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Les Mis CAST RECORDING question — Page 2

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#26

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 7/12/05 at 9:36am

10th Ann is a great recording love Lea Salonga as Eponine and Colm Wilkinson as John Valjean.Add to that probably the best Javert there's been and the definitive Marius in Philip Qualst(sp)?? and Michael Ball and it's almost perfect.

but my personal favourite is the CSR as you get to hear the show before it was changed.
#27

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 7/12/05 at 10:31am

As a Les Miz fan of 15+ years, I must say, get the 10th Anniversary concert recording. You can't get better than this star-studded cast, and the concert is complete enough to get the full narrative of the show. The enthusiastic live audience only adds to the energy of the show. Many of the performances in this concert are or have become definitive: Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Lea Salonga, Philip Quast, Ruthie Henshall....again, this is a DREAM CAST, and LES MISERABLES has never been performed so beautifully as that night.

There is nothing appealing about the Complete Symphonic Recording except that it's the most complete (but still not entirely, not since the changes made in 1997) and features a philharmonic orchestra (but then the 10th Aniiversary does, too). Colm Wilkinson will always be the definitive Valjean, and here Gary Morris just seems to be doing a cheap impression of him. Bytheword84 is right in saying that the recording has a strange, lifeless quality to it -- it's because all the vocalists were recorded independently from different parts of the globe, and then the vocals were reassembled; hence there's little chemistry between the players (by contrast, the 10th anniversary concert recording has BOUNDS of almost-tangible chemistry, with the cast playing off each other's performances).

I don't buy the "complete = best" argument, as it doesn't hold for some other definitive recordings (the DREAMGIRLS and FOLLIES OBCs are the best albums of those shows, but neither are even close to complete).

[To finish this round-up, the Original London Recording has a good cast and has been remastered, but the arrangements have been significantly rearranged to the point where it feels like a different musical; I consider the OLC to be almost a demo version of the show. The Original Broadway Recording is perhaps the best of the non-live recordings (better than the CSR), but is noticeably an abridged version of the show.]
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#28

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 7/12/05 at 4:30pm

I agree, just because it's "complete" doesn't make it the best. The cast in the 10th anniv recording and OLC are, IMO, far better. Kaho Shimada sounds like a lil chimpunk to me sometimes, but she sounds much better, I think, in the Japanese recordings.
#32

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 7/12/05 at 6:24pm

I have four recordings of Les Miz. My favorite(although while not complete is the 10th Anniversary Concert) and the Original London Recording I like for because Gavroche gets a whole song. But if it's between Original Broadway Cast and Complete Symphonic I would literally go with either. I prefer Judy Kuhn's Cosette to that of Tracy Shayne. Both are good, but I do prefer Judy Kuhn. Except I prefer Kaho Shimada on the Complete Symphonic to Frances Ruffelle on the Broadway. There are good things about both. So I guess for the soul purpose I would get the Complete Symphonic if you want the whole show instead of just the majority of the show. But if you don't mind not have absolutely all the songs than I would go with the OBC.

But my favorite tends to be the 10th Anniversary Concert over the other ones.
"The weight of this sad time we must obey, Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most; we that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long"-Edgar in King Lear
#33

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/23/05 at 9:18pm

CSR or OBC?

I will tell you which version I like better for each character...

Valjean: TIE! Colm Wilkinson and Gary Morris sound almost the same in their interpretations. Colm Wilkinson is better, but I can't say I like one more than the other because their interpretations are almost identical except for the different accents (Colm= heavy Irish accent, Gary= country accent).

Javert: Complete Symphonic! Terrance Mann is good, but he's not nearly as good as Philip Quast.

Fantine: Broadway! I think that Debbie Byrne has too much vibratto, but I know it's hard to control vibratto if that's the natural way your voice resounds. For instance, I don't cause my voice to vibratto- it just does, and there's nothing wrong with it. (And I'm not talking about WOBBLING, which is a totally different matter.) In some parts, Debbie Byrne doesn't put much emotion into the part. Randy Graff, on the other hand, puts a lot of emotion into her singing.

Little Cosette: Complete Symphonic. She's just so cute! I like her accent. But the one on Broadway is equally good.

