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Enjolras saying “love, the future is thine,” and Jehan was described as being addicted to love, and his last words were “long live the future” I am shaking you by the shoulders

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the fact that the only fully translated turkish les miserables production being lost media pisses me off (probably only me but whatever)

coincidentally im turkish and am pretty fluent in english so i took matters into my own hands

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SHŌJO COSETTE E38: Cosette and Eponine

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A very important compilation

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Ask and you shall recieve

À la volonté du peuple (Do you hear the people sing) translation from the new Châtelet version

To the people's will (À la volonté du peuple)

Who screams its anger's words (Qui crie les mots de sa colère)

The song of those who don't want to be the Earth's damned anymore (Le chant de ceux qui ne veulent plus être les damnés de la Terre)

If your heart beats as hard as the drums in distance (Si ton coeur bat aussi fort que le tambour dans le lointain)

It means hope still exists and it is for tomorrow (C'est que l'espoir existe encore et c'est pour demain)

(Combeferre's verse)

On the stones of a barricade so that finally everyone has their chance (Sur les pierres d'une barricade pour qu'enfin chacun ait sa chance)

We will deliver together the glorious fight that is starting (Nous délivrerons ensemble le combat glorieux qui commence)

We are now soldiers of an army advancing (Nous sommes désormais les soldats d'une armée qui avance)

To the people's will (À la volonté du peuple)

Whose voice we never muffle (Dont on n'étouffe jamais la voix)

And whose song is reborn still, and whose song is reborn already (Et dont le chant renaît toujours et dont le chant renaît déjà)

If your heart beats as hard as the drums in distance (Si ton coeur bat aussi fort que le tambour dans le lointain)

It means hope still exists and it is for tomorrow (C'est que l'espoir existe encore et c'est pour demain)

(Feuilly's verse)

To the people's will I donate my will (À la volonté du peuple je fais don de ma volonté)

If we need to die for it I want to be the first (S'il nous faut mourir pour elle je voudrais être le premier)

The first name engraved on the monument of hope (Le premier nom gravé sur le monument de l'espoir)

(Chorus)

BONUS : The finale version

(Chorus)

There will come the glorious day when in His walk towards perfection (Il viendra le jour glorieux quand dans sa marche vers l'idéal)

Men will go towards progress, from evil to good, from false to true (L'Homme ira vers le progrès du mal au bien du faux au vrai)

A dream can die but we can never bury the future (Un rêve peut mourir mais on n'enterre jamais l'avenir)

Join us in our crusade (Joignez-vous à la croisade)

Of those who believe in humankind (De ceux qui croient au genre humain)

For one fallen barricade others will rise tomorrow (Pour une barricade qui tombe d'autres se lèveront demain)

To the people's will (À la volonté du peuple)

A drum sings in the distance (Un tambour chante dans le lointain)

It comes to announce the day and it's for tomorrow (Il vient annoncer le grand jour et c'est pour demain)

(Chorus repeats)

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I got video of Grantaire saying "I'm one of them, long live the republic" so I thought I'd share

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“ On waking up, Cosette had run to get her shoe. In it she had found the gold piece. […] Cosette was dazzled. Her destiny began to intoxicate her. She did not know what a gold piece was; she had never seen one. ”

— Les Misérables | Vol.II - Book.III - Ch.IX ( Illustrated by Adriano Minardi, 1930 )

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Happy Jean Valjean adopts Cosette day to all those who observe

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SOME ILLUSTRATIONS FROM A LES MIS BRICK THAT I FOUND ON A SECOND HAND BOOKSTORE (printed in the early 1900)

MONTPARNASSE AND AN UNKNOWN MAN (also known as Jean Valjean)

GAVROCHE AND HIS ADOPTIVE KIDDOS

AND FINALLY, BUT ABSOLUTELY NOT LESS IMPORTANT...

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND.... ENJOLRAAAAAS

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Les Mis Hidden Name Meanings: Jean Valjean

Every Les Mis character’s name is either a pun or has some deep symbolic meaning– or both at once! Jean Valjean’s name has a ton of layers so let’s dive in.

When we’re first introduced to him, Hugo tells us that his name is quote “a contraction of voilà Jean, or “here is Jean.”” We’re told that he was named after his father, and that his family name probably began as a nickname.

