They will be doing Les Misérables when tomorrow comes.’ The speeches ended and 200 young performers from Schools Edition productions entered the arena from all sides singing Do You Hear the People Sing as Cameron added: ‘They are the future. It was, however, a shame not to see Trevor and John on the stage. Cameron thanked the casts over the years and the public for their loyalty and love for the show, while Alain acknowledged the debt owed to James Fenton, Trevor Nunn, John Caird and ‘master lyricist’ Herbert Kretzmer. The original cast including Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Frances Ruffelle, Alun Armstrong and Roger Allam followed with a stirring rendition of One Day More.Ĭameron Mackintosh, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbie Kretzmer all came on stage for brief speeches. Their glorious voices, each taking a few lines and then harmonizing sublimely, resonated around the arena with heart-swelling magnitude and many a tear. The absolute highlight of the evening was a quartet of Valjeans: Alfie Boe, Colm Wilkinson, Simon Bowman and John Owen-Jones singing Bring Him Home.
Quartet of Valjeans: Simon Bowman, Alfie Boe, Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jonesįor the Finale the current Queen’s theatre cast, the touring cast and members of the original cast all crammed on stage alongside the concert cast. To have such voices in support of an incredible main cast resulted in an overall unprecedented richness of vocal quality. The 170 strong choir, dressed in red, white or blue T-shirts was also filled with big name performers such as Peter Karrie, Ethan Freeman, Hal Fowler and Graham Bickley. The leading performances were perfectly complemented by a star-studded ensemble, with a silky-voiced Earl Carpenter as the Bishop of Digne, a perky Peter Polycarpou as the pimp and the engaging Hadley Fraser, who played the leading role in The Pirate Queen on Broadway, as Grantaire, while John Owen-Jones, who played Valjean in the touring production, was a convict. Matt Lucas and Jenny Galloway injected a unique brand of humour to the Thénardiers, accompanied by the audience happily clapping along in time to the music. Ramin Karimloo, currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies, was a splendid, strong-voiced Enjolras while Samantha Barks excelled as Eponine. However, I believe the sound guy let him down rather as his voice didn’t always sound strong enough in the huge arena, but I imagine this will be rectified for the DVD. Nick Jonas and Katie Hall made a delightfully youthful Marius and Cosette, and Nick’s Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was sung with great feeling. The haunting voice and the video close ups of Fantine allowed us to see and feel the extraordinary emotional integrity that Lea Salonga brought to the role. After opening in the role for the Broadway revival of the show in 2006, Norm is now playing opposite Simon Bowman’s Jean Valjean at the Queen’s theatre in London. He was well partnered by an impressive Javert in Norm Lewis, whose rich vocals and impassioned performance made Stars and Javert’s Suicide quite unforgettable. His Bring Him Home stopped the show – literally – with a tumultuous standing ovation. I have never before liked opera singers singing musical theatre songs, but Alfie Boe sang in a true musical theatre way, just letting rip at significant moments with glorious operatic oomph to phenomenal effect. The emotionally charged audience greeted each new performer with rapturous applause and cheering and none more so than Alfie Boe.
Three massive LED screens above the stage not only showed the featured performers but also the richly atmospheric projections used in the tour, and never to greater effect than in the cavernous sewer scene. The set had the epic proportions necessary for all 500 actors and musicians to be accommodated on stage at the same time and it was cleverly informed by both John Napier’s iconic original design and Matt Kinley’s design for the 25th Anniversary touring production. The split level set with the superb 50 piece orchestra clearly visible above, and the various, huge stairways and multiple other entrance ways allowed it to be more like a fully costumed, theatre staging whereby performers could enter and exit as their roles demanded instead of being seated on stage awaiting their turn. The staging, in fact, ensured that it was rather more than a concert.
This was to be the concert of all concerts for any Les Mis fan, with uber-spectacular, epic staging and lighting and a cast to die for. A buzz of excitement and anticipation rippled through the massive arena audience as the first familiar, pounding notes electrified the air. We all knew Sunday 3rd October 2010 would be an evening we would remember for the rest of our lives but not one of us could have imagined just how utterly extraordinary it would be.
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