Non-English recordings

Orestes Fasting · Non-English recordings

What the title says. We might have had a topic like this before, but I don't remember one recently.

I'm terribly fond of the French concept album and the Paris revival cast, of course. I also rather like the Duisburg recording, though the lyrics leave something to be desired, and the Belgian highlights.

I could never quite bring myself to be interested in the Swedish recording, though. It boasts some lovely singing, and there is honestly not a weak point on the whole album, but I found it a little boring--it didn't seem to have anything distinctive about it.

The 3-CD Prague complete recording, strangely enough, suffers some of the same problems as the CSR even though it was recorded live and all the characters have plenty of on-stage chemistry. The problem is that it was compiled from several different casts over a few separate performances, so there's no consistency in who's playing whom and you don't "follow" the characters as well. It's neat, and there are some good people on it, but you can't really sink into the story. The lack of consistency throws you out of it the same way the lack of cohesion does on the CSR.

A note on completeness--there are actually six complete Les Mis recordings, depending on your definition. The CSR and the Prague B�dn�ci both contain the whole thing, full-stop. (The Prague production was non-replica and thus not subject to the 2001 cuts.) The four 2003 Japanese recordings contain the entire cut version of the show, which fits on two discs--so there is less material than on the CSR, but it is the whole show as it is performed on stage today. (I think. There might be a minor snip or two in the second act, but I don't remember any.)

Eponine93

OF, do you speak all of those languages or do you just follow along based on your knowledge of the show in English?

Orestes Fasting

I speak English, French, and German. I can loosely follow most of the European recordings because Dutch, Swedish, Danish, etc. are similar to German and Spanish is similar to French; I can occasionally pick up a word in Czech or Hebrew, but not really follow anything. Hungarian and Japanese have me completely lost.

But of course it's possible to appreciate a good performance even if you don't understand the lyrics. Very Happy

Quique

I adore the Israeli and Hungarian albums. Not only do I love the distinct LP sound, the casts are amazing. The Thenardiers are a great. I love both Fantines and the Eponines, too. But I especially love the raspiness of the Hungarian Valjean. Not the most amazing voice, but very emotive. The Hungarian Javert's suicide is hilarious but good at the same time...(sounds like his balls are being cut off, lol!!!!).

Dudu Fisher's Valjean is excellent. The only member I don't care much for is the Hungarian Cosette. Her voice reminds me of the Spanish album's Cosette - very, very masculine sounding.

Even though the mixing job is terrible, I actually really love the Austrian cast album. There's a certain Umph! to it that I love.

I LOVE the Swedish album's drums! Though I hate the recording's tempo.

The Duisburg album is great. "At the End Of the Day" is thrilling. Though I wish you could hear more of the strings.

The Paris revival album is just perfect in every way - the mixing, cast, orchestrations, everything. The Prologue has an especially 'gritty' sound to it.

I have mixed feelings about the Danish and Spanish albums. Not only do they both share the same orchestral tracks, but their casts are not as good as the others. The mixing job done on the Spanish album is awful - it's tinny and has too much treble.

I love all of the Japanese albums. Incredible sound quality considering they're all recorded live and the casts are amazing.

The Czech albums are OK. Though I favor the original Prague highlights over the complete one.

The Dutch album would've been incredible had they done a better job mixing it. Of all albums, that one has the poorest mixing - the orchestra sounds too low compared to the vocals and, like the Spanish album, has way too much treble and a sharpness to it that annoys me. But the cast is incredible and the orchestra sounds fantastic.

The Antwerp album's "At the End Of the Day" has some interesting orchestrations (lots of electric guitar). The cast is wonderful and the mixing top-notch.

Orestes Fasting

The Israeli album is interesting. Quite lacking in "umph," but parts of it are downright haunting--I'm thinking especially of IDAD, Empty Chairs, and the finale (at least, up until the crescendo that never comes). I also have a random mp3 of a medley of that cast, quite distinct from the cast recording and radio broadcast, with some funky orchestrations and a breathtaking version of Bring Him Home.

I am none too fond of the Vienna album; I like the Duisburg cast recording and the unreleased Berlin highlights a lot more. TBH it has a lot to do with the lyrics, which the Vienna cast members tended to belt out in all their awkward and painful glory--the Berlin cast especially was much better about making the lyrics sound more graceful than they actually were. (Lucius Wolter in particular got handed some of the worst groaners as Marius, and managed to make them work.)