The word “Jean” in french sounds like the word “gens,” which means “people.” So his last name is a pun meant to make you think “viola les gens”/ “here are people.”

The most obvious layer to his name is that Jean Valjean is basically John Doe. He is the anonymous Everyman. His sister’s name is Jeanne, so she’s basically Jane Doe. They aren’t special or exceptional or unusual; they’re just behold! The regular people.

In fact his name is so common-sounding that it's a plot point. Champmathieu, the man who is mistaken for Jean Valjean, has a name that the police connect with his. Javert theorizes that "Champ" is a version of "Jean" in a specific accent, while Mathieu was actually Jean Valjean's sister's maiden name. ("Champ" is also the French word for "field.") The fact that Jean Valjean is a peasant everyman makes it easy for others in his position to be conflated with him.

But the other layer is that this is all an elaborate pun biblical reference!

When Pontius Pilate presents a bound Jesus Christ to the crowd before his crucifixion, he says the words “ecce homo” or “Here is the man!”/”behold the man!”

“Voila Jean” or “here is Jean!”/”behold Jean!” is meant to be a reference to that.

During his death scene Jean Voila-Jean even references the “Ecce homo” line explicitly, gesturing at a crucifix and saying:

“Voilà le grand martyr.”

Which Isabel Hapgood translates as “behold the great martyr.”

At another point in the same scene Marius says to Cosette:

“He has sacrificed himself. Viola l’Homme. Behold the man.”

But more references to that biblical moment appear throughout the novel; Jean Valjean is associated with it constantly, all the time. It’s one of his defining biblical allusions. He’ll be trying to live anonymously, or under an alias– and then suddenly his true name and criminal past will be revealed, he’ll be revealed to be ‘the man,’ and some great horrible act of martyrdom will follow.

Sometimes Jean Valjean is the one revealing his own identity, but sometimes Inspector Javert is put into the role of Pontius Pilate. Javert himself explicitly makes that comparison– Jean Valjean as Jesus, Javert as Pontius Pilate– when he’s contemplating suicide.

And this ties into one of the largest differences between the book and the stage musical.

In the musical, “prisoner 24601” is the name that represents Jean Valjean’s dehumanization–while “Jean Valjean” is the name he uses while standing up for his own humanity. He will be called 24601, and proudly declare that “my name is Jean Valjean” to assert he’s still a person.

And while this is a great storytelling choice, it’s almost the opposite of how the name “Jean Valjean” is handled in the book.

Because in the book…. Jean Valjean IS the name that dehumanizes him. Jean Valjean is the name that he’s running from. The name that Javert uses when he’s insulting him, the name that bigots use when they’re threatening him, the name that ignorant people use when they’re mocking him – it’s not 24601, it’s Jean Valjean.

And there’s a special kind of agony to that.

The name that is being used to torture, humiliate, and dehumanize him isn’t 24601– it’s his name.

He thinks of it as a “fatal name,” as a punishment. Living under that name is living in hell. When Jean Valjean is living under one of his aliases, concealing his identity, he thinks:

That which he had always feared most of all in his hours of self-communion, during his sleepless nights, was to ever hear that name {jean Valjean] pronounced; he had said to himself, that that would be the end of all things for him; that on the day when that name made its reappearance it would cause his new life to vanish from about him, and—who knows?—perhaps even his new soul from within him.

It’s no wonder that he ends up internalizing the way society views him, and developing so much fear and hatred of himself. He’s grown to see his name as just….well, ecce homo, behold the man. His name is just the two words people say before they violently punish him.

Names and namelessness are a major theme in Les Mis, and he’s the character who has the most complex relationship with his own names. He has a legal name, but it’s used to torture him, and he has a series of false names he uses to escape torture.

If I were to describe Jean Valjean– one of the most complex characters in all of literature, in one word, that word would be “grief.”

The criminal justice system takes everything from him, including things he wasn’t aware he was able to lose. His name, the last connection he had to his family and his old identity, gets warped into this thing needs to view with fear and horror. The thing society despises isn’t 24601, isn’t a number they’ve placed on him – the thing they despise is Jean Valjean, some intrinsic inherent part of himself. He isn’t hated for what he did, he’s hated for what he is, and that is something he can never escape.

