Notre Dame de Paris (Theatre)
The classic ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ comes to London for a limited time, and it’s well worth your effort to attend.
Based on the acclaimed 1831novel Notre-Dame de Paris (and also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame) by Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris features an international ensemble of singers, dancers and acrobats and tells the tale of the hunchbacked cathedral bell-ringer, Quasimodo, and his desperate love for the gypsy, Esmeralda. The show, which is only in London for 7 performances only, culminates with the 5,000th performance of the show. Playing at the London Coliseum in Covent Garden, this production is the original French production. Composed by Richard Cocciante with lyrics by Luc Plamondon, directed by Gilles Maheu and choreographed by Martino Müller, this production stars Angelo Del Vecchio, Hiba Tawaji, Daniel Lavoie, Richard Charest, Alyzée Lalande, Martin Giroux and Jay, and all members of the principal cast in the current world tour. The singers are be accompanied by the stunning English National Opera (ENO) Orchestra with Matthew Brind conducting.
Del Vecchio is a wonder playing Quasimodo. Italian born, he is the only singer in the world to have performed the show in three languages.
Meanwhile, Tawaji is wonderful as the beautiful and mesmerizing Esmeralda, a role she has played all over the world since 2016. Esmeralda can have any man she wants, but after being kidnapped by Quasimodo, over time she starts falling in love with him. Think Beauty and the Beast and this is what you’ve got – but operatic style. But ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ is not just opera, it’s grand opera. And in the amazingly beautiful confines of the London Coliseum, it makes for a grand grand show on a grand stage in a grand auditorium.
And besides the main actors and their amazing singing, there is acrobatics and break dancers interspersing with the story on the stage.
And the show is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Having sold out performances across 16 countries and been translated into nine different languages,Notre Dame de Paris originally debuted at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, 1998. Following its opening, the production was commended in the Guinness Book of World Records 2000 for its record success for a musical during its first year.
Director Gilles Maheu is a multidisciplinary artist: an actor, writer, director, teacher, set designer, choreographer and filmmaker. Gilles Maheu has been a leading director for 40 years, in Canada as much as abroad. He is also the co-founder of two theatres in Montreal (l’Espace libre and l’Usine C) and, in 2015, he was named a Compagnon des Arts et des Lettres du Québec for his important contribution to Quebec’s cultural life. With his company Carbone 14, he toured over 30 countries and received over forty prestigious awards for his shows Le Rail in 1985, Hamlet-machine d’Heiner Muller in 1987 and Les Âmes mortes in 1996. In 2004, he directed the musical Don Juan by Félix Gray in France, Canada and Korea, winning the awards for best production and best direction in Quebec. In 2007, he was the artistic director for the creation of the musical Butterflies in Beijing and, in 2008, he directed Cirque du Soleil’s Zaïa in Macao, China.
Set Designer Christian Rätz studied in Lyon (École des Beaux-Arts) and Strasbourg (ESAD). He has designed numerous sets for dance, opera and theatre in France and abroad. He designed the sets for a number of operas by M. Leiser and P. Caurier. As far as the theatre is concerned, over the last few years he has designed sets for the following productions: Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, In the Solitude of Cotton Fields by Bernard-Marie Koltès at the Evora Drama Centre in Portugal, Le Missanthrope, suite et fin by Molière and Courteline at the Théatre de Carouge, Trolius and Cressidaat the Almada Theatre in Portugal. Between 2012 and 2014, he directed Opus Null with texts by Jean Arp, Incidents ou début d’un très beau jour d’été by Daniil Harms and L’heure d’alsacien. He has been in charge of classes at the L’École de Théatre National de Strasbourg since 1978 and he handled the responsibility for training student scenographers at l’ESAD from 2008 to 2011.
Originally a dancer, choreographer Martino Müller, joined the
ADDRESS
London Coliseum
St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2N 4ES
DATES
Wednesday 23 – Sunday 27 January 2019
PRESS NIGHT
Wednesday 23 January 2019, 7pm
BOOKING ONLINE *
TELEPHONE BOOKING
020 7845 9300
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Wednesday 23 January, 2pm & 7pm
Thursday 24 January, 7.30pm
Friday 25 January, 7.30pm
Saturday 26 January, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Sunday 27 January, 1pm
TICKETS
£15 to £125 (all preview tickets £50)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: @NotreDameDeParisOfficial
Twitter: @NotreDameLondon
#NotreDameLondon
A film that you will like better is also released this week. ‘Beautiful Boy’ – based on books by father and son David and Nic Sheff – details Nic’s valiant struggle with drug addiction during his teenage years. Steve Carell plays David while Timothée Chamalet plays Nic in a film that is very emotional and a bit hard to sit through at times as it deals with the strain on the father and the damage it does to Nic in his battle to beat his addiction. Nic is in and out of rehab several times, and goes missing quite a bit, while David is struggling, emotionally, physically and financially, to deal with his oldest son’s problem while trying to raise a new family with two young children with his second wife, played Maura Tierney. Amy Ryan beautifully plays his first wife and mother to Nic. ‘Beautiful Boy’ – two hours long – is sharply directed (Felix Van Groeningen) and written (Van Groeningen and Luke Davies – ‘Lion’) with performances that are award worthy. Carell continues to excel in dramatic roles (he was superb in ‘Foxcatcher’ and memorable in ‘Battle of the Sexes’) and again is very good in this highly dramatic role. But it’s going to be Chamalet who will receive all the plaundits and awards he gets for this film. Chamalet was well-received in last year’s creepy ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ but here in ‘Beautiful Boy’ he proves that he is a force to be reckoned with. He can act, and he can act very well, and he is suited to follow in the footsteps of DiCaprio and perhaps DeNiro in a career with longevity and awards on his mantel.
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