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Standout moments from "Les Mis" recordings, 1997-'98 (plus one more from '96 that I forgot)
My journey through the many professional and bootleg recordings of Les Mis continues.
Some of these standout moments are things I love, while others I have mixed feelings about, but they all stand out, whether they're big moments or blink-and-you'll-miss-it.
Again, thanks to @professorspork for inspiring me with her similar Wicked Punctum Project.
The surreal Prologue and âValjeanâs Soliloquy.â
This Swedish non-replica production is full of creative staging, but nowhere is it more creative than when Valjean is on parole. The scenes arenât performed realistically: instead, from âFreedom is mineâŠâ until âValjeanâs Soliloquy,â Valjean stands at center stage, singing his lines looking out at the audience, while the farmer, the laborers, the innkeeper, his wife, the Bishop, and the constables move and sing around him. Maybe itâs a slightly cold way of staging the scenes, but it vividly conveys Valjeanâs sense of isolation from the rest of humankind. I only might have liked the Bishop to actually interact with him. But he makes up for it by staying onstage during âValjeanâs Soliloquy,â and as the kneeling Valjean sings the last lines, he stands behind him and holds his hands over his head, while a heavenly light shines onto Valjeanâs face, heralding his new life.
Honorable Mentions:
*At the beginning, rather than laboring, the convicts are all chained to a wall, immobilized with their hands above their heads. It creates an even stronger sense of hopelessness than the usual staging.
*In âLovely Ladiesâ instead of two random old women, the Pimp and the chief lovely lady buy both Fantineâs locket and her hair. When they see that sheâs desperate, they hone in to buy what little she has, and when they see that she has nothing left, then in Hugoâs words, they take âthe rest.â And during the hair sale, the Pimp grabs her hair and chops it off onstage as she sings âTen francs may save my poor Cosette!â
*This is the first production in my watch-through that switches Enjolras and Mariusâs first lines in âLook Down,â: Marius sings âWhere are the leaders of the land?...â and Enjolras sings âOnly one man and thatâs LamarqueâŠâ It wonât be the last time this is done.
*Ăponine accidentally causes Marius and Cosette to meet, even more directly than she usually does. When Marius tries to follow her on âWhy is he here? Hey, Ăponine!â Cosette happens to be standing right next to them, and Ăponine shoves Marius, making him stumble backward and bump into Cosette from behind.
*Ăponine also announces the news of General Lamarque's death rather than Gavroche. So much fanfic potential in the thought of her being acquainted with all the Amis!
*On "Let's give 'em a screwing they'll never forget!" the ever-bawdy Grantaire holds his gun out from his crotch.
*A minor acting moment: in the intro to "A Little Fall of Rain," after Ăponine reports that she delivered Marius's letter, Marius turns and grins at his friends, who are gathered around, as if to say "Yay! Did you hear that? Cosette has my letter!" A last moment of innocent joy before the horrifying reveal of Ăponine's wound.
*At the end of âJavertâs Suicide,â we donât see Javertâs fall from the bridge, we only hear his final cry. But then we see the aftermath: some men carrying a simple wooden coffin with Javertâs hat placed on the lid.
*This production introduces some staging innovations that later became standard around the world. For example, Gavroche is shot at the top of the barricade, falls into the studentsâ arms, and then is carried away by Grantaire. And in the final scene, the Bishopâs spirit appears: in this staging, heâs the first spirit to appear, and stands at center stage watching over Valjean from the âBring Him Homeâ reprise onward.
