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The verdict: fantastic! This is the Les Mis recording I waited twenty years to hear, and it did not disappoint. There is some urban legend that this version is no longer (legally) available, but that’s bull: it’s available at a very reasonable price on iTunes. In a nutshell, the cast is superb and the songs mostly excellent; I only wish the recording were more comprehensive. (Spoilers follow.)
The Editing:
The selection of songs is similar to the London recording’s. The focus is on set numbers with relatively few connecting parts. As in the London recording, this serves 1815 and 1823 better than 1832. Since most of the barricade drama does not break down into individual songs, much of the barricade story is missing. The exceptions are the set songs: (“Un peu de sang qui pleure”/“A Little Fall of Rain,” “Souviens-toi des jours passés,”/“Drink with Me,” and “Comme un homme,”/“Bring Him Home”), which all take place in between moments of military action and, thus, bypass the fall of the barricade arc. If you’re listening to the recording to get the full arc of the story, this is the biggest impediment. Another shame is the omission of much of Gavroche’s part. Lesser gaps, but still unfortunate are Valjean’s difficulties as a paroled convict, Fantine’s arrest, and the Valjean-Javert interchanges surrounding “Comment faire?”/“Who Am I?” (Not missed–by me–is some of the Thénardiers scheming at the wedding.)
The good news is that many of these omissions are parts the original French cast recording of 1980 included: Fantine’s arrest, more of the barricade, much more Gavroche. So with the two together, there’s comparatively good French coverage of the full play in a recorded format (though ironically not as good as we have in English).
Read the rest at The Geek Girl Project
The Editing:
The selection of songs is similar to the London recording’s. The focus is on set numbers with relatively few connecting parts. As in the London recording, this serves 1815 and 1823 better than 1832. Since most of the barricade drama does not break down into individual songs, much of the barricade story is missing. The exceptions are the set songs: (“Un peu de sang qui pleure”/“A Little Fall of Rain,” “Souviens-toi des jours passés,”/“Drink with Me,” and “Comme un homme,”/“Bring Him Home”), which all take place in between moments of military action and, thus, bypass the fall of the barricade arc. If you’re listening to the recording to get the full arc of the story, this is the biggest impediment. Another shame is the omission of much of Gavroche’s part. Lesser gaps, but still unfortunate are Valjean’s difficulties as a paroled convict, Fantine’s arrest, and the Valjean-Javert interchanges surrounding “Comment faire?”/“Who Am I?” (Not missed–by me–is some of the Thénardiers scheming at the wedding.)
The good news is that many of these omissions are parts the original French cast recording of 1980 included: Fantine’s arrest, more of the barricade, much more Gavroche. So with the two together, there’s comparatively good French coverage of the full play in a recorded format (though ironically not as good as we have in English).
Read the rest at The Geek Girl Project
