Les Mis in Copenhagen 2009

operafantomet · Les Mis in Copenhagen 2009

In September Les Mis is opening at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen, Denmark. This theatre is known for its extravagant and fresh musical productions, so I have no doubt the production will be grand. Some of the cast has been announced:

JEAN VALJEAN: FLemming Enevold (yay!) and Tomas Kofod (yay!)
JAVERT: Morten Staugaard
COSETTE: Mia Karlsson (yay!)
EPONINE: Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg
TH�NARDIER: Steen Springborg

OTHERS:
Christian Lund, Martin Loft, Johannes Nymark Andersen, Steffen Huleh�j Frederiksen, Richard Gr�ntz, Kasper Le Fevre, Kim Hammelsvang Henriksen, Jonas Samuelsson, Anders Teigen, Regitze Desiree Glenth�j, Frida Mod�n Treichl, Carina S�derman, Marie Bo, Kristine Yde Eriksen and more

Both the theatre's official site and their Facebook site will have more updates later in the summer:

http://www.detnyteater.dk/flora/dnt.asp

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kobenhavn-Denmark/Det-ny-teater/122860340435?v=app_2392950137#/pages/Kobenhavn-Denmark/Det-ny-teater/122860340435?v=wall&viewas=0

Orestes Fasting

Ooooh, I might actually be able to see this--I'm studying in Paris next year and plan to do a lot of traveling. I don't speak a word of Danish, though, so I'll have to either make a friend there or try to scrape by with my English and my crappy German. Laughing

operafantomet

Facebook site for the forthcoming production:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122192536159&ref=search&sid=1245540934.803753488..1

A clip on YouTube telling about some technical details and the sets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJdNvFqRrn0

Apparently, they'll have a 7 meter high waterfall, with real water, in the sewer set... Shocked

The Norwegian 2009 production (played this spring) also had real water, but not a waterfall. Will be interesting to see...

Rehearsals are going well, according to cast members.

operafantomet

Opening night is tonight, and I really with I could be there.

Toi-toi-toi to all in the Copenhagen cast and crew, I'm SOOO looking forward to pictures (not to mention actually seeing the production later this autumn...) Very Happy

eponine5

Oh I do love Copenhagen! Doubt I'll be able to get there this year though... but the waterfall idea sounds exciting! Shocked

Orestes - Last time I went there everyone spoke in English the minute I opened my mouth, so you shouldn't have a problem.

operafantomet

Pics of Copenhagen Les Mis are up:
http://www.detnyteater.dk/flora/flora.asp?page=13871

Not too crazy about those costumes, but I do dig the sets. Something they've also added (which the pics above doesn't show), is a sort of proscenium with the Tricolor (French flag) hanging down at one side. The white stripe is used to indicate year, place etc. According to a friend of mine who saw it some days ago, that effect worked brilliantly.

Hopefully I'll be able to see the production in October some time.

Mademoiselle Lanoire

lesmisloony

I love Mme Th�nardier's costume! And oh hai thar pimp in purple tails and plaid trousers!

They're a bit better than the "normal" costumes, though they could still be very improved... I guess the biggest problem is the sleeves. And Enjolras's hideous vest, as always.

Marius is adorable! I like this one especially:
http://www.detnyteater.dk/flora/user/webfiles/38/7..jpg

Orestes Fasting

Quique

What a beautifully designed production. The first I've seen in a very long time that didn't offend my eyes, lol. Though the Rue Plumet scene is a little too reminiscent of a certain Phantom rooftop love duet. XD

Costumes and lighting are nice too. Hope the cast is as good. Looks like a great production!

operafantomet

operafantomet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvtUP4oY9UE

A three-minute promo, with "Bring him home", "On my own" and "Master of the house". Loving Flemming Enevold (Valjean) and Steen Springborg (Thenardier), but bit ambivalent to Maria Lucia (Eponine).

Ulkis

Those sets are great, I love them.

operafantomet

Orestes Fasting

If anyone nearby wants to make a day trip to Copenhagen and meet me there, I'll be there on the 8th and 9th of December. Seeing Les Mis on the 8th.

