"Do you hear the people sing?"
Afternoon everyone. This morning I began the slow process of tidying my house and sorting out stuff for work. It is a VERY slow process though, as I keep getting distracted by playing Caesar IV (which I have recently got into after being inspired by my recent trip to Rome, which I will write about when I have more time.)
Anyway, yesterday I went to see Les Misérables in London's West End. As someone who is a huge fan of musical theatre in general, this was something I'd been looking forward to for ages. Up until then, I had seen nearly all of the West End musicals and 'Les Mis' was the only big one I'd missed out on. I'm not sure why it's passed me by up until now; I think it's a case of real life getting in the way. I saw the recent film adaptation (starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe) and fell in love with the story, even though the vocals left a lot to be desired when compared with the professional West End stars. I became mildly obsessed with the soundtrack, the characters, the beauty of the lyrics and the inspiring music. So it was only natural that I received tickets to the stage show for my birthday in June - without even hinting either.
It was an amazing show. Les Mis touches you in the way that other musicals can't. Each character is so deep, their emotions seem real and their motivations are believable. I can recognise people I've met in modern times who reflect each characters. I've met sad drifters like Fantine, hopeful idealists like Marius and lonely girls suffering from a case of unrequited love like Eponine. It is timeless and the songs are beautifully written. While watching it yesterday (and listening to the quiet tears of the people in the row behind me) I realised that there are so many points in the story that inspire emotion.
Eponine's final moments, right by Marius' side until the end, are so sad. Despite being heartbroken by his love for another girl, she still delivers a letter to her to make him happy and she is shot while making her way back to him. He begins to realise that he has overlooked a girl who adored him, while she is just thrilled that she is finally being held by him despite the fact she is dying. I may biased as I love the character of Eponine; she is strong, witty and brave and is played brilliantly in the current stage show by Carrie Hope Fletcher. I also like tragic characters! Here is a video of Eponine's death and her final song, from the current stage show that I saw:
Another moment that always makes me sad, and is especially powerful in the stage show, is the moment when Marius returns to his friends' meeting place after they have all been killed during the protests. He sits alone at an empty table, reflecting on how "tomorrow never came" for his friends who he fought alongside. It is clear that he is also suffering from survivor's guilt because he was saved by Jean Valjean, while the others were left to die (he does not know this yet though - he is confused and doesn't know how he survived.) Eddie Redmayne portrayed Marius well in the movie version; I actually liked his singing voice and he did this scene very well. Click here to see this song in the film.
Obviously there are many more sad moments but those are the ones that affected me the most. It is such a great musical though and I would definitely recommend seeing it if you have the chance. If you can't make it to London to see the show, check out the film. It's on Sky Movies now and it is OK (even though certain people can't sing) ;)
To finish, here is another of my favourite songs from the musical. Just because!
Hope you are all well. Stay happy!
Anyway, yesterday I went to see Les Misérables in London's West End. As someone who is a huge fan of musical theatre in general, this was something I'd been looking forward to for ages. Up until then, I had seen nearly all of the West End musicals and 'Les Mis' was the only big one I'd missed out on. I'm not sure why it's passed me by up until now; I think it's a case of real life getting in the way. I saw the recent film adaptation (starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe) and fell in love with the story, even though the vocals left a lot to be desired when compared with the professional West End stars. I became mildly obsessed with the soundtrack, the characters, the beauty of the lyrics and the inspiring music. So it was only natural that I received tickets to the stage show for my birthday in June - without even hinting either.
It was an amazing show. Les Mis touches you in the way that other musicals can't. Each character is so deep, their emotions seem real and their motivations are believable. I can recognise people I've met in modern times who reflect each characters. I've met sad drifters like Fantine, hopeful idealists like Marius and lonely girls suffering from a case of unrequited love like Eponine. It is timeless and the songs are beautifully written. While watching it yesterday (and listening to the quiet tears of the people in the row behind me) I realised that there are so many points in the story that inspire emotion.
Eponine's final moments, right by Marius' side until the end, are so sad. Despite being heartbroken by his love for another girl, she still delivers a letter to her to make him happy and she is shot while making her way back to him. He begins to realise that he has overlooked a girl who adored him, while she is just thrilled that she is finally being held by him despite the fact she is dying. I may biased as I love the character of Eponine; she is strong, witty and brave and is played brilliantly in the current stage show by Carrie Hope Fletcher. I also like tragic characters! Here is a video of Eponine's death and her final song, from the current stage show that I saw:
Click to viewAnother moment that always makes me sad, and is especially powerful in the stage show, is the moment when Marius returns to his friends' meeting place after they have all been killed during the protests. He sits alone at an empty table, reflecting on how "tomorrow never came" for his friends who he fought alongside. It is clear that he is also suffering from survivor's guilt because he was saved by Jean Valjean, while the others were left to die (he does not know this yet though - he is confused and doesn't know how he survived.) Eddie Redmayne portrayed Marius well in the movie version; I actually liked his singing voice and he did this scene very well. Click here to see this song in the film.
Obviously there are many more sad moments but those are the ones that affected me the most. It is such a great musical though and I would definitely recommend seeing it if you have the chance. If you can't make it to London to see the show, check out the film. It's on Sky Movies now and it is OK (even though certain people can't sing) ;)
To finish, here is another of my favourite songs from the musical. Just because!
Hope you are all well. Stay happy!