With the huge success of such grand musicals as LES MISERABLES and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, it was perhaps obvious that sooner or later Victor Hugo’s classic of love and fate, NOTRE DAME DE PARIS (AKA “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) would also get the musical treatment. Disney had already done it before as an animated film, but this time, the tragic story would be presented as a big operatic musical production. The end result would be somewhat mixed as NOTRE DAME DE PARIS became a theatrical box-office hit in both France and Canada, while underwhelming British and American audiences. (Part of this could be blamed on an English translation that proved to be both repetitive and banal.)
This DVD of NOTRE DAME DE PARIS presents the production in its original French with the option to access other language sub-titles, including English. There is also a 15 minute documentary covering the making of the musical. NOTRE DAME DE PARIS is indeed a sprawling production on a grand scale. It tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda and of the three men who are enthralled by her: the soldier Phoebus, the priest Frollo, and Notre Dame’s hunchbacked bell ringer, Quasimodo. When Esmeralda is accused of a crime which she did not commit, Quasimodo rescues and shelters her in the sanctuary of Notre Dame. However, things fall apart with tragic results.
Garou does a wonderful job of capturing the pain and humanity of Quasimodo. With his plaintive gravelly voice, his is a touching performance. Helen Segara makes for a wonderfully beautiful, if somewhat distracted, Esmeralda. Daniel Lavoie is appropriately tortured as the nasty Frollo, while Patrick Fiori is solid as the shallow Phoebus. Julie Zenatti makes the usually minor role of Pheobus’ fiancée an effectively strong one, while Bruno Pelletier keeps things united as a poet/narrator. The costumes, which basically suggest the story’s medieval timeframe, are only partially successful in that some of the modern touches are far too jarring for the story. The choreography also suffers since some of the numbers become far too sprawling and unfocused. There are wonderful touches throughout, however, including the sobering heart-felt finale which is true to the novel. (Something that most filmed versions of this classic tend to avoid.)
Despite its flaws, NOTRE DAME DE PARIS is definitely a show that respects its source material. As a result, it deserves attention and is definitely worth a recommendation.
When you discover the French musical “Notre Dame de Paris,” you’ll get the feeing that you’ve stumbled upon a rare and wonderful gem that nobody else has been lucky enough to know about, but you. Thankfully, the video of this fabulous musical is readily available for anyone to see, but this doesn’t make it any less of a gem!
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The story is that of Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and as people here have mentioned before, this musical sticks incredibly close to the storyline of the novel. Unlike Disney or many Broadway shows, “Notre Dame” doesn’t try to gloss up Hugo’s tragedy or cover up its many controversial themes with happy endings or peppy little dance numbers.
The setting is the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, and the time, pre-Renaissance. A poet named Gringoire is the storyteller as he opens and closes the musical with a song about the ancient cathedral and of the many conflicting new changes, inventions, and traditional values that seem to be causing unrest in Paris at the time. A band of wandering gypsies, led by Clopin, enter the gates of Paris in order to start a life in the city. Esmeralda, a young Spanish gypsy girl, catches the eye of Phoebus, a Parisian soldier, and is in turn attracted to him. Phoebus is engaged to a young firl named Fleur De Lys, and his heart becomes torn between the captivating foreigner Esmeralda, and his duty to Fleur De Lys and to the city. Meanwhile, inside the cathedral, both the priest Frollo and the deformed bellringer Quasimodo see Esmeralda, and fall in love with her. Frollo, unable to ever have Esmeralda as his own, becomes consumed by jealousy. Events reach a climax as there is a murder… a framing… and an innocent thrown in jail.
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The most wonderful aspect about this musical is that everything is told in song and dance, with hardly a speaking line. The music is very distinct, dominated by mostly acoustic guitar, traditional instruments, and easy Andalusian beats that give you a flavor of the time and place, without sounding outdated. There are few huge, overwhelming, sweeping musical numbers, which makes the music much more character-centered. And also, because music and song dominate the entire 2 + hours instead of only having only five or six standout tracks to listen to repeatedly, none of the music ever “gets old,” and you’ll find that the tunes are just as fresh the thirtieth time around as the first. (Believe me on this one!)
The singing is amazing. My favorite singer is Bruno Pelletier (Gringoire) who has a clear, very powerful baritone. Another star is Garou (Quasimodo) whose surprising,emotional raspy growl is perfect for the role of the tortured Quasimodo. The two main women’s voices are relatively softer than most Broadway musical actresses’, but their softness fits perfectly in their roles as a kind gypsy, and a young innocent girl.
If you have even the slightest interest in musicals, please pick this one up. It might be on the expensive side, but believe me, the music, singing, and emotional storyline will stay inside your DVD player, and inside your memory for a long time to come.
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