Deixa-me rir...

"Caros audiophiles, Les Miserables is my favourite stage musical drama. Based on Victor Hugo's epic novel, it focuses on the life journeys and struggles of several different characters who encounter each other against a background of huge political and social revolution during the first decades of 19th century France.

These human personal and universal social histories are documented through a tour de force of moving uplifting memorable songs and melodies of operatic tragi-comic intensity, arias of love and hope and despair, chorus songs of war and death and restoration. I would like to share some extracts.

The central character who binds the different elements together, is Jean Valjean. Arrested as a young man for stealing bread to feed his family, he is now released after 19 years in prison and searching for work. But no-one will employ a criminal. Desperate, he is caught one night stealing silver ornaments from a church, but he is saved by the priest who tells the police that he gave Valjean the pieces of silver out of charity. The priest then makes Valjean promise to change his life and serve God.

Years later, after changing his identity, we find Valjean has become a wealthy factory owner. One day he encounters one of his workers, Fantine, who is struggling to support her daughter Cosette after being abandoned by her lover. Fantine is ill and dying and Valjean promises to take care of her daughter. Fantine's story of lost dreams and despair is told in Les Mis' most famous song, I Dreamed A Dream:

However, Valjean's past life catches up with him in the form of local police inspector Javert, who years before was Valjean's guard in prison, an implacable defender of law and justice against social chaos who does not believe that any man can change his nature. Javert arrests a man believing wrongly that he is Valjean. The real Valjean is forced to question himself, balancing his obligation to his factory workers against his promise to God, and he decides to reveal his true identity to save an innocent man - Who Am I?

Valjean escapes with his adopted daughter Cosette to Paris. Here we encounter desperate people living in the city slums/favelas and also a group of middle class students who are preparing to fight in the streets against the authorities in anticipation of revolution. One of these students is Marius, who by chance meets Cosette and falls in love. He too is forced to question himself about his personal desires and the ambitions of his fellow student friends as they demand social justice and better living standards -

Red And Black / Do You Hear The People Sing?

Valjean joins the students at their street barricades, but only to try to protect Marius from danger. Javert, who now is the police commissioner of Paris, is discovered as a spy among the students. Valjean is entrusted to shoot him but secretly allows him to escape. The night before the battle Valjean prays that God may save Marius -

Bring Him Home:

Marius survives thanks to Valjean and returns to the cafe where he used to meet and discuss with his student friends. But he is the only survivor and wonders what has been achieved -

Empty Chairs At Empty Tables

Javert also is dead. He could not understand why his life was spared, could not accept his obligation to the criminal Valjean. Perceiving a new social order to which he does not belong, he commits suicide. Although the city revolution failed, not everyone has lost. Monsieur and Madame Thenardier, who earlier we encountered as inn keepers in the countryside, have taken advantage of society's turbulent times to become wealthy nouveaux riches in Paris, representing the new possibilities of climbing the social ladder.

As for Valjean, his hard struggle is over, he has fulfilled his promises and can look to a future for Cosette and Marius.

The videos I have selected are from the 10th Anniversary Concert (in 1995) which reunited many of the original cast actors. The audio is much better here and you have the benefit of subtitled lyrics. Les Miserables is now celebrating 25 years and I am sure will continue for another 25. It has been translated into many languages and performed all over the world. I am sure at some time it has been performed in Lisbon, maybe in Portuguese, I don't know. But I would urge you to see it!

A proxima,

PO