Les Miserables - The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall (1998)

Extremely satisfying

I've always loved this score, and have not been a fan of the Trevor Nunn staging, so this is the perfect performance type for me. The best of the best. Can't wait for the Royal Albert Hall staged concert of CHESS coming next year for the same reasons... July 26, 2008

Unique & Superb

Cast members from the World join on stage and remain throughout this unique performance. Such does not detract; rather the performance is enhanced by the witnesses, who are our surrogates, to their own stunning performance. We all see and hear Victor Hugo's message transmitted with clarity of life's revolution taking place within and around each one of us. The ending will send chills down the back of the most cynical critic of the theater. July 13, 2008

Great Music, Fantastic Cast

This performance does indeed have the dream cast. The roles are played to perfection. The bonus information is most interesting. To think that the critics panned the original stage performance, although the public loved it. Les Mis is truely one of the greatest musicals ever composed. There is one disappointment, however. The Tenth Anniversary Concert, as seen on PBS, included a special encore presenting actors who played Jean Valjean in productions from 17 different countries, each stepping up to sing a line, or two, of "Do You Here the People Sing" in his own language. This encore was omitted from the DVD, although it was included on the CD of this concert. I can see this encore only on my own VCR of the concert. Too bad. July 2, 2008

Little People Skip

I love Les Mis and I love this concert but I am extremely disappointed with this DVD. They cut out a verse from Little People that was in the original concert!

Instead of

Liar!
Good evening, dear inspector
Lovely evening, my dear.
I know this man, my friends
His name is Inspector Javert
So don't believe a word he says
'Cause none of it's true

we get

Liar!
So don't believe a word he says
'Cause none of it's true

Which makes no sense. And makes me very sad. I waited so long to get this on DVD and Gavroche is one of my favorite characters so to have some of his part cut really sucks. :< I don't know if this was intentional or not but GRRRRR. June 28, 2008

"Dream Cast" is a perfect description

There is no doubt that this is the best production of the musical ever done. Casting is superb, and the performances of these professionals are full of the passion you would expect from actors immersed in their characters and at the top of their musical form. Movies have never captured the essence of Hugo's masterpiece, and some have been an outright offense to Hugo's work, but the musical productions are able to tap into the emotion much better and much deeper. This particular performance, even without the drama of a set or the progression of the musical play, captures the heart and mind beyond any expectation. It is not just recommended; it's a must see! June 18, 2008

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