I never really paid much attention to the Danish and Spanish albums. They're... not that interesting.

I actually hated the Dutch album--which surprised me, because I like Henk Poort, Pia Douwes, and especially Joke de Kruijf's other work. But yes, the mixing is awful, and I think it must have suffered from bad direction to make so many good performers all sound so lackluster. It's also one of the few cast recordings (of any show) I've ever listened to where I feel like the language got in the way--not only are the lyrics bad, the over-emphasis of the Dutch 'g' and other harsh phonemes is distracting. It's not a problem on the Israeli album, even though Hebrew has the same sound; it's not a problem on most of the other Dutch cast recordings I've listened to. I don't know, the entire recording sounds harsh to me, both because of the language and the singing styles.

(I love how one can tell what our preoccupations are by our reviews of these recordings--you focus on orchestra and sound quality more than the cast, and I have a distressing tendency to go off on linguistic tangents. Haha.)

Quique

lol, yes! I've definitely noticed that you are all about the languages themselves. I love that. It makes one pay closer attention to things they usually pass over whether intentionally or unintentionally.

You're right - I definitely am more preoccupied with sound quality and orchestra, hehe. TVAW is more of a cast person, from what I've read, hehe.

The one thing you mentioned that I've noticed on my own is the distracting, guttural sound of the vocals on the Dutch cast album. It gets so incredibly loud and heavy at times, it literally sounds as if they're clearing their throats! lol.

But I must say that Henk Poort has one of the most distinct Valjean voices ever. Gorgeous. And is it just me or is Pia's Fantine sort of creepy? Not in a bad way, though. I don't know, I can't explain it. Her interpretation is just so 'dark.'

As for the Vienna cast album...yes, Norbert Lamla's (Javert) constant shouting gets to me after awhile. And while I think think Alexander Diepold's Enjolras is strong, his singing style is too operetic. I love Sona MacDonald's Fantine...reminds me a lot of Elinore O'Connell's.

I didn't know you actually speak French and German. That's so cool. Are the German lyrics really that bad? I've always heard people say that they are and was always curious to know exactly how/why they're so bad. They can't be worse than the original Spanish lyrics! lol. They're really, really terrible (even laughable in many places).

Orestes Fasting

I actually love how operatic Alexander Diepold's voice is. It's unconventional and while I'm not sure I'd like for it to be the norm, it's a great treat once in a while.

It was Felix Martin and Jane Comerford who got on my nerves the most with their delivery; there is nothing quite like hearing a Marius cry out melodramatically, "But I need you, Ponine, I'd give the world if my love could keep you alive!" or "Oh my friends, have mercy on me, I miss you so much / This pain has no name / Nobody will bring you back again!" (To say nothing of an Eponine declaring, "The rain dyed me red, but it doesn't hurt me--you're helping, I could expire with happiness" as though it were the most romantic line in the world.) Now granted, these are fairly fast and loose translations, but I think the lines actually sound more embarrassing in their original verse form.

The problem with literally translating lyrics, though, is that so much depends on the flow of the original line. Which is why I cringe at "Dieser Schmerz kennt keinen Namen / niemand bringt sie wieder her / dunkles Schweigen an den Tischen / meine Freunde sind nicht mehr," but think that "Il est un deuil que je porte / lourd au coeur comme un secret / seul devant ces tables vides / qu'ils ne reverront jamais" is brilliant. Even though "This pain has no name / Nobody will bring them back again / A dark silence at the tables / My friends are no more" doesn't sound that much worse than "There's a grief that I carry / close to my heart like a secret / Alone before these empty tables / that they will never see again."

(See? Linguistic tangents! Oy.)

Fantine

I can't listen to the Dutch Cast Recording.
a. the lyrics are terrible
b. I dislike half the cast

I hate Pia as Fantine. I really dislike her shrill voice. I liked her in Elisabeth but that's all. Henk has a nice voice but his voice has a really classical vibrato and I'm not sure if I like that. It's a bit outdated.

I wanted to type more of my frustrations, but never mind. There are things you can't understand if you don't actively speak the language yourself.

