We are all people

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes

Will you give all you can give

so that our banner may advance?

Some will fall and some will live

Will you stand up and take your chance?

The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes

Do you hear the people sing

lost in the valley of the night

It is the music of the people who are climbing to the light

For the wretched of the earth there is a plane that never dies

Even the darkest times will end and the sun will rise

We will live again in freedom

in the garden of the Lord

We will walk behind the plough share we will put away the sword

The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing?

Say do you hear the distant drums?

It is the future that we bring when tomorrow comes

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing?

Say do you hear the distant drums?

It is the future that we bring when tomorrow comes

We are all people. 

Colour, religion, sex, orientation, money, societal status, culture, education and politics don't matter.
This is our crusade.
To make people understand.
Will you spread the word?

In the night

The reason I sometimes have sleep problems is that my brain can't stop spinning. Sometimes it's all about stuff I have to remember to do the next day, but usually it keeps making up stories. The source for all my writings is sleep-deprivation. I'm more inspired in night time than in day time. It's not even unusual for me to take inspiration for stories from dreams I've had.

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

Silently the senses abandon their defences

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor

Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender

Turn your face away from the garish light of day

Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light

And listen to the music of the night

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams

Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before

Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar

And you'll live as you've never lived before

Softly, deftly, music shall surround you

Hear it, feel it, closing in around you

Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind

In this darkness, which you know you cannot fight

The darkness of the music of the night

Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world

Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before

Let your soul take you where you long to be

Only then can you belong to me

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication

Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation

Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in

To the power of the music that I write

The power of the music of the night

You alone can make my song take flight

Help me make the music of the night

- Andrew Lloyd Webber, 1986

Yes, I love lyrics. These just speak to me.

Les Misérables - the movie

Ever since the announcement for the movie was made I've been excited about it. Then I was annoyed. Annoyed with Sweden. The movie premiered on Christmas Day in the UK. Here it premiered on January 18th. It's funny. If it's a grand movie like Harry Potter we can have the premiere at the same time as the rest of the world without any trouble. But if it's not then it takes weeks or months before it shows up here. My country is retarded -.-

I had watched the trailers beforehand and I knew it would be grand. Still I was kind of worried that they somehow might ruin it. But I loved it! I'm definitely going to see it again!

The casting. 

• Russell Crowe was obviously just cast to be a headliner. He could do the stern face of Javert, but the singing was bad. Very bad. 
• Hugh Jackman impressed me. He managed to balance the book version of Valjean with the musical version very well, the acting was great and the singing better than anticipated. 
• Anne Hathaway was definitely the star of the film. Impeccable. My pet peeve with every casting I've seen of any version of Les Mis is that they never seem able to find a blond Fantine. She's blond in the book. Actually she looks a lot like Cosette. 
• Marius was cute, but he only managed to make weird faces on every close-up of him. 
• Enjolras was exactly like I pictured him in the book. 
• Gavroche was the star of the revolution. That little boy was amazing and he did my favourite character extreme justice. 
• Samantha Barks was great as Éponine. So glad they chose her instead of friggin' Taylor Swift. 
• I love that they had cast Colm Wilkinson as the role of the Bishop of Digne. The first West End Valjean as the Bishop in the movie. How very fitting. 
• I also noticed that one of the background students was one of the students from 25th. 
• I had heard both good and bad about Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen as Mrs and Mr Thénardier, but I really liked them. Helena Bonham Carter was perfect as always (can she do no wrong?) and Sasha Baron Cohen had his own take on his role, which worked really well according to me. 
• Little Cosette was impressive. 
• Amanda Seyfried did the best of her role I think. Adult Cosette is such a bland character in my opinion. 

The scenography. No real complaints there. Just pet peeves from the book. The monastery isn't really in Paris. But otherwise everything looked like I might picture early 19th century France. Not that I'm an expert at 19th century masonry. I laughed out loud during the scene when people throw out furniture to help build the barricade. BANG! A piano comes flying. WTH?! xD And why is there a cow in the middle of the road?

