The singers were, of course, excellent. Lea Salonga (formerly Eponine-- she played Fantine in this performance) was probably my favorite. Her portrayal of Fantine was true to every virtue of the character, and was highly reminiscent of Salonga's role of Kim in Miss Saigon (interestingly enough, another show with music written by Claud-Michel Schönberg). Both characters are virtuous and pure, and yet have degraded themselves in order to survive in a cruel world. Of course, my first thought was "Look she's Asian," but I digress.
The gentleman who played Jean Valjean-- Alfie Boe-- of whom I've never heard, was pretty good. Actually, he was excellent, but he broke character at the end of "Bring Him Home," and actually acknowledged the audience's applause. Yes, I know that it was a concert, but I think his breaking of character severely weakened his performance in that song, which is, of course, a very important song not to break character in. The performance didn't seem to be quite all there, and it was nothing compared to the original Jean Valjean, but it was still highly impressive and moving.
Now, of course, I must move onto the show's weakest link-- Marius, played by none other than the Disney Channel pop sensation himself: Nick Jonas. "WHAT, Eric? Nick Jonas in Les Mis?" Why yes, good person. Jonas actually did fairly well for himself, but I'm not sure if I would choose him as the Marius for the 25th Anniversary Concert (I mean... isn't the point of the concert to create a dream team Les Mis cast?) He can carry a tune, of course, but I felt that he was too often switching into his pop voice-- especially during "A Heart Full of Love" and "One Day More." However, his rendition of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was, with the possible exception of his low notes, pretty good.
The Thernardiers were good... they weren't quite as over-the-top during "Master of the House" as the originals, but they played the part well. They were especially good in their final song.
Norm Lewis was Javert-- the role that I would most love to play. I actually got really excited when I realized that he played King Triton in Little Mermaid-- so I actually had seen him perform live, which was pretty cool. He captured the essence of the character, and his rendition of "Stars" was absolutely gorgeous.
The guy who played Enjolras-- Ramin Karimloo (apparently, he also originated the Phantom in Love Never Dies)-- was a highlight of the show. His performance was energetic and moving, and the girl I was sitting next to wants to marry him, but who wouldn't?
I've always been kind of annoyed by Cosette, and this was no exception. The girl who played Cosette played the role quite well-- it's just a role that grates on my nerves. Eponine-- who was played the wonderful Samantha Barks-- was wonderful, and could take Cosette any day.
That's really all I have to say. The performance was EXTREMELY moving and wonderful. I have never been to a performance that has left me physically exhausted and panting for air at the end, and please bear in mind that this was a recording of the concert. If I had seen it in person, I probably would have just died of heavenly shock.
Also... they're making Les Mis into a movie!! :D :D Though rumors had, of course, been moving around, this was pretty much the first time that Cameron Mackintosh had confirmed the movie, so my friends and I were very excited. I will most certainly be going to that midnight premiere.
Good night, blog friends. Until another day.
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