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Published at 3rd of November 2021 09:56:52 AM


Chapter 919: 919

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The story of "Les Miserables", thanks to the Queen’s Theatre version, is widely circulated and familiar; however, the details of the original work have gradually been lost in word of mouth, leaving only a vague outline of the story in my mind. There is a catchy song melody.

Undoubtedly, this is a victory for commercial promotion; but at the same time, it is also a decline in literature and art. Today, the Almeida Theater has shown arrogance and boldness, truly re-displaying the Ukiyo-e of Paris by Victor Hugo.

The first act of the story is less than twenty minutes in the Queen's Theatre version; in the movie, it is condensed into a 14-minute fragment, with Jean-Ajean as the absolute protagonist, connecting the story line and plot development. . At this time, the Almeida Theater spent a full forty minutes, presenting the whole story magnificently.

Jean-Agen is an honest and diligent worker. He has been helping his poor sister to raise seven poor children. But one winter, he couldn't find a job. In order to prevent the child from starving to death, he stole a piece of bread. Sentenced to five years in prison.

While serving his sentence, Jean-Ajean could not bear the suffering in prison. He ran away four times before and after, but he never succeeded. He stood on the opposite side of morality and law with Javert.

Javert, who was born in prison, is the offspring of a prisoner. In order to wash away the shame caused by his blood, he became an unwavering supporter of law and order, even if the social order at that time was decayed and backward, even if he I discovered the backwardness of the law and the consequences in my eyes, but the paranoia in my mind still stood on the side of the traditional old forces without hesitation, maintaining the morbid society and shaky system.

Under Javert’s oppression, Jean-Ajean’s sentence was increased from five to nineteen years, and he was also branded as an indelible convict. Even though Jean-Ajean was successfully released from prison on parole, he couldn't find a job, and he didn't even have a place to stay. Even if he did the same hard work, the parole offender was paid only half of the others.

Jean-Ajean, who was unwilling to be so bullied by others, felt very distressed. When he was discouraged, he met Bishop Milière. Bishop Milière is an upright, kind, and compassionate person who still has a glorious hope for society. He kindly took in Jean Ajean and let him spend the night in his own home.

However, desperately desperate, Jean Ajean stole the bishop's silverware to make a living and prepared to abscond. On the way to escape, Jean Valjean was once again caught by the police/inspector and turned back; at a critical moment, Bishop Milière claimed that the silverware was not stolen by Jean Valjean, but was given to him by himself, together with the silver candlestick. They were also presented to him together, which saved Jean Ajean from prison.

Faced with the generosity and benevolence of this bishop, Jean-Ajean was influenced and gained new courage, determined to do away with evil and do good.

In the original work, Victor Hugo used a full four-volume chapter, presenting the first stage of Jean-Agen’s transformation, majestic and majestic; today, in the Almeida Theater, The whole story revolves around the three roles of Jean-Agen, Javert and Bishop Milière, presenting the essence of the original work magnificently, and infused with reflection and exploration of its own.

The biggest innovation of the Almeida theater version is that in the first act, it weakened the role of Jean-Agen, and more vividly and fully outlined the two roles of Javert and Miliere.

Javert represents the pathological conservatism; and the bishop Miliere represents the firm believer.

In the Queen's Theatre version, both characters are reduced to supporting roles in the series of plots in the first act, which in a sense has achieved Jean-Ajean’s personal epic, just like the "Gladiator" movie; and Al In the version of Maeda Theater, the two characters and Jean-Agent form an iron triangle, presenting the life style of the society, magnificent and eloquent.

What is even more commendable is that after reducing the role of Jean-Ajean, not only did the light dim, but he became more vivid:

Under the oppression and chasing of the conservative forces, Jean-Ajean turned from a hardworking and sincere worker to a criminal, and gradually slipped into the abyss of sin, without a place to rest; but under the traction of faith and hope, he stripped away the corruption The festering social scum recaptured a glimmer of hope, changed his mind, and returned to the original track again.

Everyone knows that in history, the Paris people's uprising broke out, which finally promoted the French revolution/fate and overthrew the rule; now, in Jean-Agen, the audience has a preliminary glimpse of the future history. Undoubtedly, this is The success of the Almeida Theater version.

more importantly--

"Where did John Cod find these outstanding actors? How did they succeed in training?"

There was a hint of interest deep in Aristel Smith's eyes. For the West End, a pioneering and innovative repertoire and a group of powerful new stars are equally important, because it means artistic creation and future development.