The songs. I love the setting of the Prologue, Lovely Ladies, I Dreamed a Dream, Master of the House, Look Down, Little People and Do You Hear the People Sing. (25th Anniversary musical versions) They pretty much got all my favourite songs right. I was a little disappointed by how they did Red and Black, but I can't really pinpoint what was wrong with it... Do You Hear the People Sing is my absolute favourite song off the entire musical and how they did that song in the movie was amazing. Totally did the song justice! It was hard not to start singing along out loud xD

The story. I love how they incorporated some elements from the book that weren't in the musical. Those elements tie up some loose ends from the musical. For example they show the doll that Valjean buy to Cosette. The very lovely and expensive doll that every girl in that village wants. In the book it's in a more in-your-face manner towards Éponine, but still. Cosette's song Castle on a Cloud is called Poupée dans la Vitrine in French, which means Doll in the Window. I like how they show that Valjean and Cosette end up at the monastery with M. Fauchelevent, which gives the audience a hint as to how and where Cosette grows up. And the man Valjean saves from under the carriage isn't just some random guy, but actually important later on. I like that they show how Fantine sells her two front teeth for 40 francs (although she still has her front teeth later on... pet peeve). I also like that they add Marius' grandfather. I was just waiting for them to tell us about Gavroche being Éponine's little brother and that they had a sister and two more brothers too. (They didn't). Or tell us Cosette's real name: Euphrasie. (They didn't). The love story between Marius and Cosette is still too incredible in its shortened form. In the book they have months apart only thinking about each other and when they meet they have several nights together when Valjean is out of town. In the musical and movie their love story lasts for two days, then Marius is recovering from injuries and then they get married. I was kind of hoping they'd drag it out in the movie and show the true nature of their love story, but no :(

But all in all I think it was a great movie. A must-buy when it's released on DVD. Absolutely love it.

• First rant of Les Mis
• Second rant of Les Mis
• Little People
• Les Misérables in Malmö #1
• Les Misérables in Malmö #2

Love Never Dies - Australian version

I bought the DVD recording of the Australian version of Love Never Dies ages ago, but I never got around to watching it - until yesterday. The original London version never was a big success, but they released a soundtrack album from the show, which I've looped some songs from since I got my hands on it (hey, I had to - Ramin is the Phantom). I loved the album version of 'Til I Hear You Sing, Beneath a Moonless Sky, The Beauty Underneath and Devil Take the Hindmost.

Reason why the Australian version was recorded and not the original? Apparantly the Australian version was more the way Andrew Lloyd Webber had intended it to be. But really I can't understand why this musical got such poor reviews, accusing it of having to memorable songs... I think the problem is that it's a sequel, and not just any sequel, but the sequel to Phantom of the Opera (which in 2013 is going on its 27th consequtive year in West End), and thus people expected another fantastic timeless masterpiece like that. Unreasonable expectations ruined it, pretty much. But let's get on with it.

The scenography. I liked the dark setting and despite having exchanged most (if not all) the candles for electricity the general atmosphere was still darkness and night. I liked the three freaks Gangle, Fleck and Squelch. How can a person be as tiny as Fleck?

The Phantom. We all know I have a huge fangirl crush on Ramin's voice (not as much him as his voice) and the Phantom himself is one of my favourite fictitious characters of all time. So I'm quite picky. But Ben Lewis was great. His voice was dark, which is a great plus for someone playing Phantom in my book, not quite as powerful as Ramin's but still suitable for the role. I liked his take on the Phantom as someone less psychotic and hurt and someone stronger and more confident. Simply, the Phantom seemed to have grown up a bit. Ben Lewis' version of 'Til I Hear You Sing is not as powerful as Ramin's and you need to see the film to actually sense the feelings, while in Ramin's version all the feelings of anger, sadness and frustration are easily heard.

Christine. I liked Sierra in the 25th Anniversary, but not so much on the soundtrack to Love Never Dies. Her voice felt a bit flat on the soundtrack. Anna O'Byrne, however, made a stunning Christine. The most beautiful one I have ever seen and her version of the title song gave me goosebumps. It's one of the best songs in the Australian version. The title song is very operatic, but I still love it - which is a great compliment from me since real classic opera has a tendency to give me headaches and the more operatic the worse. But this song is just stunning.

