Les Misérables: Cast Recordings and Soundtrack (1980-2012)

It is the story of a man who broke his parole and disappeared. It is the story of a man who pursued him in a lifelong devotion to upholding the law. The man who broke his parole changed his name and became the mayor of a town. He ran a factory where one of his workers was fired, left out in the cold with no way to pay for the upkeep of her daughter, forced into a life of prostitution which broke her spirit and will to live. The mayor, blaming himself, vowed to rescue her daughter and care for her, but not before he was forced to expose his true identity, pursued by his old nemesis the inspector once again.

It is the story of a little girl who grew up in an inn raised by the Innkeeper and his wife who mistreated her. The man rescued her and brought her to Paris where he raised her as his daughter. The little girl grew up to become a young woman who fell in love with one of the students of Paris fighting against the people in office for equality and justice. Their battle would end with most of them dying on the barricades they had constructed in the streets. The man who had broken his parole had rescued the student who only became aware of what had really happened on his wedding day once the old man had gone away to die.

The story runs deeper than that, in the 1,200 pages of the classic by Victor Hugo which is also the basis of one of the most successful productions of the twentieth century: the 1985 musical "Les Misérables" by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer, with additional material from Jean Marc-Natel and James Fenton. It was then turned into a successful movie version in 2012 directed by Tom Hooper and it has played continually in theatres all around the world for more than thirty years. This year, it will have been thirty-six years until it was first produced in London by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company. In France, it's more than forty years where it was first seen in a production directed by Robert Hossein at the Palais des Sports in Paris. The concept album of that production was the one Cameron Mackintosh heard in 1982 and, as they say, the rest is history.

I first encountered this musical through my love of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. Andrew led me to his 1980s producer Cameron Mackintosh who had also produced this musical and "Miss Saigon" with Boublil and Schonberg, part of four mega-musical blockbusters that created history. The first version of the musical that I heard was the 1995 Dream Cast performed live at the Royal Albert Hall to commemorate what was then a whopping ten years since the production had opened. I was stunned by it.

I was met with a procession of truly classic musical theatre songs: "Valjean's Soliloquy", as he grapples with his thoughts of guilt and gratitude for the Bishop and vowing to make a new and successful life for himself, "At the End of the Day", the struggle of the poor and working class fighting to keep their jobs, "I Dreamed a Dream", the song of the fallen Fantine who knows nothing now but misery and hardship, "Who Am I?" as Valjean is faced with a life-altering challenge, "Confrontation" as the hard-nosed Inspector Javert confronts Valjean and attempts to put him back in prison, something which will obsess the Inspector for the rest of his life, the plaintive "Castle on a Cloud" sung by poor young Cosette who has to fetch water from the well in the woods, the theme of the unscrupulous Innkeeper and his wife "Master of the House", and if you've heard all of this before, by all means stop reading.

If you haven't, the list goes on: "Waltz of Treachery" as Valjean bargains to save Cosette from the Thénardier household, "Stars" as Javert continues his obsessive pursuit, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" as Enjolras, Marius and the students begin their revolution in Paris, "One Day More" as all of the characters look to the future, the promise of tomorrow and the hope that lies in store, whether they live or die, Eponine's song of yearning for Marius, "On My Own" and "A Little Fall of Rain" as she lies dying in his arms, "Bring Him Home" as Valjean prays over Marius on the eve of battle, "Dog Eats Dog" as Thénardier prowls the sewers for the spoils of war, Javert as his world crumbles apart and soon lies at the bottom of the river Seine, Marius haunted by the memory of his friends and comrades in "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", and wedded to Cosette, reunited with Valjean, they stay with him as Valjean goes to that great place beyond the barricades.

Having heard this music so many times, and being fortunate enough to see a production when I was a teenager, it's easy to forget sometimes just how significant and brilliant it all is. In this post, I'm going to be having a look at the albums which I've been able to collect over the years, and hopefully if you haven't heard them before you'll be encouraged to check them out. I hope you do because I think you'll be missing out.

The Original French Concept Album (1980) --- this is where it all began! This is what made Cameron want to produce an English version of "Les Mis" which by that stage had already been an incredible success in Paris, but it needed work. That is, in France most people know this story almost like the back of their own hand. In England, it all had to be explained. That's why the English version begins with the prologue with Valjean on the chain gang, whereas originally it would begin with the workers singing "At the End of the Day".