Colle

The only non-English recording I have is the Japanese Red cast, and I have thought about buying more Japanese cast at some point. I love most the the cast, and I think the sound is great. Since I can't speak any language other than English, I am more interested in the sound quailty and cast. I wish they would come out with a legal Korean cast recording. For some reason I like the sound of Asian languages, and I am not asian.

windbelle

I really really love the Swedish recording. I like almost all the cast, especially Fantine, though their voices all sound...umm...light and pop. The orchestra sounds a bit distant from the vocal part, but it's quite refreshing and interesting.

The Paris Revival would be perfect if not for the Enjolras, who is the only big weak point IMO.

I remember I liked the orchestra of the Vienna album, but I'm not impressed by the cast. The Enjolras has a heavy operatic voice, which is rarely heard on the later albums, but I find it a bit too stiff to my taste. The Duisburg one is more interesting to listen to. Its cast is overall stronger.

I like the sound quality of the Prague 3CDs. I don't know but it brings me a more "Live" feeling than other live recordings. The mixed cast are decent, but the orchestra sometimes has my attention rather than the voices.

I never understand why Japanese could make so many albums. It's like the cost of making an album is close to zero for them. Anyway I've heard three or four of them including the 1994 red cast, and I'm not too impressed either. All in all I don't care for the male parts, but there're some really wonderful female voices. Plus, I find their vibrato a bit strange.

I dislike the Dutch album a lot too. The whole cast sounds stiff and two-dimension. The Enjolras is harsh to the ears, and Pia Douwes doesn't sound appropriate as Fantine.

The Spanish ablum is good, but kind of boring to me.

Oh, and I adore parts of the original French concept album. It has my favorite 'do you hear the people sing' i.e. 'A La Volonte du Peuple'.

I don't speak any of those languages, so I have nothing to say about the lyrics.

LesMisForever

I love both OFC, and Paris Revival. But, those are discussed almost as much as the English ones, so, i won't elaborate.

The Czech cast recording is Ok, but i am not huge fan of the lyrics. Especially "Master of the House" (which is translated as "clever head", or "wicked head".....i mean jsut check this " Clever head, this is a capital, only stupid would refuse it ..of course in Czech it ryhmes, but still.. ugh).
In my opinion the best thing in the Czech recording is On my Own (Translated as "A Lone's song") by Lucia Bila (the original Eponine).
I dreamed a dream (translated as "Book of dreams"), Empty chairs at Empty tables, and Do You hear the people sing ("Listen to the Peoples' songs" ) are also good.

Other recordings make me appreciate the music more, because i don't understand the lyrics.

Literal translation = Bad, and lazy translation.

Quique

Orestes Fasting

Fantine

The OFC is still rather precious to me Smile

I really love most of the orchestrations (especially those of 'Mon price est en chemin') and the fact that it has songs which aren't in the musical nowadays.

Mademoiselle Lanoire

I think my favorites are the OFC and the Japanese Red Cast (which I think has one of the strongest overall recorded casts - there's only one actor I really dislike on it.)

The Swedish cast is at the bottom, for me. Boring as heck. The actors sound sleepy. The background orchestra does nothing for me. And far too abridged - I hate highlights albums.

The Pirate King

Does anyone know a site where I can view libretti of the foreign productions and translations, in particular the French versions?

Also, does anyone know where to find foreign recordings for reasonable prices? I may just get the French recordings off of iTunes, though I hate doing that...

Edit again: also, how many of the TAC Valjeans were officially recorded? Which were they? As in, on which recordings could I find them?

Timmy_Wishes he was Quast

i simply adore the strings on the German recording i have. The orchestra sounds string heavy and it really enhances certain parts of the score i have noticed. In particular the transition between the What have i done? And At the end of the day. Although i always know when it's the German One Day More when i'm on i-pod shuffle becasue the arpegios sounds lovely with the heavy strings.

Mademoiselle Lanoire

Glissando

Where do I get a copy of the Israeli recording? Amazon?

kozafluitmusique

I heard a clip of the German cast from a friend ("I Dreamed a Dream") And i heard "Look Down" ("Bonjour Paris") in French. I wish I could know where the foreign recordings are for any musical!!!!!!!!

lesmisboy

www.soundofmusic.de

The Very Angry Woman

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Non-English recordings