“My conviction is that this book will be one of the principal summits, if not the principal, of my work,” wrote Victor Hugo to his publisher in 1862. The fact is that Les Miserableswhich has become universal history, has crossed time, borders and the arts. Like the musical comedy by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg created in 1980, and seen by more than 130 million spectators in 53 countries and in 27 languages. It is this show, in a new production by Ladislas Chollat, which is being performed today at the Théâtre du Châtelet until January 2. Weary! The best places went like hot cakes. Those disappointed can refer to the book I had dreamed… A friendship in music by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg in conversation with Rémy Batteault (Edition du Rocher), in which the two creators look back on their careers and the history of this legendary musical comedy.
Or on the classic Folio, featuring the comedy poster on the cover, published these days. A Folio which experienced at the end of August one of those hodgepodges on which the canvas thrives. In fact, a first cover appeared on sales sites indicating Les Misérables based on the musical. And Internet users are getting excited. Anthology: “May Victor Hugo consider himself fortunate that the producers of the musical did not attack him for plagiarism!” “Wow. Victor Hugo would therefore have written Les Miserables inspired by the musical Les Miserables […]” Add to this some illustrations of great classics hijacked by a few jokers such as “Proust On the Swan sideafter the famous song by Dave” or “Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte CristoBased on the great movie with the guy who plays Yves Saint-Laurent but in another movie.”
A work blanket
Wind of panic at Folio which corrects the situation with this new title Les Misérables Abridged versionexplaining that the first appearance was a working cover, accidentally sent to the platforms by a (miserable?) assistant and that this edition is neither the booklet of the show, nor a novelization, but indeed the original text by Victor Hugo . This abridged Folio (416 pages for €5.70, versus the full version of 1,344 pages, all the passages not retained being summarized) follows the chronology of the episodes sung in the show and “we publish at the end of the volume all the songs present in the novel, as well as other ‘Songs of Gavroche’ composed by Hugo”, the house was keen to clarify.
To read, therefore, before watching one of the adaptations of the best-seller (around fifty since 1913), that of Jean-Paul Le Chanois, scripted by Barjavel and dating from 1958, just restored by Pathé and available under in the form of DVD and Blu-Ray box sets. History of finding Jean Gabin as Jean Valjean, Bourvil as Thénardier but also Bernard Blier as Javert and Danièle Delorme as Fantine…