Post by ali973 on May 10, 2017 15:34:58 GMT
So many years after loving and semi-obsessing over the French hit Notre Dame De Paris (which had a questionable run in London- which I never saw), I got the chance to see the currently 20th Anniversary tour in Geneva.
I've always known that the French do their musicals in their own way. The entire show is sung through, almost in concert style. Though visible mics aren't a novelty (anymore), and there have been many book musicals that have visible mouth pieces or even hand held mics (Spring Awakening), this show truly feels like a staged concert. There are many times when the characters would come on stage, hit their mark, face audience, sing, and exit on the other side.
It was performed in Arena Geneva, which is a multipurpose venue, easily able to host anything from a rock concert to a basketball game. The seats are those you'd use in a stadium, and they serve hot dog, beer and burgers in the concession stand.
Having said all of that, which might sound dreadful, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wouldn't have known how I'd felt if I wasn't so familiar with the majority of the score. There were moments were I thought to myself, "yea I can see why this didn't fly in London." There are some bizarre directorial situations, and there are situations that weren't directed to begin with. The choreography is mainly based on male acrobats doing some great stunts. Though I normally don't like circus or acrobatic tricks, I have to say that a lot of the work they did here was very good. But overall, if it wasn't acrobatic stunts, the ensemble was pretty much sprinting back and forth on stage. Why was everyone running, I wondered?
The music is clearly canned. They never shamed away from this, not even in London where if memory serves well, they had serious issues with equity due to the fact that none of the music was played live. While it sounded acceptable on the numerous cast recordings this show has, it's very evident that the music is completely canned and synthesized if you'd see it live.
The cast was pretty great. Daniel Levoie as Frollo has pretty much been with the show since its inception in the '90s. I was stunned at how powerful his voice remains. Angelo Del Vecchio sounded more or less like the originator, Garou with his hoarse voice, as Quasimodo. Hiba Tawaji, was Esmeralda. I've just started following her prior to my knowledge that she was cast in this role in December, having just discovered this up and coming Lebanese diva who is enjoying a new success in the Arabic pop circuit. I was happy to see that they've cast an almost-ethnically correct actress in this role. Singing wise, I find her to be the best Esmeralda simply for BELTING the role, rather than singing it as if it was her very last breath. Acting wise, I thought she could have been more powerful and feisty. But this is not a show where performers prove their acting chops.
To my pleasure, a 2017 live cast recording was just released. Given the numerous cast recordings available for this show under just about every single imaginable language, and especially in French, I know it wasn't a matter of if but when it would come out.
Overall, glad I saw it, despite having to spend an entire rainy day in Geneva and catching a flight out from the crack of dawn.
I've always known that the French do their musicals in their own way. The entire show is sung through, almost in concert style. Though visible mics aren't a novelty (anymore), and there have been many book musicals that have visible mouth pieces or even hand held mics (Spring Awakening), this show truly feels like a staged concert. There are many times when the characters would come on stage, hit their mark, face audience, sing, and exit on the other side.
It was performed in Arena Geneva, which is a multipurpose venue, easily able to host anything from a rock concert to a basketball game. The seats are those you'd use in a stadium, and they serve hot dog, beer and burgers in the concession stand.
Having said all of that, which might sound dreadful, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wouldn't have known how I'd felt if I wasn't so familiar with the majority of the score. There were moments were I thought to myself, "yea I can see why this didn't fly in London." There are some bizarre directorial situations, and there are situations that weren't directed to begin with. The choreography is mainly based on male acrobats doing some great stunts. Though I normally don't like circus or acrobatic tricks, I have to say that a lot of the work they did here was very good. But overall, if it wasn't acrobatic stunts, the ensemble was pretty much sprinting back and forth on stage. Why was everyone running, I wondered?
The music is clearly canned. They never shamed away from this, not even in London where if memory serves well, they had serious issues with equity due to the fact that none of the music was played live. While it sounded acceptable on the numerous cast recordings this show has, it's very evident that the music is completely canned and synthesized if you'd see it live.
The cast was pretty great. Daniel Levoie as Frollo has pretty much been with the show since its inception in the '90s. I was stunned at how powerful his voice remains. Angelo Del Vecchio sounded more or less like the originator, Garou with his hoarse voice, as Quasimodo. Hiba Tawaji, was Esmeralda. I've just started following her prior to my knowledge that she was cast in this role in December, having just discovered this up and coming Lebanese diva who is enjoying a new success in the Arabic pop circuit. I was happy to see that they've cast an almost-ethnically correct actress in this role. Singing wise, I find her to be the best Esmeralda simply for BELTING the role, rather than singing it as if it was her very last breath. Acting wise, I thought she could have been more powerful and feisty. But this is not a show where performers prove their acting chops.
To my pleasure, a 2017 live cast recording was just released. Given the numerous cast recordings available for this show under just about every single imaginable language, and especially in French, I know it wasn't a matter of if but when it would come out.
Overall, glad I saw it, despite having to spend an entire rainy day in Geneva and catching a flight out from the crack of dawn.
