Category: Culture/Art gt; gt; Dance
Analysis:
List of creative groups of "Notre Dame de Paris"
Original work: Victor Hugo
Screenwriter: Luc Plamondont (genius! His stuff is all excellent!)
Composer: Richard Cocciante (even more genius! French modern classic Most of the musicals come from his collaboration with the genius above)
French lyrics: Luc Plamondon
Director: Gilles Maheuk
Choreography: Martino Muller<. /p>
Cast list of "Notre Dame de Paris"
Helene Segara as E*** eralda (Helene only played the role once, I am glad to buy this version)
Daniel Lavoie as Frollo
Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire (This person is a person with a strong desire to perform, very good! I like it!)
Garou as Quasimodo (Gahu He sacrificed a lot for this drama and spoiled himself enough)
Patrick Fiori as Phoebus
Luck Mervil as Clopin
Julie Zenatti as Fleur. -De-Lys
Featured articles:
1. Unique musicals,
Most of today’s famous musicals are produced on Broadway in New York and the West End in London. These plays are packaged by performing arts companies, so these plays also have the unique style characteristics and operation methods of Broadway and the West End. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is an exception. It is one of the few famous musicals that is world-famous but has not been influenced by Broadway and the West End. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was born in Paris, France, far away from New York and London, and was not influenced by Broadway and the West End. After the work was born, the entire process from packaging to production and marketing was completely handled by a French company, unlike "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon" which were born in France but were packaged and packaged by a company in London's West End. operation. Therefore, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" has almost no traces of Broadway or London's West End, and people who have watched the show often have a different feeling.
2. Separation of dancing roles and singing roles.
A major feature of "Notre Dame de Paris" is the separation of dancing and singing, that is, the dancing actors do not sing. , and the singing actors don’t dance. This doesn’t quite fit with how most musicals today handle singing and dancing. In musicals, the roles of dancers and singers will be assigned more emphasis, but there is basically no absolute separation. Singers will also dance with dancers, and dancers will also participate in singing (more in chorus), so It reflects the style of singing and dancing. "Notre Dame de Paris" completely separates the two. All songs in the entire show are sung by the seven main actors. They do not participate in any dance when singing, and they are all dedicated, just like superstars under the spotlight. The dancers do not participate in the singing of the songs at all, in
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Completely separating dancing and singing allows both to be more devoted to their own performances and maximize their respective performances. There is no need to reduce the difficulty of the dance because of the singers, and there is no need to affect the quality of the voice because of the dancers. When the singers express their emotions with their voices, the dancers on the side devote themselves to expressing the complex emotional entanglements with their bodies. Take Esmeralda's appearance as an example. When she sang "Gypsy Girl (Bohemia Girl)", the dancers next to her started dancing enthusiastically and cheerfully. This kind of dancing is more exciting than singing. It can express her inner unrestrained thoughts. And when Phoebus sang the song "Heartbreak", the four male dancers beside him danced with only their backs exposed, making people feel his dark heart and painful choices.
In "Notre Dame de Paris", the singers use concrete lyrics to express emotions, and the dancers use abstract movements to express emotions. The singers and dancers express both inner and outer emotions on the same stage. in, figurative and abstract.
In terms of dance movements, the choreographer also gives the dancers a lot of freedom, and some passages clearly contain free expression. At the same time, the dancers also used props such as railings and sticks when dancing, reflecting the dual effects of realism and freehand brushwork.
3. A purely popular interpretation,
In terms of singing method, "Notre Dame de Paris" completely uses pop singing methods and does not incorporate any bel canto singing method. In terms of musical instruments, "Notre Dame de Paris" also uses all electroacoustic instruments and not a single orchestral instrument. Both illustrate "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"'s pursuit of pure pop style. In most other musicals, bel canto singing is more or less integrated, and the accompaniment instruments are mostly orchestral instruments, or some rock electroacoustic instruments are added, and pure pop instruments are rarely seen
4. Unique singing arrangement,
In "Notre Dame de Paris", there is a special emphasis on solo singing. Most of the 50 pieces of music in the whole performance are solo singing. You sing and I come on stage. One song after another, with few duets. The chorus only appears in a few places, such as at the end, and it uses a pre-recorded background chorus. Since there are no live actors involved, even if you hear the chorus, it lacks the realism of the chorus. In most musicals, in order to better express the ups and downs of the plot and the rich sound levels, solos, duets and choruses are generally arranged reasonably, and there is no excessive emphasis on solo singing, nor too much emphasis on duets. Or chorus. "Notre Dame de Paris"'s preference for solo singing will make people feel that the sound level is not rich enough and the form is slightly monotonous.
The main reason for this situation is the complete separation of dancing roles and singing roles. Since the dancing characters do not participate in singing, all the singing parts of the play fall on the seven main characters. When these seven people are all together in the play, there are very few, and it is even more difficult to sing and chorus together. . Fortunately, every song in the play is very nice, which somewhat makes up for the simplicity of the singing form.
Unique music creation techniques,
There are 50 pieces of music in "Notre Dame de Paris". The composer writes each song independently and rarely pursues the same musical material between songs. Except for a few songs that are completely repeated, almost all the songs are completely new creations. Therefore, it is difficult for you to find the connection between songs in music, and you will have the feeling of a live concert when listening. If there are no lyrics prompts when watching, you can easily feel that this is a French pop music selection album rather than a musical when you close your eyes. To put it professionally, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" does not adopt the method of changing and developing thematic music materials used in most musicals.
