Les Misérables (Original London Cast)

£14.27

Original Cast Recording of the Cameron Mackintosh/RSC production which opened at the Barbican Theatre, London on 30th September 1985, transferring to the Palace Theatre on 4th December of that year. Still playing at the Queen's Theatre, London, it is the longest running musical in the world. Despite initial hostile reviews the show was an instant popular success and this, the definitive album, has now sold well over 1,000,000 copies (triple platinum) in the UK alone and well over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
This recording features Patti LuPone's original version of 'I Dreamed A Dream', the focus of intense media interest following Susan Boyle's performance on Simon Cowell's UK TV talent show 'Britain's Got Talent' (see below) which gave the song a new lease of life in the singles and album charts.

Disc 1
1. Prologue: Work Song
2. Prologue: Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven
3. Prologue: What Have I Done?
4. At the End of the Day
5. I Dreamed a Dream
6. Lovely Ladies
7. Who Am I?
8. Come to Me
9. Confrontation
10. Castle On a Cloud
11. Master of the House
12. Thenardier Waltz
13. Stars
14. Look Down
15. Little People
16. Red & Black
17. Do You Hear the People Sing?

Disc 2
1. Love Montage: I Saw Him Once/In My Life/A Heart Full of Love
2. Plumet Attack
3. One Day More
4. On My Own
5. The Attack
6. A Little Fall of Rain
7. Drink With Me
8. Bring Him Home
9. Dog Eats Dog
10. Javert's Suicide: Soliloquy
11. Turning
12. Empty Chairs At Empty Tables
13. Wedding Chorale / Beggars At the Feast
14. Finale

Recorded and mixed at CTS Studios, Wembley, between October 28 and November 12, 1985.
Co-ordinated for First Night Records by Tony Edwards and John Craig.
For the recording:
Produced by ALAIN BOUBLIL and CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
Sound engineer : David Hunt Assistant engineer: Sean Cotter

Cast:
Jean Valjean COLM WILKINSON, Javert ROGER ALLAM, Chain Gang DAVE WILLETTS, PAUL LEONARD, CLIVE CARTER, CHRISTOPHER BECK, GARY HUDDLESTONE, ALUN ARMSTRONG, MICHAEL BALL, KEITH BURNS, DAVID BURT Farmer CRAIG PINDER Labourer KEITH BURNS Innkeeper's Wife JILL MARTIN Innkeeper PETER POLYCARPOU The Bishop Of Digne KEN CASWELL Constables IAN CALVIN, COLIN MARSH Fantine PATTI LuPONE Foreman PAUL LEONARD Workers CRAIG PINDER, CHRISTOPHER BECK Women Workers SALLY MATES, BEVERLEY KLEIN, CAROLINE QUENTIN, ALINE MOWAT Factory Girl JACKIE MARKS Sailors GARY HUDDLESTONE, DAVE WILLETTS,CHRISTOPHER BECK Whores JILL MARTIN, ALINE MOWAT, CAROLINE QUENTIN, LIZA HAYDEN, JACKIE MARKS, FRANCES RUFFELLE, REBECCA CAINE, SIAN REEVES Old Woman SALLY MATES Crone BEVERLEY KLEIN Pimp COLIN MARSH Batambois CLIVE CARTER Fauchelevent IAN CALVIN Cosette ZOE HART Madame Thénardier SUE JANE TANNER Thénardier ALUN ARMSTRONG Drinker CRAIG PINDER Young Couple KEITH BURNS, LIZA HAYDEN Drunk PETER POLYCARPOU Diners KEN CASWELL, CAROLINE QUENTIN Other Drinkers COLIN MARSH, CLIVE CARTER, DAVE WILLETTTS, ALINE MOWAT, JILL MARTIN Young Man GARY HUDDLESTONE Young Girls JACKIE MARKS, SIAN REEVES Old Couple BEVERLEY KLEIN, CHRISTOPHER BECK Travellers PAUL LEONARD, IAN CALVIN Gavroche IAN TUCKER Old Beggar Woman JILL MARTIN Young Prostitute JACKIE MARKS Pimp PETER POLYCARPOU Unemployed Man KEN CASWELL Blind Beggar CAROLINE QUENTIN Woman with Baby BEVERLEY KLEIN Students PAUL LEONARD, GARY HUDDLESTONE Eponine FRANCES RUFFELLE, THENARDIER'S GANG : Montparnasse KEITH BURNS Babet IAN CALVIN Brujon DAVE WILLETTS Calquesos COLIN MARSH Marius MICHAEL BALL Cosette REBECCA CAINE Combeferre PAUL LEONARD Feuilly GARY HUDDLESTONE Courfeyrac CRAIG PINDER Enjolras DAVID BURT Joly CHRISTOPHER BECK Grantaire CLIVE CARTER Lesgles KEN CASWELL Jean Prouvaire PETER POLYCARPOU

