Less miserable! Theatrical mega-hit Les Miserables is finally a hit in Paris after writers make a subtle change to appease grumpy French
Les Miserables is finally a big hit in Paris after the musical’s writers reworked the script to please locals by switching the songs from English to French.
The legendary musical was initially written in French and performed in Paris in 1980, but broke music records in London’s West End after Sir Cameron Mackintosh bought the rights to the show in 1985 and produced a version in English.
Now a new production in the French capital, which premiered last week at the Théâtre du Châtelet, has received rave reviews after lyricist Alain Boubil and composer Claude-Michel Schonberg – who were responsible for the first show almost four decades ago – adapted the script reworked. so that the songs are sung in French.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Boubil said: ‘I’m happy it’s being sung in French. After all, it was originally in French and comes from a great French work that we can say founded the collective imagination of (France).”
Parisians had previously turned a blind eye to Sir Cameron’s musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic 19th-century novel, finding the production too British.
Even the 2012 film adaptation, starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, performed poorly at the French box office.
Boubil explained that he had to convince Sir Cameron that his version of Les Mis was too British for the French, and knew it needed to be reworked so that Parisians could appreciate the musical more.
This forced writers to ‘go back to the roots’ of Hugo’s original story.
Other changes included new costumes, a more diverse cast and the reworking of the existing French texts.
Speaking to the New York Times, Boubil also said there was “something contradictory about bringing back a classic French story in an imported production that Britain made famous around the world.”
Les Miserables is finally a big hit in Paris after the musical’s writers reworked the script to please locals by switching the songs from English to French
Actors perform the musical Les Miserables, based on the work of Victor Hugo, during a dress rehearsal at the Theater du Chatelet on November 17, 2024
44 years after its creation, the musical ‘Les Miserables’, a monument that has triumphed in more than 50 countries, is reborn in Paris, in a version in French and ‘improved’
But after writers made changes to what is estimated to be about a quarter of the script, the latest Paris production of the musical appears to have captivated French audiences and given them a newfound appreciation for the theatrical masterpiece.
French outlet Le Parisien praised the production’s “perfect casting” and “grandiose set and staging”, calling it a “true delight” worth waiting thirty years for.
Meanwhile, Le Monde hailed the show’s “majestic comeback” in the French capital.
Les Miserables is considered one of the most successful musicals in the world, having attracted more than 130 million audiences since its premiere in 1980.
The musical-turned-novel is set in 19th-century France and follows the stories of several characters as they seek redemption for their sins and an escape from poverty.