On December 15, the performance launch ceremony and original script promotion ceremony for the Chinese version of the drama "Les Misérables" was held at the Lao She Theater in Beijing. Starring Liu Ye, Zhang Keying, Lin Jifan, Li Jing and other actors and actresses, as well as the play's director Jean Bellolini (France), artistic director Wang Keran, music director Sebastian Tevey (France), and chief producer Anaïs ·Ma Tian and other main creators were all present to share the creation story and highlights with the audience.
Starring Liu Ye, Lin Jifan, Zhang Keying, Li Jing (from left to right), etc. The pictures in this article are provided by Yanghua Drama.
It is reported that after three years of careful polishing, the play has now begun its second stage of rehearsals. It will premiere at the Poly Theater in Beijing from January 26 to 28, 2024, and will conduct a large-scale national tour in 15 cities including Suzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen on the occasion of the "60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and France" next year.
"Nothing is isolated, everything is interdependent. Human beings and the earth are closely related, the earth and the sun, the sun and stars, stars and nebulae are closely related, and nebulae and galaxies are inexhaustible and symbiotic." With the The lights on the stage gradually brightened, and a text written by French writer Victor Hugo was projected on the curtain. Director Jean Bellolini personally conducted the string quartet, which undoubtedly gave the drama "Les Misérables" the first "sound". "Take people.
The event opened with director Jean Bellolini conducting the string quartet
As an artist who is good at combining dramatic performance with music, Jean Bellolini created the original version of "Les Misérables" for the Central China version. A large amount of singing and live music content has been designed, and even music themes have been set for each of the main characters in the play. In his view, "Music can make our hearts tremble. Music is also a universal language, allowing us to eliminate communication barriers and connecting our hearts together. I hope that when the audience walks out of the theater, the music can still echo in their minds. The music melody in the play."
music director Sebastian Turvey added: "Our creation this time started with music. The music, the actors' voices, and the stage lighting formed a perfect fusion. The overall effect of all emotional expressions." At the same time, the creators also revealed that during the creative and rehearsal process, director Jean Bellolini often used improvised piano playing to "tell the story" for the actors, allowing the music to help the actors find the inner rhythm of the characters. , so as to get into the role better.
Director Jean Bellolini (first from left), music director Sebastian Turvey (first from right)
As the first Chinese version of the play "Les Misérables" in China, all the lines in the play are from original. As for the origin of the "original work", Jean Bellolini recalled: "One year after the birth of the novel "Les Misérables", Victor Hugo's son Charles Hugo adapted it into a play. Staged in France, this version is undoubtedly the closest to the spirit of the original work. We initially chose the version of Charles Hugo's play, but as the creation progressed, people from different cultural backgrounds came together, and many new sparks were created. , I decided to create a brand new script for this Chinese version of the performance."
In this version of "Les Misérables", the actors not only have to play their own roles, but also jump out of their characters during the performance, Reading text from the novel on stage, a form of stage performance that is quite similar to Brecht's "alienation method", also brings challenges to the performance. Actor Liu Ye, who is both the producer and the star of "Les Misérables", is also deeply touched by the originality of the play. "'Les Misérables' is a story we are familiar with. It has been modified in musicals, plays, and movies." Adaptation. This time, the director injected a strong French drama style and characteristics into the Chinese version of the performance, allowing Chinese actors who are familiar with the Stani system to collide with the world's most cutting-edge drama concepts. Not only did we feel very unique in the rehearsal venue, but also It will definitely be refreshing for the audience."
"Les Misérables" producer and star Liu Ye
At the event, chief producer Annaïse Martin revealed the finalized poster of the show for the first time.The four characters in the title of the play "Les Misérables" are selected from Li Shutong's calligraphy works of different periods. They not only recall the "intersection of sorrow and joy" of Master Hongyi's life experience before his death, but also pay tribute to this Chinese drama movement. Pioneer tribute - As the founder of the earliest drama group "Chunliu Society" in modern China, Li Shutong once premiered the play "La Traviata" (the third act of Xiao Dumas's masterpiece "La Traviata") at Chunliu Society. In the last two), she played Margaret of the Camellias.
Poster for the drama "Les Misérables"
"The red, white and blue colors on the poster will make people think of France for the first time, where the story takes place; the numerous silhouettes of characters will make us feel the insignificance of each person in the torrent of the times. ; and the characters depicted in red seem to be that person of special significance that we will always meet in our lives, and we will never forget him, such as Jean Valjean, the protagonist of "Les Misérables."" Anaïs· Martin introduced.
The Chinese version of the drama "Les Misérables" is jointly invested and produced by Yanghua Drama and the Montpellier Actors' Spring Theater Festival in France. It is also the first time that the Montpellier Actors' Spring Theater Festival has invested in a Chinese drama work. The play has been selected into the list of "2024 China-France Premium Cultural Exchange Activities" and has become a project of the "China-France Cultural Tourism Year and the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and France". At that day's event, in addition to the officially announced performance schedule, the organizers also launched the "Les Misérables Live Creation Notes Plan." In the future, it will be published in the form of books to provide rich and detailed creative process to the industry insiders and audiences.
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