Despite a roasting from British critics and a short-lived London run in 2000, since 1998 this show has played to over 13 million people and been translated into nine languages. They love it from South Korea to Kazhakstan and now the creators are determined to make a triumphant return to the West End as part of the current world tour. In a bold move, the show will play in the original French, with English surtitles. One of the harshest criticisms over here was the use of a backing track rather than a live band. This is not unusual in France but horrified British purists. This time there will be a live string orchestra accompanying the prerecorded score. Will it work? The show’s creator says he has faced doubts and derision from the show’s very inception.
Already an established star across France and Italy when he created the show, Richard Cocciante admits he has never fit any mould, nor been accepted by any mainstream.
He told Express Online: “I spent much of my career a little apart from what you must do… And now this is the same. I was told it would be a disaster for my career. Crazy. But sometimes crazy is good and you have to go with your heart. It was an adventure.
“Nobody wanted to produce it in Paris. Nobody even wanted to listen.”
And so a very unconventional adventure began. Cocciante wrote preliminary track Belle with lyricist Luc Plamondon and released it as a single. It sold 2.5million copies in France alone.
Cocciante admits: “It was such a hit it was almost a problem for the show… How do we do the show to match that?”
The pair decided to create something unique: “I didn’t want to use American culture in musicals. I wanted to come back to my culture and Italian opera. I wanted to use the microphones like pop and rock singers. In fact, in the show we prefer Rock singers over musical theatre. That is what keeps it modern and popular.
“We didn’t call it a musical at first we called it a ‘musical spectacle.’ It is like you are at a rock concert. We mix breakdancers and acrobats.”
The show is staged with the singers primarily downstage and minimal sets. Seeing the show earlier this month in its home at the Palais de Congres along with 4,000 ecstatic fans was akin to a religious rally.
The producers are adamant London critics and audiences should not compare this monolithic French megashow with anything currently in the West End: “They are like apples and oranges.”
Can the show achieve the same effect with London audiences gorged on the finest the West End and the world can offer, especially when the show is sung in French?
Next week will reveal whether the bells are pealing out with joy for the cast and crew, or clanging the chimes of doom.
Notre-Dame de Paris at London Coliseum from Wednesday 23 – Sunday 27 January 2019: CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND INFO