The Vietnam National Opera & Ballet (VNOB) will perform the musical Les Misérable during two nights at 8pm in Hanoi on April 16 and 17.

The entire opera will be performed in English by artists from the VNOB under the direction of renown stage director Nguyen Trieu Duong and choreographer Linh An.

The Vietnam National Opera & Ballet (VNOB) will perform the musical Les Misérable during two nights at 8pm in Hanoi on April 16 and 17. Photo: VNOB

Les Miserable, published in 1862, is among the most outstanding works by Victor Hugo, and one of the most popular novels from the 19th century.

Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption. Jean Valjean was released in 1815 after serving nineteen years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving children.

Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a bishop inspires him by a tremendous act of mercy, but he is being tracked down by a police inspector named Javert.

Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into the June 1832 Rebellion in France, where a group of young idealists attempt to overthrow the government at a street barricade in Paris.

The musical has been so far performed in over 40 countries in 21 languages. It also holds the record for the longest running musical in London's West End.

Les Miserable - Vietnamese version is an impressive classic musical that will be on stage in Hanoi in mid-April. Photo: VNOB.

Les Miserable – Vietnamese version is a combination skill between singing, dancing and performing on stage. The artists will sing in English  the classic songs such as Look Down, Do You Hear the People Sing, One Day More, I Dreamed a Dream which are subtitled in Vietnamese.

Leading roles Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, Cosette and Marius will be performed by Tung Lam, Huy Duc, Thu Quynh, To Loan and Nhu Toi.

General Director of the musical and VNBO’s director Tran Ly Ly said that with what the Covid-19 pandemic has done to mankind and the fight facing all people around the world, VNOB wishes to put modern human values into a classical work.

The production crew of the musical are all young people who used to learn the music from famous international musical schools, Ly added.

The VNOB has been working with organizations such as the French and British embassies, the British Council and the French Cultural Centre for almost one year before this impressive show debuted in November 2020. 

Through the musical, VNOB wishes to put modern human values into a classical work of Victor Hugo. Photo: VNOB.

The artists Huy Duc and To Loan are veterans who played a series of roles in Carmen, Maria de Buenos Aires, Co Sao (Miss Sao) and Nguoi Tac Tuong (The Sculptor).

The musical’s soundtrack is performed live under the direction of conductor Dong Quang Vinh with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and English lyrics by Herbert Kretzme.

Graduating from Shanghai, Vinh has conducted Carmen, Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Director Dương graduated from musical theatre at Sheffield Hallam and theatre art for community development at the University of East London. He has participated as an actor and director-assistant in Miss Saigon, Hamlet, A Dream and Mid Summer Night Dreams.

Choreographer Linh An studied theatre jazz at Broadway Dance Centre in New York and GCSE Dance (contemporary jazz) at Holland Park School, London. She has worked on projects for the English National Ballet, New York Choreographers’ Forum and Buglisi Dance.

Performances will begin at 8pm at the Hanoi Opera House on April 16 and 17. Tickets are available from VND500,000-1,500,000 (US$21 to 65) at https://nhahatnhacvukichvietnam.com/en/ticket/ or http://ticketvn.com (free delivery).