Raoul. I like that Raoul has a bigger role and more of a character in Love Never Dies. Still I've always hated Raoul. In Phantom of the Opera he was a spoiled, stupid, arse, and in Love Never Dies he's an angry drunken gambler with sky-high debts, and a neglecting father and husband. Raoul, however, did get a solo in this musical: Why Does She Love Me?. Still I prefer his duet with the Phantom:

The score. The only thing I don't like about the music are the vaudeville parts (Bathing Beauty for example). Other than that the entire score is beautiful. Dark, mellow, symphonic, beautiful. I like how, just as in the Phantom of the Opera, the melodies are always present. For example, the melody from Devil Takes the Hindmost shows up several times, as well as the melody from Beautiful and Once Upon Another Time, and the one from the title song. Beneath a Moonless Sky is beautiful in the Australian version too. But my absolute favourite song of this musical, London and Sydney alike, is The Beauty Underneath:

I can't understand why this musical got such bad reviews. I can't understand what people can dislike about it. It's beautiful and mysterious and heartwarming and heartbreaking, all at the same time. 

Other Phan-girling escapades:

• Phantom of the Opera
• Music of the Night
• Love Never Dies

Les Misérables in Malmö #2

Today it was time again and I'll try to write something of a more professional review. But I'm still quite the newbie at theatre and musicals so my expectations and opinions may be somewhat faulty and well... childish.

Scenography. I was impressed with the scenography last time as well. The wolf still sticks out like a sore thumb though. I still not get that one. Although I loved the Paris scene where all the extras press together and spread their arms it somehow seemed less amazing this time. Still an impressive scene though.

I still love the bar scene. It's a drunken place with raggedy, drunken, happy people (probably the way it was until they woke up the next day, hung-over, and only to discover they'd been robbed). I hate hate hate Lovely Ladies. I hate how the extras are marionnette dolls. The misery of the scene may be kind of accurate, but weren't the whores kind of bold women? Didn't you have to "have some balls" (lacking a better expression) to be able to continue living on as a whore? Still don't like the whole cage-thing with Cosette, nor the Christmas tree shaped bushes. I found myself approving of the barricade. It seemed accurate to me that the barricade consisted of whatever sturdy material the students had been able to come across to help build it. The actual use of guns (cap guns) made it seem more real. All in all I like the scenes.

Jean Valjean. Dan Ekborg's Valjean has grown on me. Before going today I listened through the soundtrack of Les Misérables in Stockholm in 1990 and Tommy Körberg's Valjean sounds kind of, well, bored. he's boring to listen to. While Dan Ekborg puts loads of feeling into his voice. It's not just lines here. He's not just standing about saying his lines, but he's actually moving and acting and actively taking part in each scene he's in. I like his Valjean a lot. The way he's dressed also seems appropriate in my eyes.

Javert. Fred Johanson. Do I need say more? He's like a mixture of Norm Lewis and Roger Allam. With a voice similar to Norm Lewis' and facial expressions similar to Roger Allam, he makes for the ultimate Javert. He's incredible! Also his proper completely black clothes are very fitting. I like the top hat.

Fantine. It was Karolin Funke this time 'round as well. I'm still not impressed by her. Not only because of the producer obviously having a hard time finding a blond girl in Sweden (the wig bothers me), but because she looks nothing like I picture Fantine. I picture Fantine as a very beautiful fairly young girl (as beautiful as Cosette grew up to be). I'd set her maximum age at 25. The foreman is supposed to have the hots for her and I get the image that she's somewhat younger than the other girls working at the factory. They accuse her of being a whore (obviously she's more good-looking than the other girls and they're jealous). She sings of her man "taking her childhood in his stride" so she can't have been very old when she got pregnant. Karolin Funke looks somewhere between 35-40 and she's a squat woman. The clothes and the wig bother me. I don't like her at all in this production.

