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Meet Cosette, the daughter who Fantine gave everything to protect. Their differences are reflected in the musical counterpoint too: Valjean higher-pitched, lyrical and passionate, Javert lower, ploddingly rhythmical and implacable. Valjean and Javert face off, furiously articulating their opposing points of view on justice, duty and whether a man can change his ways. We have been building to this, and “The Confrontation” does not let us down. Their brief duet bonds the two, but any chance at romance is immediately snuffed out. As Fantine dies, Valjean makes another defining promise: Cosette will live in his protection. Years later, we’ll hear this same haunting musical refrain in Eponine’s “On My Own”, linking the two generations of women. It’s too late for Fantine, who is now on her deathbed – but calls out to her daughter, Cosette. It’s a song full of questions, punctuated by the repeated couplet summing up his dilemma: “If I speak, I am condemned/ If I stay silent, I am damned.” Who is he, ultimately? He is 24601, and he made a bargain with God. In this one, he must decide whether to sacrifice his new life – in which he’s in a powerful position to help others – in order to save the innocent man who is about to serve his sentence. Les Mis gives Valjean several dynamic soul-searching numbers. Thankfully, Valjean is also back to intervene – yet in helping, he unintentionally reveals himself to Javert. Her desperation undercuts their faux-cheeriness, and we end with a violent encounter – and the authorities, represented by the returning Javert as a policeman, taking the side of the wealthy client. The inevitability of that is illustrated by the song’s structure: we begin with the prostitutes and their clients, interspersed with Fantine, until she joins their ranks. Without a social safety net, the now-unemployed Fantine slips easily into prostitution. Anne Hathaway delivered a hushed, intimate (and ultimately Oscar-winning) version in the Les Mis film. This stirring number transcends Les Mis, covered by everyone from Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin and Elaine Paige to Susan Boyle in her viral audition for Britain’s Got Talent. Fantine confesses all to us: her memories of happier times, and the dream she had for life, all destroyed by the lover who abandoned her. “I Dreamed a Dream”Īfter those impressively efficient opening songs establishing the musical’s setting, plot and ideas, this ballad gives us some breathing space. Unfortunately, Valjean (now the factory owner and mayor) misreads the situation – something he will later bitterly regret. This sets up another key character in the show, Fantine, who is constantly sexually harassed by the factory foreman and mistreated by the other women. It’s now eight years later, and there is still misery and injustice in France – as we hear from the embittered workers. He decides to begin again - with a new name, a new story, and a new purpose. As the Bishop states plainly: “I have bought your soul for God.” Here the lyrics are particularly evocative as Valjean castigates himself for acting like a “thief in the night… a dog on the run”. This is the major turning point for Valjean. This moment of salvation is a musical reprieve from the punishing misery, too. But at his darkest moment comes a ray of light: the Bishop, instead of pressing charges, tells the police that he had given the silver to Valjean. Valjean is immediately arrested for stealing silver from the Bishop’s house. “Prologue: Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven” This effective opening number sets up the big themes of the show - and the duel between Valjean and Javert. Valjean thinks he’s finally free, but prison guard Javert will always see him as a convict. He’s served hard time simply for stealing a loaf of bread to save his starving family. Our grim introduction to the hero of Les Misérables: Jean Valjean, aka prisoner 24601, among his fellow downtrodden convicts. At the end of the day, we’ll have covered every key moment of this musical masterpiece.īook Les Misérables tickets on London Theatre. So, join us on a journey across the decades, from a desperate convict redeemed by the kindness of a bishop, through to a broken dream, unrequited love, an unrelenting manhunt, criminal scams, and a battle for the soul of a nation. Find out more about Les Misérables in the West End. It’s no wonder it’s one of the most beloved scores in musical theatre history, with breakout hits aplenty. Of course, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s stage adaptation of Victor Hugo’s seminal novel also features yearning love songs, comical gangsters, and an unforgettable prayer. Do you hear the people sing? Revolution rings out in thunderous anthems in the iconic, long-running West End musical Les Misérables, as students mount the barricades in 19th-century Paris and French citizens long for a better, fairer life.
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