Les Miserables Original London Cast
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Free Music Notes for Les Miserables Original London Cast
Free Music Review: Pros and Cons of the Original London Cast
Hit: 5 Stars
The Original London Cast is an essential addition to any Les Mis fan's collection, not only for its beautiful music but also to get a sense of how the show has evolved over time. If you have seen the show you might notice a few significant differences between this album and the other three recordings. The tempo is slower on this album, but I believe this does not really harm any of the songs except Confrontation. It is not as intense as I like it to be. Some of the lyrics are also different, most noticeably in the last verse of Javert's song, Stars. The song is still good, but the current lyrics are superior. Drink With Me is also shorter on the London Album. They added some excellent lyrics, sung wonderfully by Anthony Crivello on the Broadway album.
This album also features two songs that were removed from the play, Little People and I Saw Him Once. I am not a big fan of the former but I Saw Him Once is sung beautifully by Rebecca Caine.
Cast Review:
Colm Wilkinson- The definitive Jan Val Jean. An excellent performance all around, just as good as the Broadway Album and better than the 10th Anniversary Concert. My favorite rendition of Bring Him Home.
Roger Allam- Javert. Allam sounds exactly how I would imagine Javert would sound. His singing voice is not as good as Terrence Mann or the almighty Philip Quast, but he suits the part better than the former.
Patti LuPone- My favorite Fantine. It seems like Fantine is a difficult part to cast because the only other Fantine that didn't make me cringe or fall asleep was Ruthie Henshall. In my humble opinion LuPone has a superior voice, but that all boils down to taste.
Michael Ball- the definitive Marius, and one of the more consistent performers in the show. He appears in three out of the four recordings and I must say they are equally good.
Thenardier- Alun Armstrong. My favorite Thenardier. His Cockney accent gives the character a good sense of humor.
Rebecca Caine's beautiful soprano voice and her rendition of I Saw Him Once makes her my favorite Cosette.
Francis Ruffelle's Eponine takes some time to get used to. Her accent can be a little jarring. Over time I got used to her and she is now my favorite.
David Burt as Enjolras is probably my biggest regret, given that he is one of my favorite characters. He is not a bad singer, but his voice is nasal and not very powerful. Anthony Warlow and Michael Maguire are so much better.
The music is not as synthesized on this album as the Broadway Album, which I like. I highly recommend this version of Les Mis.
Free Music Review: Superior to the Broadway Cast -- sort of.
Hit: 5 Stars
I'd owned the Original Broadway Cast of Les Miserables for over a year before I bought the London Cast. What finally convinced me to buy the London Cast was the casting -- many of Broadway and the West End's top stars are on this recording (though this musical is what most of them owe their success to).
We can look back in hindsight to the early 80's and see the spectacular cast: Patti LuPone (Eva in Evita, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd), Colm Wilkinson (Phantom in Phantom of the Opera), Michael Ball (Count Fosco in Woman in White, Alex in Aspects of Love), and Rebecca Caine (Christine in Phantom of the Opera) all stand out. There is nothing like hearing Caine's lush, effortless, crystalline soprano on the song only found on the London recording, "I Saw Him Once." For no other reason than for that additional song, this recording is worth purcashing, even if you already own the Broadway Cast. Not that all of the cast is superior to the Broadway version -- the definitive performances of some of the supporting roles (Enroljas, the Thenardiers, and I also prefer Terrence Mann's Javert) come from that recording. The main supporting roles, however, truly outshine their alternate cast on this one (although Judy Kuhn as Cosette is fantastic!).
The orchestrations are definitely inferior to the Broadway version, however. Many are taken at a slower tempo and played with less gusto. This is particularly evident in "Red and Black," if my memory serves me correctly. Some of the lyrics are sung in an odd way by the man playing Enroljas, as if he's overdramatizing, but that's only one track of thirty-odd tracks. Another minor irritation: Cosette's songs are cut short and placed into a five minute "love montage" which can be found in their full versions on the Broadway cast with the also-great Judy Kuhn.
This is the show that skyrocketed some of these performers to stardom -- Ball, Caine, Wilkinson -- and cemented others' places: LuPone, for example. It's a superb cast recording of one of the greatest musicals in history.
Buy it.
Free Music Review: Back to the source
Hit: 5 Stars
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.
HOWEVER, 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 please '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 !
Free Music Review: This is, seriously, the best
Hit: 5 Stars
I got to know this version of Les Miz the first, and while the Broadway version is still quite good, nothing really compares to the London version.
Here's why:
while some complain that it's too slow, I think the overall result is a precision in the conducting that isn't present in the Broadway version. Colm Wilkinson (who is superb on everything) better showcases his voice, and articulates much better, in my opinion, on the OLC. Fantine's songs sound less like dirges and wailings, and Marius and Cosette are much less shallow, in my opinion. Though Cosette's voice is, possibly, better on the Broadway version, there is much more character to her in the London cast version. Javert, while not perfect, certainly, is much better on the London version.
A note about Master of the House: I know that a lot of people hate the Cockney accent, I think it brings a certain dimension to the song, even though it is supposed to be French. Despite that, I think the Cockney brings out Thenardier's character, prefectly juxtaposing it with Valjeans, so, even though it's unnecessary, I rather like it. That's just my opinion.
Also, about Eponine: I hated Francis Ruffele's voice *at first*. Seriously, it's not as bad as people say, it just takes some getting used to. Even if it's not to the caliber of, say Colm Wilkinson's, it still has it's own certain charm. I do, think, however, that she is better on the London Cast Version.
Free Music Review: The Clear Winner
Hit: 5 Stars
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].