Ruthie Henshallâs ending of âLovely Ladies.â
Several cast members from the 10th Anniversary Concert appear in this concert too, either in the same roles or in different ones, and the most prominent role reprise is Ruthie Henshallâs Fantine. The standout moment of her performance here, and of the whole concert, is her delivery of âCome on, captainâŠâ at the end of âLovely Ladies.â Itâs a passage that she sings very differently than in her TAC performance, and arguably better. Instead of being overtly seductive, she delivers the first lines in a gentle, casual, friendly way â a different yet equally valid way of flirting. Some bitterness creeps into her voice on âDonât it make a change to have a girl who canât refuse?â but she passes it off as a joke, adding a little laugh at the end of the line. But then on âEasy money lying on a bedâŠâ the lighthearted façade dissolves completely, and her true, scathing anger spews forth.
Honorable Mention:
*David Bardsley becomes the first Enjolras Iâve heard chronologically to sing a high B-flat on ââŠuntil the earth is free!â I donât know if he was the first ever to do it or not, but heâs the earliest one Iâve heard.Â
Todd Alan Johnsonâs ferocity in âConfrontation.â
Some Javerts are the same person from the beginning until Valjean derails his world at the barricade: staunch, unbending, unchanging. Other Javerts become increasingly fierce, obsessive, and unhinged over the course of the story. Based on this recording, Todd Alan Johnsonâs Javert seems to have been the latter, at least at this early point in his three years in the role. In his first scenes, he sounds calm, cold, and efficient; not especially fierce or angry. But starting with âConfrontation,â all that changes. The way he growls âValjean, at lastâŠâ and âIâve hunted you across the years!â makes it clear that the reveal of âMadeleineâsâ identity as Valjean has caused a snap inside him. From this point on, cold efficiency is replaced by ferocious obsession, and thereâs no turning back from it until it finally breaks him and kills him. Even without any visuals, his voice alone vividly conveys this transformation.
Honorable Mentions:
*Lisa Cappsâ Fantine sounding especially raw, tearful, and possibly drunk in her arrest scene, especially her terrified âI donât want you!â and her mocking laughter while fighting off Bamatabois.
*The uncredited Grantaire singing a lovely, semi-operatic âItâs better than an opera!â with a rolled R, but then letting out an undignified, high-pitched, snickering laugh at the end.
*Kate Fisherâs solo as Cosette in âIn My Life.â Sheâs definitely one of my favorite bootleg Cosettes: not only does she have a gorgeous voice, but without breaking the melody, she infuses her solo with so many little giggles and sighs, and so much feeling. This Cosette is a real person experiencing the thrill and yearning of first love, not just âthe ingenue.â
Hans Peter Janssensâ last âLet him liveâ in âBring Him Home.â
Yet again, we have a one-disc cast album that consists only of highlights, and though the cast is excellent, itâs hard to choose a standout moment from so little. But I finally settled on Valjeanâs last (Flemish equivalent of) âLet him liveâ near the end of âBring Him Home.â Hans Peter Janssens was a controversial Valjean when he joined the London cast a few years after this, but here, singing in his native Flemish, he sounds excellent to me. The feeling he brings into his last âLet him liveâ is poignantly raw, and he intersperses the line with a gasp, which may have been just a necessary breath after belting âIf I die, let me die!â but which sounds as if Valjean is panting with emotion.
As we come closer to the turn of the millennium, Cosettes are becoming feistier! Up to this point, in âIn My Life,â Cosetteâs lines to Valjean have virtually always been sung in a sweet, pleading way; sometimes with a hint of frustration too, but just a hint. But Regan Thiel breaks the trend. Without sounding bratty or lacking dignity, her ââŠin your eyes I am just like a child who is lost in a woodâ has a distinct note of complaint in it, and her âIn my life Iâm no longer a childâŠâ sounds genuinely angry. From this point on, if Iâm not mistaken, angry Cosettes would become just as common as sweetly pleading Cosettes, if not more so. Itâs a choice I have mixed feelings about: yes, it makes Cosette less insipid and it speaks to the universal tension between teenagers and their parents, but still, Valjean and Cosette's loving bond gets so little stage time, it seems a shame to waste part of that time in anger. Still, itâs a choice that stands out.