{But speaking of complexity we’ve actually barely scratched the surface of how Jean Valjean reacts to names, because he spends most of the novel living under a series of nicknames aliases. And guess what! Each of these names also has some elaborate symbolic meaning! If you’re interested in more posts covering his different aliases, feel free to leave a comment in the replies!}

[thanks for reading! For more in-depth analysis, check out the @lesmisletters readalong or join our discord server!]

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Thoughts about Les Mis Châtelet, in no particular order. Pic dump included.

Things I loved:

- The production design and staging were absolutely breathtaking. Even though it was minimalistic set, they really did some phenomenal job with the projections, lighting, and clever juxtaposition. It really felt you missed nothing from the more elaborate set at all. The official pics really don’t do it justice. You just have to see it in person.

- Eponine was one of the best I’ve seen. I also enjoyed the Thénardiers.

- The costumes were so well-thought out! Apparently there were more than 220 costumes created for 40 characters. Being a Javert girlie (gender neutral), my absolute favourite was Javert. He nailed this look (even with the hands behind his back thing!)

- Javert joined the finale! He even approached Valjean and gave him a handshake.

- Stars was beautiful and magical especially the staging effects. Javert walked up one of the raised sets that was made to look like a balcony. As the song progressed, the lights dimmed, plunging him into darkness, while projections in front and behind him began to glitter. It was a dazzling sight, as though he was floating in space, among the stars. I would want to watch the show again just for that.

Things I didn’t like/on the fence about:

- I’m not too invested in any of the singers, even though on a technical level they were amazing. But apart from Éponine, I wasn’t really feeling as emotional as I expected to from a Les Mis production. To be fair, I was also distracted because my seat had a huge column that blocked a fair part of my line of sight.

- The choice to have both Javert and Valjean be bald…..they frankly looked like twins up there on the stage. Not sure if I like it. I appreciate the whole idea of them being two sides of the same coin, both representing Vidocq, etc…..still. Kinda took me out of it especially in the Confrontation.

- Another side effect of the baldness: it makes Valjean looking approximately the same age throughout the whole story, and it took real strength of willpower to believe this virile looking man was on his deathbed at the end. Also makes Bring Him Home less poignant as well. (ps this was called Comme Un Homme/Like A Man in the French, which I have a lot of thoughts about but…well, it’s the original lyrics so I’ll refrain from commenting)

Then, again, as a Valvert girlie (gender neutral) I just have a very high expectation out of the portrayals of these characters. I do appreciate and like a lot of what they achieved, however!

Fun fact the woman next to me was crying throughout the show, so maybe I would’ve felt more emotional if I was French 😆

Here are a few behind the scenes pictures.

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how was the show yesterday! Did you see anything from the cheap seat?

Les Misérables at Le Théâtre du Châtelet was great! And yeah, I could see pretty much the whole stage (when I was leaning up against the railing) so I was happy with it! I'd only seen the musical once and it was over ten years ago, so I really loved getting to see this version. A couple of things I really enjoyed, in no particular order:

-Fantine was played by a replacement cast member that day, Myriana Hatchi. I haven't seen the show with the regular Fantine, Claire Pérot, but I absolutely loved Myriana's performance. She was the real highlight of the show for me. I believe she normally plays one of the nuns, but her interpretation of Fantine was so emotional and well performed. Her Fantine was heartbreakingly believable. At times I take issue with some Fantine's performances in the musical, but she brought so much spirit and personality to the role. I hope she gets the chance to play the role more often. No diss at all to Claire Pérot--again, I haven't seen her in the role, and I'm sure she is amazing as well! But I was pleasantly surprised to see Myriana's interpretation.

-More nuns: when Valjean is in the hospital hiding from Javert in act I, one of the nuns takes Javert's rifle and hides it in a patient's bed, while she's still lying in it. A funny little staging decision that I loved. Very Sister Simplice-y.

-Assorted amis: Grantaire (played by Ryan Malcolm) was a refreshingly suave, stylish, yet undeniably Grantaire-y Grantaire. I loved him in the part. Fashionable Grantaire representation. Enjolras (Stanley Kassa) was also a brilliantly convincing Enjolras--inspiring, beautiful, makes you want to sacrifice your life for a just cause .

