High notes are low point for Les Mis lead
In an otherwise solid and ticket-worthy performance, David Shannon as Valjean in Les Mis marred a couple of his solo numbers with very insipid high notes, many of them falsetto when they are traditionally sung in full chest voice.
I know it’s hard, night after night, 8 performances a week popping out top As and Bs so I wonder whether he was just tired or having a bad day.
Regular readers — both of you — will recall that I derive much pleasure attempting to pitch the top B at the end of ‘Who am I?” and the A in “Bring him home”.
(If you’re not sure what a (baritone) top B sounds like — or how electrifying — the last note of Thunderball should give you a clue =] )
If it wasn’t a one-off, without wishing to be uncharitable, one wonders why someone is cast to sing a role where many crucial notes are outside his range?
It was just disappointing because I remember the first time I saw Les Mis, on my 18th birthday, and never new people could sing that high!! It was really exciting and I’m sorry for the other youngsters who missed that thrill on Wednesday.
The other minor disappointment was Jon Robyns as Marius, though in fairness that’s largely because, for me, one man owns this role. Actually, Robyns’ singing was really good but his Will Young-esque features didn’t look Marius enough for me, and I didn’t think he played it with the same depth, conviction or awareness as Hadley all those years ago.
Otherwise, a fantastic ensemble performance of my favourite musical — I don’t think there are many West End shows that get a standing ovation nearly every time.
A final gripe, but this time about audiences. I would seem to have shared a similar experience to Stephenfry, as he points out, following his trip to see Rowan in Oliver! –
600 people went to the theatre, not to to see Oliver but to compete in a paper & chocolate wrapper rustling competition. Others came to cough
Similarly, my neighbours in Les Mis talked incessantly throughout the performance, not even in hushed tones but at conversation volume — even in the face of my hints which ranged from the polite (glancing over, leaning forward with finger in left ear) to the blunt (“ShhHHHHHhhhh!”). When I worked out that they were not English speakers it appeared that one was translating for the other I was momentarily mollified… and then promptly more indignant than before: why don’t they buy a programme or read wikipedia like everyone else who doesn’t know what it’s about? Being foreign doesn’t exempt you! Maybe it’s a cultural difference but from my travel experience, I haven’t found anywhere in the world where talking audibly during a performance is acceptable.
My first Valjean (of 5) was Dave Willetts – wow, he could belt out the high ones…!
And my first Marius was Simon Bowman – Chris on the OCR of Miss Saigon. Good voice although a little wobbly at times.
It’s still a cracker of a show… :o)
I.