Les Miserables - Original London Cast

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Wonderful chorus numbers and uplifting classics
Disadvantages:	Colm Wilkinson

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Les Miserables follows an ex-convict called Jean Valjean, as he is turned aside from a life of crime to a life of charity and love, caring for a young girl he adopts whilst all the while having to avade capture by Police Inspector Javert. (I've included a more detailed summary below if you don't know the story)

Having sung in the schools' version of Les Miz, I was simply buzzing with enthusiasm about the musical. It is a simply superb piece, extremely exciting and emotive, especially for the cast, so I had high hopes of this recording. I was, sadly, rather disappointed.

The musical itself is brilliant. The choruses are thrilling, the solos vary from the familiar (On My Own, for example) to the not so familiar, for example Dog Eats Dog, a wonderful piece of either soulful reflection on an empty world or a delicious piece of black humour, depending on your tastes. Particularly noteworthy are the "Confrontation", with a wonderful duet between Valjean and Javert, "Little People", sung by the urchin Gavroche, the "Plumet Attack", "One Day More", which features most of the cast and, of course, the simply sublime "Empty Chairs", which could draw tears from a stone.

The big problem with this recording is the soloists. Colm Wilkinson is regarded as the best Valjean in the world, but I cannot like him. I apologise for going into singer mode, but his vowel sounds are frequently imprefect and occasionally terrible, and he has a tendency to swoop around the higher parts, making the most heart-wrenching solos gut-clenching.

Javert, Cossette, Gavroche and the students are wonderful. Javert thoroughly outclasses Valjean whenever they meet, and his solos are much more enjoyable than most. Gavroche's solo is particularly noteworthy, as it is light-hearted and fun, something which is quite scarce in Les Miz.

The Thernadier's however, left something to be desired. Monsieur and Madame Thernadier are suitably nasty, but are too cockney and don't convey enough venom in my opinion. Eponine on the other hand is quite, frankly, dreadful. She swoops everywhere, and her vowels aren't brilliant either. Eponine is supposed to be heart-breaking and tragic; in this version all she manages to do for me is annoy me.

Overall, it's actually a good recording. The chorus are very good, as are many of the soloists, and you may even like Wilkinson and the other soloists. However, I find that there are some tracks which I am more than happy to skip through, which does detract somewhat. Best treated as a 'best of', then you can choose which you consider to be the best and avoid the rest. If you can, listen to it before you buy it, as you may find that the tracks you enjoy are too few to be worht getting the whole CD, in which case you can always buy individual tracks off iTunes.

*Summary*

Les Miserables tells the story of Jean Valjean, who stole a loaf of bread to save his sister's family and got sent to prison for 19 years as a result. He leaves prison to find that he cannot find honest work because he is an ex-convict, and is taken in by a kindly bishop for the night. Corrupted by the extreme sentence and the many years in prison, he steals some silver belonging to a bishop, who then saves him when he is arrested. When he is arrested and brought back to the bishop to anwer for his crime, the bishop saves him by saying that it was a gift, and gives him a pair of candle sticks as well. This act of kindness transforms Valjean's life. He breaks his parole, changes his name and becomes a successful businessman and the mayor of a small town.

At this point we meet Fantine, who works in Valjean's factory to raise money to pay for her daughter, who lives with an innkeeper after her father abandoned them. Fantine loses her job when the foreman finds out about her daughter Cossette and she resorts to selling her possessions, her hair and, eventually, her body to pay for her daughter. When she is arrested by Javert, the vitriolic police inspector, Valjean rescues her. He later reveals his identity but saves the life of a man of the town in doing so. Fantine dies shortly afterwards, and Javert confronts Valjean at her deathbed but Valjean once more escapes to rescue Cossette.

He makes his way to the inn where Cossette is living in slavelike conditions and buys her off the Thernadiers, before taking her with him to live in Paris, once again under a false name.

Ten years later, revolution is building in Paris and the barricades are rising. Whilst Cossette and Valjean are giving alms to the poor, a group of students are trying to raise them against the establishment. Here, Cossette meets Marius, a young student, and they fall in love. Valjean once again evades capture, as Javert arrests none other than the Thernadiers, who were attempting to rob him. Their daughter, Eponine, is in love with Marius, but takes him to Valjean's house to meet Cossette, where she foils an attempt by her father to rob Valjean. Valjean mistakes the attempted robbery for an attempt to capture him by Javert, and decides to move with Cossette to England the next day. Cossette and Marius are devastated at losing each other so soon, and Marius must decide between joining his friends on the barricade and following Cossette to England. He goes to the barricade and sends her a letter, professing his love for her, but Valjean reads it and follows Marius to the barricade, where Javert has been caught spying on the revolutionaries. For saving the life of the revolutionary leader, he is granted the right to dispose of Javert in any way he sees fit. He spares Javert's life and allows him to leave.

Marius is injured in the fighting, whilst all the other students, plus Eponine and a young street urchin called Gavroche, die. Valjean, however, survives, and carries Marius to safety through the sewers, where Marius's ring is stolen by Thernardier. Once out of the sewers, Valjean is once more confronted by Javert, who allows him to go in order to save Marius's life. Javert cannot reconcile his belief in the law and that criminals cannot change with Valjean's good deeds, especially saving his life, and commits suicide in the Seine.

Marius recovers from his injuries, and Valjean reveals his identity to him, telling him that he must leave in order to protect Cossette. The Thernadiers come to the wedding in order to extract money from Marius, bringing the information regarding Valjean, showing Marius that Valjean saved his life. He and Cossette rush to where Valjean is now living and their presence allows him to die in happiness.