-On a related note, Grantaire, Enjolras, and Gavroche: Enjolras picks Gavroche up on his shoulders, carries him, and then passes him off to Grantaire, who carries him on his shoulders. Gavroche has two gay dads.

-THEN, when Gavroche is shot, Grantaire mourns for him so emotionally. Everyone knows to let Grantaire hold his body, and he won't let anyone else touch him. Enjolras takes his hat. He lies next to his corpse for much of the latter half of the barricade, which I thought was a great call-back to the brick (where Grantaire is asleep for much of it) and yet much more sympathetic to his character.

-Among les amis was a waiter from the Musain, who (from what I could interpret) begins the work as a waiter who is friendly with les amis, and then becomes engaged in the cause. I thought it was a lovely decision to show the engagement of the people. We see him and his wife/lover (?) throughout, who is also there at the barricades, and when Enjolras sends the women and children home, the wife is the one to convince him to stay. I was thoroughly charmed. Don't know who played either of them, would love to find out.

-At Cosette and Marius's wedding, the actors who play the wedding guests are the same ones who play les amis, including the parts of Enjolras and Grantaire. Obviously the characters themselves do not attend (being dead) but the fact that they are so recognizable made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's like what should have been, if everything hadn't gone wrong. We see the waiter and his wife dancing together as well.

-Javert (Sébastien Duchange) played his role very, very well. I like a Javert that's got a bit of mean dog in him, and this Javert was very believable as a frightening, dangerous figure, who also delivered on the more reflective moments, like in "Sous les étoiles."

Anyways, that is only a short list, but those are the the things that stood out to me the most, and that I can think of off the top of my head. Very strong performances all around, and great staging! If anyone has any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them! (Or if anyone has seen it and wants to scream about it a bit with me lmao)

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went Getty image hunting! here are some more high quality photos :)

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This is now a 2024 Théâtre du Chatelet Montparnasse stan account btw (pics by @/thomasamouroux on insta)

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OK A BREAKDOWN OF LES MISERABLES IN FRANCE

- they changed a lot of the lyrics (including my fav/funniest lyrics unfortunately) which was pretty interesting ; honestly i think it's a great thing bc it was last re-written in 1991 and they made the songs more textual, more like real talking and i think way more accessible for a lot of people (bc in france we have this habit of writing pretty words, with a lot of images and lyrical phrases but it's not always helping to understand the plot yknow)

- the new lyrics for do you hear the people sing/à la volonté du peuple are SO GOOD ! originally it says :

à la volonté du peuple/et à la santé du progrès/rempli ton cœur d'un vin rebelle/et à demain ami fidèle

(to the will of the people/and cheers to progress/fill your heart with a rebel wine/and see you tomorrow, faithful friend)

and now it's:

à la volonté du peuple/qui crie les mots de sa colère/le chant de ceux qui ne veulent plus/être les damnés de la terre

à la volonté du peuple/dont on étouffe jamais la voix/et dont le chant renaît toujours/et dont le chant renait déjà

(to the will of the people/screaming the words of its anger/the song of those who don't want to be/the damned on earth anymore

to the will of the people/which you can never choke the voice/and whose song always revive/and whose song's revive already)

and idk i think it's pretty freaking cool; but i'll do a big breakdown of the new lyrics of do you hear the people sing bc it's the song they changed the most and i think it's way better for our times and more hopeful and giving the will to fight

- the stage: honestly real cool and clever! it's a smaller stage, way smaller than the west end one if my memories are not mistaken, and we obvisouly don't have the rotating stage; but they played a lot with moving structures and transparent curtains to make special effect like buildings, rain, etc... and it's way real cool !

- idk who the sound guy was but props to him cause the sound was SO GOOD like it sounded so clean and like listening to an album, truly perfect on this aspect

- the actors were GREAT, you could see they rlly took the roles and made them their own (i think enjolras' actor loves his role bc ive seen some of his tiktok and he looks like he loves it a lot so that's cool af)

- also i bough this

which is a conversation with boublil and schonberg retracing the story of the musical so yay

Anyway i'll do another big post to tell y'all act by act what was happening !

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Cunty Monty crumbs