Orchestra Conducted by MARTIN KOCH:
Assistant M.D./Keyboards ANDY READ Flute/Piccolo CHRISTOPHER LACEY Clarinet/Alto Saxophone VICTOR SLAYMARK Oboe/Cor Anglais CAROLINE MARWOOD Horn BRIAN NEWMAN Horn DUNCAN HOLLOWOOD Trumpet RODERICK TEARLE Trumpet PETER WRIGHT Trombone DAVID HISSEY Synthesizer/Piano PETER WASHTELL Percussion TONY McVEY Drums PETER BOITA Guitar IAN LAWS Bass BRENT FORBES Violin (Leader) LAURIE LEWIS Violin NORMAN LEDERMAN Violin RICHARD BUREAU Violin ROBIN WILLIAMS Cello PETER HALLING Cello PAUL KEGG

Susan Boyle (born 1961)^[1] is a Scottish^[2] amateur singer and church volunteer who came to public attention on 11 April 2009,^[3] when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent.^[4] Boyle found fame when she sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the competition's first round.^[5]

Before she sang, both the audience and the judges appeared to express scepticism based on her unpolished appearance. In contrast, her vocal performance was so well received that she has been dubbed "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell."^[6] She received a standing ovation from the live audience, garnering yes-votes from Cowell and Amanda Holden, and the "biggest yes I have ever given anybody" from Piers Morgan.^[7] The audition was recorded in January 2009 at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, Scotland,^[8] and was first broadcast on Saturday, 11 April 2009 in the UK.

The juxtaposition of the reception to her voice with the audience's first impression of her triggered global interest. Articles about her appeared in newspapers all over the world, while the numbers who watched videos of her audition set an online record.^[9] By 20 April 2009, a mere 9 days after her televised debut, viral videos of her audition, subsequent interviews of her, and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River" had been viewed over 100 million times on the Internet.^[10] The clip is expected to pass the record for an online video of 120 million views in a matter of days.^[11] Cowell is reported to be setting up a contract with Boyle with his Syco Music company label, a subsidiary of Sony Music.^[12]

Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, stating: "Just like the judges and audience, I was gob-smacked by the emotional powerhouse performance of Susan Boyle's show-stopping rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream". Vocally, it is one of the best versions of the song I've ever heard - touching, thrilling and uplifting. I do hope she gets to sing it for the Queen."^[13]

Click here for more Susan Boyle info.

References:
1. Profile: Susan Boyle - Britain's got the unlikeliest angel, The Sunday Times, April 19, 2009.
2. Holmwood, Leigh. Susan Boyle: a dream come true The Guardian 18 April 2009.
3. Smith, Mark (2009-04-11). What's the story with ... Susan Boyle?. The Herald. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
4. Talent show singer is online hit. BBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
5. Jordan, Mary (2009-04-14). The Scot Heard Round the World. The Washington Post: p. A-8. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
6. The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell. ABC News. 2009-04-14. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
7. Wylie, Ian (2009-04-11). Dreaming The Dream. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
8. Fox news, Simon Cowell interview. 2009-04-16. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
9. Scottish Singer's Audition Video Sets Online Record. The Washington Post. 19 April 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.
10. Dobuzinskis, Alex. Susan Boyle breaks past 100 million online views, Reuters, April 20, 2009.
11. Ben Leach (2009-04-23) Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent performance sets YouTube record. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2009-04-24.
12. Never Been Kissed' Singer, 47, Wows Cowell. MSNBC News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
13. Producer Mackintosh 'Gob-Smacked' By Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream"; Song Is YouTube Hit. Playbill News. 2009-04-15. Retrieved on 2009-04-19.

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