Les Misérables
Live in London at The Palace Theatre
Mid-Late 1986
Starring:
Colm Wilkinson (Jean Valjean), Roger Allam (Javert), Jackie Marks (Fantine), Frances Ruffelle (Eponine), Simon Bowman (Marius), Rebecca Caine (Cosette), Alun Armstrong (Thénardier), Zoe Bright (u/s Madame Thénardier), David Burt (Enjolras)
I have meticulously taken this once very poor sounding audio and spent a good chunk of time with it in Adobe Audition, doing everything possible to improve the sound. What we have here is a MAJOR improvement, and is now a very listenable recording. The quiet moments still aren't great, and some extra noise reduction had to be used in a couple spots to make it possible to hear some of those moments, but again it is overall a major improvement and gives us another more listenable tape featuring much of the OLC.
What we have here today is a very interesting audio taken at some point in 1986. It has a couple of replacement cast members, plus an understudy, but the rest is the original cast. Even still, we have a hard time placing when the audio was taken. Some places have listed it as December 1986, but that cannot be possible due to the presence of Colm and Frances who would've been in the USA for the premiere of the show at the Kennedy Center. And the presence of Jackie Marks and Simon Bowman would indicate at least several months into the run at the Palace, I don't know when exactly Patti left nor when Michael Ball had to exit due to his struggles with anxiety.
At any rate, a fascinating audio that shows what the show was like once it had "settled" after the two audios we have from the 1985 previews. The performances of the OLC members still present here have far more energy and nuance, for better or for worse, than those the year prior and everyone seems to have settled into how they were playing them. Alun Armstrong as Thénardier in particular is a delight and quite a bit different than the October 1985 recordings.
As this is pre-Broadway changes, many passages that would be trimmed and things that got moved around are still present, for example "Stars" is still before "Look Down". There is one notable moment in this audio that I think has gone unnoticed until now. "Lamarque Is Dead" has been transposed to a lower key, a whole step lower to be specific. I think the original key may have been hard for David Burt to maintain, but so far this is the only time I can remember that ever having been changed.
Alright, please enjoy!
Негізгі бет Les Misérables: The Palace Theatre, London - 1986 (2022 Remaster/Restoration)
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