High-baritonne

Saw the performance a week ago, loved it! It was wonderful, most of the cast were better than the current London cast, and it easily tops the recent Bergen production also directed by Lisa Kent. I must say that she fixed very much in this production!

operafantomet

operafantomet

Here's a review I wrote for another forum:

Det Ny Teater November 28th 2009

Evening performance of Les Miserables

CAST:

Jean Valjean: Tomas "Tomas!" Kofod (alternate as such, though he's been principal for some weeks)
Javert: Morten Staugaard
Eponine: Maria Lucia Rosenberg
Fantine: Sanna Johansson
Cosette: Mia Karlsson
Marius: Johannes Nymark
Th�nardier: Kim H. Henriksen (u/s)
Madame Th�nardier: Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis
Enjolras: John Martin Bengtsson
Bishop of Digne: Martin Loft

+ many others...

The sets looked very impressive before the show started. They had made a sort of proscenium, with wooden buildings and French balconies embracing the scene. There was also a giant "torn" French flag at stage left, with the "Cosette" logo, where various info was projected during the show. I loved that concept.

I got a good laugh when I saw the cast list for this performance. Those of you who read my reviews of the (many) Phantom performances I saw at Det Ny Teater this spring will remember my great dislike for Kim H. Henriksen's Reyer. And all the other minor roles he did, for that matter... But as I said to Josefine, I think I loved to hate him in the end, and that I would be disappointed if he stopped annoy me... Razz

Anyhow, for this performance he was on as u/s Th�nardier. What to think of it? I'll come back to that...

ACT 1:

PROLOGUE
A bit odd chain-gang intro, with them coming up from trapdoors. What were they doing down there? But excellent scene as such. I especially liked how they were syncronised in their chain-gang walk, with one heavy step and one lighter one. Nice effect.

I spotted Tomas Kofod immediately. He's rather tall compared to the others!

Didn't know what to expect of Morten Staugaard's Javert. Last time I saw him he was a tr�s goofy manager in Phantom. But he was excellent. He had such a scary look in the role! Almost demonic, but not necessarily in an evil way. Just.... not a guy you'd want to mess with, and especially not one to haunt you for the rest of your life.

BISHOP'S HOUSE (Biskoppens hus)
I'm used to mild and/or very serious bishops. This bishop was.... how to describe him. A bit enigmatic. He had this strange, little smile, almost if he was amused, but not quite... I think he liked watching Valjean's reactions... Dunno how to describe it...

I also liked how Valjean partly interacted with the bishop and partly with the audience in this scene, fun to take part in his "inner dialogue".

AT THE END OF THE DAY (Efter endnu en dag)
Noticed very little was going on with the sets. Basically stuff going up/down, or in/out. Didn't think the gate for the factory worked very well... Just a gate and a tad wall placed on centre stage. Too minimalistic for my liking.

Very good chorus here! But I noticed that I liked the Norwegian 2009 translation a lot more, as it was rougher. A bit of cursing and very working-class. The Danish one seemed moe polished, milder. Didn't quite believe that they were as low in society as they claimed.

Spotted Fantine and greatly disliked her costume. A tad too modern-looking Regency dress with a high bust, but an apron tied around her actual waist. It gave her such a silly silhouette. Her wig was also clearly two parts: one cropped (for "selling hair" scene) and one long. Sanna Johansson acted the part very well and had a lovely voice, but no vocal powers. There were times I wanted to squeeze out a lot more sound from her, especially in "I dreamed a dream".

The factory chief was way too young and cute for the role, which ruined quite a bit. But the ladies were wonderfully bitchy.

LOVELY LADIES (Sk�nne damer)
Lovely lovely ladies (pun intended). Spotted Mia Karlsson in a corset of doom! I don't know how she dared move at all, cause her "ladies" looked like they were on their way out... Tee-hee.

Again a strong ensemble number, so unison and so much good acting going on in the people not in focus.

The runaway cart scene was probably as it should be, but it annoys me. How come everyone just stands there, watching, when Valjean is lifting it, while everybody assist after the man is saved? And why did the cart look like it didn't weigh anything at all at that point? Whatever...

However, the interaction between Valjean and Javert was strong. Quality acting, very intense without the grand gestures.

WHO AM I? (Hvem er jeg?)
Maybe it was after I saw Tomas Kofod play Jesus in a movie I got this idea, but he has such a Jesus appearance on stage... Especially as Valjean. And especially in this scene. In a good way! He has a beautiful voice, but lacked a tad ooomph here. Wished for more power.

FANTINE'S DEATH (Fantines d�d)
I liked how they used the revolving stage (if I understood it correctly, the theatre's original 1908 stage) for this scene. Again lovely acting from Sanna Johansson, and if Kofod's Jesus appearance was strong in "Who am I?" it was even stronger here. Quite beautiful to watch.