Honorable Mentions:
*Todd Alan Johnsonâs fierce, half-shouted âDo not forget my name!â followed by a soft âDo not forget meâŠâ in the Prologue. His Javert is calmer in this recording than in the 1997 bootleg (that is, until he finally melts down in his suicide scene), which in an audio-only performance is less interesting. But he does offer a unique reading of these lines.
*A woman at the barricade Ââ one of the few who stay for the final battle against Enjolrasâs orders â screaming when Enjolras is shot.
*Greg Stoneâs Valjean brokenly stammering âTell her my h-heart is too full for farewellsâŠâ in âVajeanâs Confession.â Not enough Valjean's sound truly distraught in this scene, but this one does.
*Another touch from Regan's Cosette, this time showing her love for her father: she audibly sobs throughout Valjean's death scene. Not enough to be over-the-top, but still audible, all the way from the reveal that Valjean saved Marius's life until after he dies.
Cosetteâs effort to coax a hug from Valjean at the beginning of âValjeanâs Confession.â
Valjean and Cosetteâs hug during Mariusâs opening lines in âValjeanâs Confessionâ is standard blocking, but Iâd never seen it played in this poignant way before! After âEvery Dayâ ends, Petra Wedenbachâs Cosette approaches her father and affectionately puts her hands on his shoulders, but SĂĄndor SasvĂĄriâs Valjean just turns and walks away. She follows him, still tenderly touching his shoulder and back, but he doesnât respond. Then she gently turns him around and hugs him. At this, he finally, very gently hugs her back, but then signals for her to leave the room so he can talk to Marius alone. Itâs just a few seconds and completely silent, but this moment captures the essence of Hugoâs heartbreaking chapter âThe Lower Room.â Valjean thinks Cosette doesnât need him anymore and has resolved to withdraw from her for her own good, but poor Cosette doesnât understand and wants her Papa.
Honorable Mentions:
*The crowd outside the Bishop's house laughing at "You maintain he made a present of this silver," only for the Bishop to shut them up with a calm yet firm and emphatic "That is right."
*In âFantineâs Arrest,â Birte Holmboeâs Fantine pulling away from Valjean as she sings âCan this be?â (some Fantines donât seem to remember to be angry at âMonsieur Madeleineâ until âMâsieur, donât mock me now, I prayâŠâ but this Fantine does), and then raising herself up on âYou let your foreman send me away!â so her head is higher than his.
*In âThe Runaway Cart,â Drew Pulverâs Javert suddenly grows quiet and uncertain as he sings âNo, not even Jean Val⊠jean,â stuttering the last syllable and singing it through clenched teeth, and then abruptly turns his head to look suspiciously at âMonsieur Madeleine.â (This would be the standout moment if Valjean/Cosette interactions werenât a weakness of mine.)
*Another unique Valjean and Cosette moment, in âOne Day Moreâ: as SĂĄndor's Valjean sings an especially anxious and brooding âThese men who seem to know my crimeâŠâ Petra's Cosette can see how troubled he is, and despite her own anguish at having to leave Marius, she reaches out to comfort her father. He turns around, and for a brief, sweet moment, they hold hands.
*After Ăponineâs death, Chris Morandiâs Enjolras delivers âShe is the first to fallâŠâ as a reproach to Javert, as if to say, âLook what your side has done!â (Or maybe "Your friends have just shot you," with Ăponine in place of Jean Prouvaire.)
*Grantaire (at least I think it's Grantaire, though the camera doesn't show him) shouts "Noooo!!" when Gavroche is killed. Chronologically he's the first actor I've heard do this, but he certainly won't be the last!
*Another moment from Birteâs Fantine: in the Epilogue, sheâs less ethereally remote than other spirit Fantines are, and makes the postâ10th Anniversary blocking of âFantine kneels in front of Valjeanâ make sense for a change. She kneels to console Valjean with her hand on his shoulder, intimately and tenderly assuring him that heâll be with God.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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