To put it simply: I absolutely unequivocally love this version from beginning to end. There's no sense me trying to review this un-emotionally. I almost couldn't bear it. I don't speak French, and these songs weren't just simply translated for the English version either, but this isn't a barrier to me. If anything, it brings me closer to the source material because it was originally published in French. Indeed, some of the lyrics are poetry from Victor Hugo not included in the English version. If you're a fan and you haven't heard this one yet, you've got to hear it. Fantine's original number, as well as Eponine's, and the suicide scene of Javert alone, make it all worth it, but it doesn't stop there. Oh no. You'll have to find out for yourself.

The Original London Cast (1985) --- the Complete Symphonic Recording featuring a global cast of talent from "Les Mis" contains the entire score as it existed in 1988. This is a representation, I believe, of the score that was heard at the Barbican in 1985. That's why there are differences, like a full version of Gavroche's "Little People" in Act One (Boublil was inspired to write "Les Mis" when he saw a 70s production of "Oliver!" The Artful Dodger singing "Consider Yourself" is what made him think of Gavroche. This version seems like a direct homage.) Cosette has a whole other solo at the beginning of the Love Montage, called "I Saw Him Once", which is very pretty but non-essential given the way they extended "In my Life" later on. Along with some of the different tempos, e.g. the slower "Confrontation" and minor lyric changes in songs like "At the End of the Day", this makes this album a unique and historic experience.

What this isn't however is a complete version of the score as originally presented, since a) I don't think they could have fit it onto two albums and b) the show that entered previews was apparently a whopping four hours long! It would be fascinating to hear that version though, especially in studio quality, or a live disc like the 1995 Dream Cast, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

The Complete Symphonic Recording (1988) --- the Complete Symphonic album from 1988 covers a whopping 3 discs (probably six on vinyl.) This was all thanks to the hardcore audience of fans who had fallen in love with the musical, including the Broadway version which I haven’t covered here since I've never heard it, and they were amply rewarded with the full version of the score. As I said earlier, this is how the score stood by 1988. Since then, it's been cut down to something more like the tenth anniversary version, and if you ever find yourself longing for that original version (if you were lucky enough to see it too!) there is always this album.

What I have to mention here especially is the actress playing Eponine. She had been picked from the Tokyo production but didn't speak English and so had to learn the lines phonetically, and I would never have been able to pick this. She just does it so well. Then there's Philip Quast as Javert. Barry James is possibly my favourite Thénardier. His vocal performance is just superb. Anthony Warlow plays Enjolras and that voice! If only somehow there had been an Australian cast album with Anthony and Marina Prior in "Phantom". We have to resort to whatever songs they recorded on their own albums, and fortunately there are enough to make a little EP. I'm not sure why Colm Wilkinson didn't play Valjean in this version, but if I had never heard Colm I would have been more than happy with Gary Morris's portrayal.

If you're a fan of this musical and you want to hear the complete score, go for your life and bring it home!!!

The Dream Cast in Concert (1995) --- this was the first album I ever heard of this score, and in many ways it remains my favourite. The performances are just set in my mind as something musically and theatrically iconic. Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier is unbelievable. Philip Quast as Javert, especially in the video of this concert, is hypnotically brilliant. Of course, there is also Colm and Michael Ball and... wow, Pocahontas (Judy Kuhn) and Jasmine (Lea Salonga) actually sing together for a few fleeting moments in the garden scene with Marius.

The orchestrations by John Cameron had probably never sounded this good. They’ve also been updated, I think, with a more contemporary and cinematic sound. When all is said (sung?), this is truly a fine testament to "Les Misérables". If you've never heard this score and you wanted to start here, I'm totally all for it.

The Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack (2012) --- I was lucky enough to find this double set for the 2012 movie version at a bargain of two dollars. How could I pass that up???

The goal of the movie version was not simply to put the stage version onto the screen, but actually to go back and re-adapt the novel, adjusting the music and libretto to fit. Since I've only read a synopsis of the novel, I certainly got the impression that they had done this. It would make an interesting basis for a stage revival. There were moments that improved on the musical too, such as the Bishop appearing as a ghost at the end. I just love that, also when you consider that the Bishop is played by the original English Valjean.

This version also goes back to the French version, where Fantine sang "I Dreamed a Dream" after she became a prostitute, right at the end of her tether. I thought it was really powerful and moving seeing the song in that context. Fantine is at her most broken state and that song kills you.

The singing leaves something to be desired in places, and the way it was recorded live on set which works in a movie but doesn't hold up as well on disc I don't think, but all in all this is certainly a powerful introduction to the musical, and when I saw this movie I was very, very impressed with it.

And that brings me to the end of my post. For a musical as well-beloved and performed as "Les Mis", there are so many recordings out there representing it. I don't have the money or the space to hear every single one of them, but the ones I've heard which I've covered here have made me a fan for life.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.