Appreciation of the musical "Les Misérables"

French Claude Schoenberg's musical of the same name adapted from the French writer Hugo's masterpiece "Les Misérables" has been released since its release in 1985. This musical is one of the four major musicals in the world, along with his own musical "Miss Saigon" and British Andrew Webber's "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera". I haven't found the discs of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon", so I haven't watched them, but judging from "Les Misérables" and "Cats", "Cats" blends a variety of musical elements: jazz, blues, metal, etc. etc.; most of the soundtracks of "Les Misérables" are based on classical music, and I am a lover of classical music, so I prefer "Les Misérables". Unfortunately, "Les Misérables" has entered the off-season and is no longer on Broadway. It is really a pity that we cannot experience this classic play live. In addition to watching the 10th anniversary CD of the show's global tour in class, I watched it completely twice in my spare time. I was deeply shocked every time I watched this musical. Although I have not read Victor Hugo's original work, this musical impacted me visually and aurally, allowing me to deeply understand what was reflected in the original work. Now I will talk about my feelings about some of the music clips that impressed me the most.

The first music clip that touched me was "At the End of the Day", which describes a female worker named Fantine in the factory. Her beauty is jealous of other female workers; when they When he saw Fantine being frivolous and disobedient to the boss, and when he learned that Fantine had an illegitimate daughter who was dependent on someone else, he used this as an excuse to encourage the factory owner to fire her. The tempo of this piece is very fast, and the actors have many words, but the same melody and the same rhythm show different feelings when performed by two types of people. One type of people are the leading female workers. Each of them speaks a sentence, and the lyrics pop out of their mouths like a barrage of firecrackers, as if they want to eat Fantine in one bite. The contempt and contempt revealed in their words are shocking. I can't help feeling disgusted with them. And the arrangement of several of them singing and harmonizing with the female workers who were following suit - a solo and a chorus, clearly exposed the eagerness of the female workers to drive away Fantine. Another type of person is the lonely Fantine. Although it is still the same melody and the same rhythm, the actor's slightly weeping singing voice and aggrieved and helpless expression show Fantine's lonely and helpless dilemma. Fantine was unable to argue a few words, but was suppressed by more and louder unreasonable accusations from the female workers. The same fast pace, when applied to Fantine, is not so much showing her powerful rebuttal as it is showing her struggling to seize the little breathing space to rebut when the female workers bully the few. With the factory owner's words "On your way! (Get out now)", Fantine was helplessly kicked out of the factory, and she also lost her source of life.

The second music clip that moved me was "Castle on a Cloud", which describes Cosette who has been fostered in the home of the Thenardiers for 5 years and has been subjected to inhuman abuse all day long; but This evil-hearted couple loves their two daughters very much. Poor Cosette fantasized about being in a castle in the clouds, where no one would yell at her or make her do hard labor. This ethereal piece appeared after a piece of "heavy" music, and the whole scene suddenly fell silent, with only the symphony orchestra playing a weak prelude, and then Cosette, dressed in dirty rags, sang this ethereal song. I have to mention Cosette's expression here: her red and swollen eyes, dusty cheeks and nose make people feel affectionate. She sang "There is a castle on a cloud, I like to go there in my sleep..." and looked longingly into the distance, as if she saw that there was such a castle in the clouds that could free her from the endless hard work now, and she could Live happily there. Suddenly, this beautiful melody was interrupted by the domineering singing of the landlady, and Cosette returned to the tragic reality, with a lot of hard work to do. As soon as Cosette made a plea, she was scolded back rudely, which further revealed the sad side of this song.

There are many "highlight" moments in this musical.

For example, "Do You Hear the People Sing" is a song that describes how after the street boy Gavroche brought the news of General Lamarck's death, everyone, led by Nzola, took to the streets to win people's support. This is also the music. The most exciting music in the play, here and at the end, brings the atmosphere to a climax when Aran from 17 countries sings this song together; for example, the tavern owner's "Master of the House" has a sense of comedy. The rhythm of "In My Life" can't help but make people sway to the rhythm; for example, "In My Life" in which Cosette, Marius, and Eponine express their heartfelt feelings to each other. The sincere feelings between them moved me deeply; such as Eponine "On My Own", which talks about the pain of lovesickness; for example, the tear-jerking "A Little Fall of Rain", which Eponin sang duet with Marius in Marius's arms when he died for the revolution... These songs vividly portray the characters of each individual. The vivid images seem to be standing alive in front of the audience: beloved, hateful, disdainful, sympathetic... all of which constitute this classic musical.

"Les Misérables"

The classic musical "Les Misérables" is adapted from Hugo's literary masterpiece of the same name. The originator of the musical "Les Misérables" - the French Alain Bouberry and Michel Schoenberg was an avid fan of musicals. In 1971, the two watched Weber's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" in New York and came up with the idea of ??creating an epic-style musical. The two drew considerable inspiration from Weber's classic musicals "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita", making it both epic and magnificent, yet also full of pop culture essence. In 1978, Bobley and Schoenberg "miraculously" completed this magnificent project in Paris.

In the autumn of 1980, the two-hour musical "Les Misérables" premiered at the Paris Arena. Incredibly, it was shoehorned in between a boxing show and a circus act, and ended in its sixteenth week. While lamenting, Mackintosh, the famous British show producer who had successfully packaged "Cats" on the musical stage, found Bobley and Schoenberg and determined to move "Les Misérables" to the "Sing and Dance Capital of the World" —Broadway. The three hit it off immediately, and six years later, the repackaged "Les Misérables" landed on Broadway and officially entered the international stage.

As a large-scale musical, "Les Miserables" employs a total of 421 actors and 1,633 employees behind the scenes. The reason why the play has been running for 16 consecutive years is not only the timeless, real and touching story and theme, but also the professionalism of the actors, the moving music and the changing scenes. For example, on the eve of the war, the protagonist Jean Valjean prays to God to bless his adopted daughter Cosette and her lover Marius sings a solo "Let me die, let him live". The sincerity of his expression and the beauty of the melody are unforgettable; , the director of "Les Misérables" used a large turntable for the first time to realistically present the "trenches" piled up by revolutionary youths and Parisian citizens, plus the passionate military music and gunpowder-filled gunfire and explosions. , making the audience feel as if they are actually there, achieving a shocking experience that is more real than a movie.