Loved the interaction between Javert and Valjean here too. Sat close enough (row 6) to see their facial expressions, and the looks they sent eachother were chilling.

CASTLE ON A CLOUD (Himlens kongeslot)
I said to Josefine before the show started that I usually dislike children in musicals. Cause whereas there are lots of cute kids with cute voices, there are few that genuinely impress me. This Cosette, however, both sung and acted well. And they had made her look a lot like the logo. Nice.

Was disappointed with Madame Th�nardier. She didn't stand out in any way, and didn't grab the many opportunities for the comic reliefs the role offers. She just.... sung. And tried to be funny every now and then. But she added nothing.

MASTER OF THE HOUSE (Herre i sit hus)
Kim H. Henriksen as Th�nardier.... I expected the worst. Hated his Reyer. Or, loved to hate his Reyer... But no need to worry. He was excellent as Th�nardier. A bit younger and smaller than your average Th�nardier, but a nice mix of bizarre, charming and creepy. Got lots of laughs.

The set was okay, but again a tad too minimalistic for my liking. Or rather, too ornamented to be minimalistic, but too little details to be a full set. And the in-between look didn't quite work. Too clean and polished as well. But again, the cast was excellent, and the orchestra so rich-sounding. Loved the "poshy" lady, and loved how Madame Th�nardier ran away with a customer's bag between her ankles... Mwhahaha. Only time she made me laugh. Her solo bit in this song, however, didn't work at all.

BARGAIN-WALTZ (Th�nardiers vals)
I've seen four highly different productions of Les Mis; two in Norway, the original in London, and this one in Copenhagen. And the "la-la-la"ing between Cosette and Valjean has always given me the creeps... So... pedophile. Except here. I don't know why this one was different. Don't think they DID anything very differently. But... It didn't give me the creeps. Blame it on Kofod's Jesus appearance. Laughing

LOOK DOWN
Young Gavroche was cute as a pie! He looked Indian in appearance, he did an unpolished street boy, and I loved his acting. But his singing was weak... A surprisingly weak voice, and it sounded like he forgot some lines. I'v seen better Gavroches in semi-professional productions, gimme a break.

That's basically all I remember of this scene... That, plus Cosette looking cute when chatting with a street vendor.

STARS (Stjerner)
Never heard Morten Staugaard singing solo before, was most impressed. He has some gorgeous deep notes, and his looks... Loved it. But I stand with what I wrote on POL: I don't understand this character at all! Get a life! Or a real job.

RED AND BLACK (R�dt og sort)
Enjolras!!!

Like "OMG Enjolras!!". What a stage presence, what a voice! He reminded me a lot of Bryn Terfel, but a seriously handsome version. I couldn't take my eyes off him, and was relieved that Josefine seemed to think the same. He was star quality!

Good students overall, though I thought Marius had a weak upper register. He seemed so young and wimpy, and although that's quite suitable for the role I was a tad disappointed with the varying quality of his singing.

CAN YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? (Kan du h�re folkets sang?)
Another great ensemble number. And... Enjolras!!!

IN MY LIFE (I mitt liv)
Mia Karlsson (Cosette) has such a beautiful voice. Feather-light, but yet with power, and able to sing both recitatives and the grand, soaring songs. Which of course is perfect for Cosette.

It's always bizarre to see a former POTO "love" combo play father-and-daugher, and this was the case here too. I couldn't free myself from seeing super-Raoul Kofod and favourite-Christine Karlsson in the Cosette-Valjean interaction. You know how it is...

Set here was also bleeeeh. Same basic set as all of the first act, with an addition of a gate, a low wall, a column and some ivy hanging from the flies. Just didn't fancy the concept.

A HEART FULL OF LOVE (Mitt hjerte er fuldt)
Loved the chemistry between Marius and Cosette. They were so cute together, a bit teenager-shy but also a growing, vibrating love. Karlsson's top note = stop it, woman! You make me insanely jealous.... The blue dress did not, however. It didn't look period enough to defend the horrible 1830's style, but it wasn't funky enough to escape the need of an historical look either.

I should probably mention Eponine. Problem is that she did nothing for me... Good voice? Sure. Good acting? Probably. I can't pin-point anything I disliked. But... Very American Idol approach to everything. Although it should be added that many dig her in the role, so maybe it's just me. Or maybe she had an off night, her understudy had been on the previous days. But the little I heard and saw of her understudy made me wish SHE had been on instead.

