rpf is fine

ahh i love this question, thank you!!! 🫶 i'll list my top 5 faves!

1.colm wilkinson & terrence mann. they'll probably always be my favorite duo. it may be a basic answer but the obc was the first recording i listened to besides the movie soundtrack and i just fell in love with their dynamic (even just through audio!). i had the chance to watch the proshot at the new york public library last year and oh my god i can't begin to describe how good they are. if i lived in nyc i'd be going at least once a month to rewatch.

2. john owen-jones & earl carpenter. i think they were the first full bootleg i watched since there was one easily accessible on youtube for the longest time. it's funny, i wasn't that crazy about earl's javert at first, but he's really grown on me and is now one of my favorites. and i think joj is hands down one of the best to ever play jvj.

3. peter lockyer & jeremy secomb. unfortunately i haven't seen a ton of clips of them, but i absolutely love their vibe together. i would probably love jeremy with anyone though tbh, but lockyer has such a nice voice so that's a bonus. plus, they gave us a valvert kiss.

4. alfie boe & michael ball. a duo that REALLY took time to grow on me. they're not my favorite singing-wise, but they have such great chemistry! michael is such a pathetic javert and alfie has a good amount of quiet rage simmering underneath.

5. colm wilkinson & philip quast. i mean, this is the most popular duo for a reason. i do think quast is a bit overrated, but i can't deny that he's an excellent javert, and colm is my favorite valjean of all time. i think if i were to suggest someone getting into les mis to watch any performance, it would be the 10th anniversary.

special mentions:

-colm wilkinson & roger allam - i need to go to london to watch that proshot someday because im solely working off just audio and like 5 photos but i love roger's voice so much

-ramin karimloo & will swenson - not a fan of ramin's hyper aggressive valjean but they were a really gay valvert duo. definitely toxic yaoi vibes

-nick cartell & nick rehberger - i saw the us tour 3 times and they 100% had the best chemistry out of the duos i saw