will sound a little weird if you're used to the American version.

The actress who plays Eponine in the London cast is the same one from the Broadway cast (Frances Ruffelle). But for the people who were annoyed by her whiney performance on the Broadway CD, she sounds a little better on this recording.

CONCLUSION:
This is a pretty good recording of Les Mis and is available for a reasonable price. The Complete Symphonic Recordings includes even MORE of the show's music, but the cast is different (no Colm Wilkinson!). If you are used to the Broadway (American) version, I'd recommend you stick with that (although the Broadway equivalent of this 2-disc recording is a lot more expensive). The Broadway highlights CD is cheaper, but has only about half of the songs.

I'd also recommend you check out the Tenth Anniversary Concert CD. It features an all-star cast of Les Mis alums (plucked from the London, Broadway, and other casts). The recording spans 2 discs, so it includes songs that the highlights CD doesn't (similar to this London recording), AND it's about the same price as the London disc or the highlights disc. If you're looking for more music than the highlights CD offers, but you're not familiar with the London cast and you don't want to shell out $30-something, the Tenth Anniversary Concert CD may be the way to go. January 25, 2008

The Clear Winner

Les Miserables is my absolute favorite musical, and this is my favorite recording. I have spent a long time with this recording, the original Broadway cast, the 10th Anniversary Cast Recording, and the Complete Symphonic Cast Recording, and this is still the one I put on first when I just want to hear the show. The only true exception is Javert, which is epitomized by Philip Quast on the CSR (his best recording) and the 10th Anniversary. This is also the only recording to include Patti LuPone, as Fantine. While she neither reprised her role on Broadway or ten years later in concert, I still prefer hers to any other recording; "I Dreamed a Dream" is my favorite song. This recording also restores the absolutely beautiful melody "I Saw Him Once," giving a much deeper understanding to the character of Cosette.

When people ask me what recording of Les Miserables to buy, I tell them to buy the Original London Cast for Fantine, Jean Valjean, Marius, Cosette, Eponine and to buy the Complete Symphonic Cast Recording for Javert and Enjolras, as well as for its completeness and for my favorite version of "One Day More" [which it should be noted is done in a completely different counterpoint for all four major english language recordings]. January 20, 2008

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