This approach of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is different from the creative approach of most musicals.
Nowadays, most musicals still use the method of changing the theme materials: the composer changes several theme music materials in different characters and storylines, so that they run through the entire play, making people feel that there is some music. The fragments will always linger in my ears. This technique is very obvious in the musical "Les Misérables". In "Les Miserables", the truly new music only accounts for one-third of the music of the whole play, and the music of the whole play is based on this one-third of the music. Materials are formed by changing and extending them. When I hear familiar musical themes from time to time, I feel familiar and deepen the impression of the characters and storyline.
In the creation of musicals, the principle of unity of opposites is extremely important, that is, there must be continuous changes in music and a unified response to music. If there are too many changes, it will give people a sense of uncertainty; if there are too many uniformities, it will inevitably make people feel bored. The creative technique of "Notre Dame de Paris" gives people the impression that there is plenty of change but a relative lack of unity. Of course, there is also this possibility: the composer is very confident in his melody writing and can ensure that every song is beautiful and beautiful. However, if he is allowed to use the method of changing the theme material, it will actually affect his free creation of the songs, and the writing will be ineffective. It is neither free nor graceful.
5. Use recording instead of accompaniment.
There is no live accompaniment in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", which is also rare. In musicals on Broadway and in London's West End, there is basically live accompaniment by a band. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" plays a pre-recorded soundtrack. This approach caused controversy among many people at the beginning, because people felt that the recording would appear rigid and lifeless, similar to the feeling of lip-synching by celebrities today. But it turns out that this does not affect the actual effect. The most important reason is that the music of "Notre Dame de Paris" is all played by electroacoustic instruments. For electroacoustic instruments, the difference between recording and live performance is not big. Moreover, there is no place in the play where the music rhythm needs to be loose, so it can be recorded in advance and played tens of thousands of times with the same rhythm. Of course, the most important thing is probably to save money. It used to require many people to perform live, but now it only needs one tape. As a long-term performance, this method can save a lot of money.
Another special feature is the use of ear-hung microphones. The actors hang the microphones by their mouths and expose them to the audience. This type of ear-hung microphones are often used on singers who sing and dance wildly. In most musicals, microphones are often hidden in invisible places such as hair and beards, commonly known as hidden microphones, because this can make you feel more like an actor rather than a singer. This approach of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" really surprised many people. When each singer stands on the stage with an ear-hung microphone and sings loudly, along with the dancers' dance and lighting, it feels like a concert by a singing and dancing superstar. It has a very visual sense of liveness, but Relatively speaking, it lacks some drama.
6. High-altitude stunts are full of charm.
The high-altitude stunts in the play are also very amazing. For example, when Quasimodo poured out his inner love to his beloved big clock, three big clocks suddenly fell from the sky. Inside each clock was a stuntman, who played the role of a pendulum swinging hard and hitting the big clock. Make a soul-stirring sound. Watching the stuntman hanging inside the big clock, performing various actions, accompanied by the huge bell, coupled with Quasimodo's warm and almost roaring voice, is definitely a touching scene. There are also scenes of Esmeralda being hanged and Quasimodo's performance of four dancers hanging on a tightrope before his death, both of which left a deep impression on people. It can be said that this is partly due to the shock brought by high-altitude stunts. The performers of these movements are not something that ordinary people can do. Many of them are athletes or acrobats. Among them are the seven-member troupe of lt; high kinetic energy (YAMAKASI) gt, who are famous for their dance stunts. , the famous film director Lu Besson once made the movie "Corporate Warriors" based on the superb stunt performances of the seven of them, which had a great response among European teenagers.
7. Abstract scenery:
The scenery of "Notre Dame de Paris" is simple and impactful. At the beginning of the play, the audience was presented with a large wall made of dozens of foam panels, plus a few large columns, which formed Notre Dame de Paris. Against the backdrop of the lights, it presented a mysterious and dark appearance. atmosphere. This design obviously only reveals a very small part of Notre Dame de Paris, which people cannot understand immediately, but can give people more imagination. Most musicals on Broadway and London's West End place more emphasis on simulation when it comes to props. It's immediately obvious that compared to them, the set design of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is much more abstract.
During the 3-hour performance, this tall and mighty wall always stood on the stage. Since the height and width of the stage were completely occupied by the wall, it was no longer convenient to install it on the vertical plane. There were so many sets and props that throughout the play, a large open space was kept in front of the big wall so that the singers and dancers would have ample stage to perform. This design makes it possible to have only actors on the stage most of the time, without other scenery and props, giving people the effect of a live concert.
8. A unique and good play:
Such a unique play is naturally more likely to attract attention from all aspects. Like most famous musicals, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" suffered a lot of criticism after its birth. For example, the "London Express" commented: A few ugly cement pillars and a wall to represent the beautiful Notre Dame de Paris are really substandard. The Telegraph Daily commented that the music was too noisy and the actors only focused on their voices rather than their performances. The Times commented that the arrangement of the songs seemed messy and without layers, etc. Of course, there are far more comments that praise and praise than criticize.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" embodies its pursuit of novelty and difference in every aspect, and seems to show the world that this is not a Broadway or West End musical, but a completely new musical. A musical made by the French themselves.