Oddly Chakiris and Gene Kelly were dubbed for Rochefort as well, as was Francoise Dorleac, Deneuve's real life sister who died so tragically the same year--maybe they weren't comfortable singing in a different language. That stage version fascinates and confuses me. I like a lot of it, but the design and aesthetic (and choreography) still mixes in a lot of those "modern" that is standard for French stage musicals.
I know people seemed to love or hate CHerbourg on stage in London a year or two ago--I have a feeling it would be harder to make work on stage, in any language. I know there are several translations, but I've only heard Sheldon Harnick's which I found rather clumsy. Still, better than that English Rochefort soundtrack that was done by the same dub singers when the movie came out and often is incomprehensible between weird lyrics and bad accents.
It's too bad Rochefort doesn't have a decent DVD release in N America (the one Ihave is long out of print) though I've read that the French BluRay will play anywhere, but don't quote me on that yet. Demy's films haven't really had much of a decent treatment here. You can get his odd Donovon/Medieval musical done in English, The Pied Piper, Bay of Angels and his first hit Lola (which as I said, while it's not a musical though it has a lovely score is sorta a prequel to Cherbourg in that they share the character, and actor of Roland--it always seemed fitting htat he's jiilted in Lola and then ends up partly causing the seperation of Genevieve and Guy in Cherbourg.) And then Demy's one bid at Hollywood, the failure Model Shop which has Gary Lockwood has Anouk Amee reprising her role of Lola from that film... It's not on DVD here, but randomly shows up on TCM fairly regularly.
As I said I have a big soft spot for Donkey Skin and would highly recommend it, though I also understand it's frankly a very strange film. We first had to watch it (as a "treat) in grade 2 or 3 when I was in French Immersion, and I think I was the only kid who loved it--I couldn't get the Cake Making song out of my head. But it's based n a weird fairy tale anyway, and Demy emphasizes the incest (Deneuve's princess Donkey Skin's father, played by Jean Marais, wants to marry her,) how bizarre the donkey who ****s gold is, a good fairy godmother played by Delphine Seyrig is a wonderful camp performance ie secretly kinda only in it for her own romantic ideas, and it is thrown with anachronistic elements as well as visually (and by casting Marais) a complete homage to Cocteau's Belle et le Bete. But apparently it was Demy's most popular film in France.
For years I could remember details, but there was no North American video or way to see it, so I was happy ten or so years back when it got a very good DVD transfer, though I doubt we'll get a BluRay outside of Europe. But, as I said, I love it. Here's Deneuve and Rochefort's handsome Jacques Perrin as the Prince in a dream song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyY7zztZdfQ And here's her magic cake song which she sings to herself... literally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7axZxIdNhM Oh and here's her fairy godmother singing why daughters shouldn't marry their fathers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEqxp3LsqMw None of the other Demy films I've seen are really great films, but they each fascinate me. Being a big classic girls anime/manga nerd who grew up with the French animated version of Rose of Versailles and saw the Japanese Takarauka stage version, Demy's film version is bizarre. Called Lady Oscar it was paid for by the Japanese, filmed in Versailles to reflect the Marie Antoinette story and then, randomly, performed in English.
Parking is a bizarre rock/disco musical (again with Legrand) that tells the story of Orpheus (again inspired more by Cocteau's Orphee) set in a parking garage... La Naissance du Jour is a gentle adaptation of the Colette novel. A Slightly Prgnant Man is an incredibly stupid film with Deneuve married to Marcello Mastriooni who gets pregnant--hijinks ensue.
Most fascinating to me Une CHambre en VIlle which is his most ambitious musical--the use of violence and sexuality/nudity so offended Michel Legrand that he refused to write the songs, so Michel Colombier came in (it's a nice score.) Through sung again, it deals with a tragic romance in Nantes during the 1955 workers strike and has to be seen by Demy fan but, despite being nominated for a slew of prizes, it's maybe too heavy handed hold up. Still has some beautiful moments. I believe it's been done on stage as well and is up on youtube.
It's too bad Demy died relatively young of AIDS around 1990--his last film the Yves Montand was, I think, meant to be a throwback to Rochefort--another love letter to old musicals, but the only really good parts are when they throwback to an old song (even the AU revoir section from Cherbourg.) Agnes Varda, his director-wife was controversial among fans for a while because she always fiercely denied her husband was gay--until she wrote a tell all memoir. But she has been working hard at restoring all of his films--he's my favorite French director and its too bad so many are still relatively hard to find here.
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