Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Les Misérables at Teatro Comunale of Bologna: the realization of a dream.
a dream of mine and Bernstein School of Musical Theatre's
In the collective imagination it is one of the top musicals, like a Grand Opéra.
Boublil himself wrote a letter to us, subscribing that the rights for an Italian School Edition would be ours.
It was the first time here in Italy: we were so excited when we knew about their agreement.
We have a strong relationship with director Gianni Marras, this is the fourth show we are making together.
When we knew about it, last August, I immediately called him saying: Victory! We have the rights!
-Twenty minutes to the opening-
Les Misérables is a musical theatre show, written by two French authors and conceived as an opera.
There are many ensemble scenes, typical of a kolossal show, for example the Paris scene, the Beggars scene, the Barricades scene.
Obviously we are telling the stories of the characters, especially the ones of the two main characters: Jean Valjean and Javert.
They are opposite characters, but in some way they make a parallel journey through their life.
It's the story of two men searching for something.
Valjean finds it. He has an epiphany after 19 years of imprisonment.
Javert instead keeps watching the world as split between good and evil.
And when he realizes the truth, the shock is so strong that the only thing left to do is dying.
Live from Teatro Comunale of Bologna: Jean Valjean in his bald cap!
Who is Jean Valjean?
This character is able to rediscover his dignity, his morality, and is able to serve others, and to help them,
despite his suffering, caused by the rules of the society.
The song I love most is Valjean's Soliloquy. He decides to change his life, to become a new man.
Javert is an upright trooper. He's a man living for the law, but in the end he realizes his law was wrong.
He' s the chief of the cops, a very rigorous man, strictly addressed to justice.
He hates the rebellion, he hates everything is not planned in his schemes of probity.
And Valjean embodies all that Javert hates.
One Day More is the song that closes the first act of Les Misérables.
It comprehends all the characters, and each theme,
set in a common background, which is the dream of living one day more.
It starts with a pianissimo where Valjean exposes his leitmotiv
and one by one all the characters come out with their leitmotivs
making a climax that goes on growing,
unto the joining of the choir and all the ensemble
and a crescendo from the orchestra. It's a very strong moment.
While the original West End production includes a revolving stage to speed up the scene changes,
here I had to reckon with a huge stage, in width and depth.
I conceived the show as a succession of tableaux, each one opened and closed by the black side scenes as a diaphragm uncovering the next one.
It works very well, set in a perfect light set, and an extraordinary scenography.
All this was a wonder, not only for us, but also for the theatre managers.
The audience is coming: we got news from the box office about the sold out of the tickets
It's the proof that such an experiment can work in Italy.
We'll go on, next year. With a new title, we'll be here.