In the first act, Javert played by Ezra Miller is slightly immature. His strength lies in his body shape, his weakness lies in his singing, and the overall performance rhythm and intensity, in comparison with the other two actors, occasionally appears to be slightly overdone, occasionally slightly insufficient, which is a pity for audiences who are pursuing perfection. ; But objectively speaking, it does not affect the viewing effect.

Because of Ezra's enchantment and madness, Javert injected a distinctive paranoia, and the distortion of the dark temperament burst out with a new charm.

This play has been performed in the Queen’s Theatre for nearly 30 years. The fifteenth anniversary celebration version and the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration version have been staged in turn; but today, Aristel has once again unearthed the charm and limitlessness of Javert. may. This is definitely a big gain.

However, Javert's real test has not yet come. According to the Queen's Theatre version, the end of Act Two is Javert's chant, a song "Stars", which reveals all his inner entanglements and struggles, paranoia and madness. Whether Ezra's strength is enough to be an important puzzle for Almeida's premiere night depends on this.

In addition, the bishop Miliere, played by Andy-Conaghan, almost all the chants are newly written, and almost the entire character is also newly created. Solid basic skills, excellent control, and excellent expressiveness, in the one-man performance of Bishop Milière shortly after the opening of the first act, he showed his strength heartily and vividly, which was impressive.

If there is no blue gift, Andy is undoubtedly the biggest gain in the first act of today's premiere night. In the confrontation of the Iron Triangle, this turned out role really left a deep impression; but, it was just that there was no if.

For ordinary audiences, in the first thirty-five minutes of the first act, Lan Li is undoubtedly mediocre.

People’s eyes may fall on Bishop Milière. This is a brand-new character. Whether it’s aria or plot, it’s refreshing. People’s eyes may also fall on Javert. The unique twisted dark temperament is part of the expanded plot segment. In, the ins and outs of the characters are presented, extremely complete and clear.

In comparison, Jean-Ajean, who has not made much breakthrough in performance content and plot line, is simply too familiar to every audience, but loses its appeal. More importantly, Lan Li deliberately reduced the intensity of the performance and maintained the balance and integrity of the entire play, so the light did not show up.

But for senior audiences and professionals, in the first thirty-five minutes of the first act, Lan Li is undoubtedly the most shining.

The whole performance is integrated, easy and easy to use, from singing to body, from footsteps to movements, from lines to expressions, from stage space to body movement control, without any effort, solid and stable basic skills and pure performance. Power, truly interpret the drama and stage art to be pleasing to the eye.

Yes, it is pleasing to the eye. This is the best evaluation Aristel has in his mind right now.

The details of Lan Li’s performance are undoubtedly the most moving. It may be just a head-up, a look in the eyes, or a step or a pause. Every detail is integrated with the character, plot and story, and finally through the emotional explosion of the song, The finishing touch is to close when you receive it, and put it out when you put it out. Capturing the vividness and depth of those details is simply an enjoyment for old theater fans like Aristel.

Aristel has played in the theater circle for most of his life, watching countless plays and countless actors, not thousands, but tens of thousands. For him, in fact, the interest in watching dramas is gradually diminishing, not to mention surprises. Many dramas often start to fall asleep after watching the first ten minutes of content-because he can already predict the entire drama. The average level.

Now for Aristel ~www.novelhall.com~ drama is not much fun. The performance of the actors is one of them.

Today, Lan Li's performance really made Aristel shine. Not because of the Berlin Film Festival or the Oscar's praise, nor because of John Cod's full praise and Emma Fidding's desperate effort, just because of Blue Gift. Absolute strength makes performance a kind of enjoyment, and at the same time makes watching a performance a kind of enjoyment.

Cameron-Mackintosh's version of "Les Miserables", Alistair no longer remembers how many times he has seen it, and eighty times is the least. He strongly suspects that the number is approaching three digits. Therefore, he clearly knew that the end of the first act was coming. John still drew on the classic version of Cameron Mackintosh, and ended the first act with Jean-Ajean's monologue.

"Valjean's-Soliloquy (Valjean's-Soliloquy, this is the final fragment of the first act, presenting the transformation of Jean-Ajean’s heart truly and profoundly: the kindness and integrity of Bishop Milière moved him, the characters Really sublimated. The difficulty of this segment is comparable to "Hamlet", and it has extremely high demands on emotions and performance.

Aristel is now starting to look forward to it, looking forward to, what will happen to the Lanli version of the monologue?




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