Thenardier: CSR! I love Barry James's sinister interpretation, although I love it on Broadway when he says "Keeper of the ZOOO!"

Madame Thenardier: Broadway! I have seen Jennifer Butt on the tour and I love her interpretation above all others. I can't stand Gay Soper's interpretation.

Enjolras: TIE! Warlow has a better voice, but I can't say that his interpretation is better than Maguires. They are both very strong, and I may even prefer Maguire.

Marius: Complete Symphonic! Michael Ball is very good.

Cosette: Oh, God, Broadway! Judy Kuhn has a deeper voice than Tracy Shayne.

Grantaire: Broadway! Anthony Crivello (I think that's his name) has a wonderful voice, and the grating voice in "Red and Black" turns me off on the CSR, even though he makes up for it later in "Drink with me."

Eponine: CSR! I actually think Kaho puts a wide range of emotions in her portrayal- from playful to hurt to desperate to joyful at being in the arms of Marius as she is dying. She has a heavy accent which annoys many people, but it doesn't bother me. Frances Ruffelle is good, but better on London.

Really it's a personal decision- I would get both if you have the funds!
"I have a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!"
#34

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/23/05 at 9:34pm


I, for one, am in total shock that no one can see that Gary (from CSR) is an imitation of Colm's Valjean
Who can explain it, who can tell you why? Fools give you reasons, wise men never try -South Pacific
#35

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/23/05 at 9:40pm

OBC!!! Terrence Mann and Colm Wilkinson are just fanstastic! Their acting truly comes through in their singing.

Side-note: As a kid in '86, I was in a benefit (singing Sondheim, no less) with David Bryant, the OBC Marius. He got cast just a few weeks after we did the benefit. He was such a sweetheart; he invited me to come to some kind of pre-preview thing (I really don't what it was...a backer's thing maybe) at the theater, where many of the songs from the show were presented to us, sung on a bare stage with just a piano. I was in about the 4th row. I was moved to tears by Colm Wilkinson's "Bring Him Home," having never heard it before. Then, once the show opened, he (David) comped me in to see it twice. I met everyone in the show, (I had such a crush on Terrence Mann!) and at that very first preview-concert thing, Colm Wilkinson walked me to the PATH train, to make sure I got there OK. Ah, memories... =)
#37

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/23/05 at 11:02pm

Why does everybody hate my beloved Frances Ruffelle as Eponine? I think her voice is hard to like but she adds so much emotion and vulnerability to Eponine. I have the 10th anniversary DVD and Hey, Mr. Producer! on DVD too and I don't think Lea Salonga's Eponine is better than Ruffelle's. Apart from that character-the one that sings my favorite song-I think the best recording I've heard is the 10th anniversary cast. Ruthie Henshall is flawless as Fantine, gosh! She's amazing. The rest of the cast is great too.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#38

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/24/05 at 5:36am

I think the Complete Symphonic Recording is the worst cast recording of LES MIS. OBCR is good, OLCR even better but 10th Anniversary is the best one: Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Michael Ball as Marius... Definitely the best cast!
#39

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/24/05 at 5:45am

Best cast recording I've heard is the Paris 1991 revival recording with Robert Marien, Patrick Rocca, and Jérôme Pradon (pre-craziness). They're the reason I don't listen to the English-language ones anymore, despite the fact that I own all of them. re: Les Mis cast recording question
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#40

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:03am

There are three reasons why I prefer the 10th Anniversary edition:
Colm Wilkinson
Philip Quast
Michael Ball
#41

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/24/05 at 1:47pm

Agree, Lizzie.

And maybe I'm the only one, but I LOVE the Madrid cast - especially the Javert (Miguel del Arco) and RUY DE BLAS as JVJ.
#42

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/25/05 at 12:34pm

10th Anniv. all the way! The cast is superb and the orchastra is amazing!
"I wouldn't let Esparza's Bobby take my kids to the zoo...I'd be afraid he'd steal their ice cream and laugh."- YankeeFan
"People who like Sondheim enjoy cruelty."-LuvtheEmcee
#43

re: Les Mis cast recording question

Posted: 9/25/05 at 1:25pm

i have a major weakness for the voice of GARY MORRIS, so i like the CSR. but don't like how short LITTLE PEOPLE is. (no pun intended.)
RIP glebby <3

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