ONE DAY MORE (En dag til)
Enjolras!!!

INTERMISSION:
Noticed the wheels and patent for the Phantom chandelier is still intact.... And there's still room for the golden angel in the proscenium... Just sayin'...

ACT 2:

ON MY OWN (Alene nu igen)
See "A heart full of love"....

BARRICADE / A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN (Barrikaden / Natteregn)
Wonderful barricade, probably the set that impressed me the most. I've said it a million times already, but the ensemble scenes was really to my liking. So also here. And Eponine's death was rather touching, only place I though she was excellent. All the blood was also convincing. I'm so curious on how they're able to clean Marius' white shirt for every performance!

BRING HIM HOME (Bring ham hjem)
Tomas.... Kofod's..... falsette....!!! OMG beautiful. What a touching rendition.

The rest of the battle scene seemed very brief, and both Gavroche and Enjolras seemed to die very quickly. Maybe more realistic, but I love me some melodrama in musical theatre....

THE SEWERS (I kloakkerne)
The famous waterfall set. Eh? An overdimentioned pipe with a sprinkle of water in front. Disappointed! But good scene. Valjean's carrying around of Marius looked very realistic, and Th�nardier was wonderfully bizarre.

The theme song when Javert shows up started amuse me a little. /random comment

JAVERT'S SUICIDE (Javerts selvmord)
The floor covered with smoke, a bridge/sidewalk with metal railing and lamps a bit above the stage, and a confused and broken-down Javert. His suicide: standing on the railing (or next to it seems more likely...), facing the audience, looking like he is about to jump, and then just..... falling backwards, with his arms out. Very proper for this steep character, and it looked phenomenal! I don't know how he dare just fall backwards, from such a height. I mean, he's landing on his back! One of the best Javert suicides I've seen.

EMPTY CHAIRS ON EMPTY TABLES (Tomme borde, tomme stoler)
This song got lots of applause. It was nice. Not phenomenal, but nice. I love this tune, and the "shadows" in the background was very well executed. Enjolras!!

EVERY DAY (Hver ny dag)
Tomas Kofod do the part "old man" so well, both in Phantom and here. And I felt so sorry for his aging Valjean.

Cosette and Marius was as cute in second act as the first act.

THE WEDDING (Brylluppet)
I've always loved the tune the guests are singing. It sounds different from the rest of the score, somehow, while yet blending well in. Nice choreography here, but the set... a silly, flat plastic chandelier coming down from above, and a cheap-looking set in the background. Whaaaat? Shocked

Both Th�nardiers was very good here, but you must be rather stinky to NOT make this scene work... Marius also seemed more majure, somehow. Cosette's wedding dress and veil was... how to put it... not to my liking at all.... That goes for most of the costumes in this production. Very beige, very unflattering in cut (and that's just not my dislike for the 1830's fashion, I recognize good costume design when I see it). I don't think there was one single garb I desired, and few I found seriously good. A couple of the students, one or two whores, and that's it.

VALJEAN'S DEATH (Valjeans d�d)
Saaaad scene. Can't remember that this has moved me as much in the past. The acting between Cosette and Valjean was wonderful, and when the shadows from the past started appearing I noticed a tear on my cheek. Seriously.

CAN YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? (Folkets sang)
Great finale. Very strong singing, very unison, very powerful.

I don't think I have much to add. They got a standing ovation pretty quickly, but the applause lasted shorter than what Phantom usually got. That might be due to how they "held back" the lead roles (Carlotta - Phantom) until the last minute, though. Here they pesented the ensemble in two groups, and the rest of the roles rather quick. Or was it just me? Dunno.

We ended up on the same train back to Sweden as conductor Per Engstr�m and.... Enjolras!!! Laughing

Ha-ha-ha. Luckilly I wasn't completely star struck. I told him he was utterly fantastic on stage, but not (I think) in a fan-girly way. Although I liked the cast in general, he was in a league of his own. You could place him on any stage in any country, and he would steal the show. Fantastic!

So... all in all a very nice theatre experience. This "Les Mis" was rather disappointing in looks (which one wouldn't think from the picture I've posted), but very impressive in sound. And I do prefer the latter to dominate. Which it luckilly did. But it wasn't the usual Det Ny Teater standard I'm used to. Usually they impress in all ways possible; cast, orchestra, sets, lyrics, costumes.... This production seemed a bit uneven. But definitely worth seeing!

operafantomet

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Les Mis in Copenhagen 2009