Mr. Thénardier. This time (I made sure of it) I got to see Peter Harryson as Thénardier and I liked him. He wasn't as lively as David Lundquist but it wasn't necessary. He got the job done and he did it well. He may be a little too old for how I picture Thénardier but otherwise I like his performance. He wasn't just sitting around, but he was moving about and he used his facial expressions and the feelings in his voice. He was perfect at the Wedding! Still don't like the ragged clothing of Thénardier, but I really liked how they dressed him in the Wedding. Also the perfect Thénardier in my book is Alun Armstrong. They got it right the first time! Matt Lucas is great too...

Mrs. Thénardier. Kajsa and Tiffany had mentioned how Marianne Mörck wasn't any good so I made sure that I got to see Evamaria Björk as Mrs. Thénardier again. She's great. I love how she's doting on Éponine and how she's pretending to be loving of Cosette when Valjean shows up. She puts on a great show. I also like how they've dressed her.

Little Cosette / Little Éponine. Same little Cosette as last time and she seemed less nervous this time. She's adorable and she sings Castle on a Cloud (I Himlens Slott) as perfectly as Mia Jenkins whom I love as Cosette. It was a different little Éponine though and she wasn't as great as the other one. The other stuck her tongue out at Cosette, teased her when she had Cosette's doll. This one behaved like a spoiled child but she only showed some kind of expression towards Cosette when Valjean put on Cosette her dress and she managed to look extremely envious and pouty. The dressing of Cosette is actually very fitting. The dressing of Éponine is less so. If she's so spoiled she should be dressed as a princess in a frilly dress like her mother.

Gavroche. Oh my my! This Gavroche was sooooo cute! I just wanted to grab him and bring him home. He was obviously nervous, but he still made a better show than the other kid. This Gavroche may have been 7 years old while the other kid we saw last time could have been about 11. His (this one's) Little People was perfect and he actually managed to shout "Listen to me!" before they all went quiet anyway. The introduction of Gavroche in Look Down (Gavroches Sång) is still too measly, but that may just be the Swedish language... He's dressed perfectly and his news paper boat hat in the beginning is extremely fitting. I cried when he died.

The students. Marius is still hot (and tall!). Philip Jalmelid makes a very convincing Marius. Enjolras (Anders Gjönnes) seemed to be less nervous this time and made a good job at being a convincing leader. I love love love Grantaire (Glenn Daniel Nilsson). I love how his playing around with his wig and being all theatrical. I've never really payed any attention to Grantaire before but this time I rather looked at him than at Enjolras. I like their clothes but I'm not that happy about the (very revealing) striped pants (they have to be stuffed with a sock or something, right?) I also like Grantaire's relationship with Gavroche! As per usual I didn't really pay any big amount of attention to Feully and Courfeyrac.

Marius. As mentioned above he's tall. He managed to hit his head in the ceiling of the cage! He's awkward but still very gentleman-y in front of Cosette. He seems the most grown up of his friends and he's very good at stepping all over Éponine's feelings as usual. He has the best clothes out of all the students. No striped pants to be seen anywhere. He's a skilled singer and he knows how to express sadness with his eyes.

Cosette. I'm not a big fan of Cosette. I do not like her in any way. Emmi Christensson, however, made a much better Cosette than Mathilda Ahnell. I don't know what else to say about her. We are always given very little of Cosette. Emmi sings well and she can act a happy lovefool very well. The feelings were present in her voice when she begged Valjean not to die yet at the end. Her suspicious looks from a distance at the Thénardiers at the wedding were very well done. The dress could have been of a different colour though. Yellow/Gold is usually not a very flattering colour for blonds.

Éponine. Same Éponine as last time. Ida Högberg sings great. Her voice is fitting of Éponine. But it's hard to feel any kind of compassion when she looks like Little My from Moominvalley in a punk rocker outfit. I hate her clothes so much more when she's all grown up than when she's little. What was the producer thinking?! A Little Fall of Rain made me cry again, though so there's no problem acting on her part.

Extras. David Lundquist (Thénardier last time) served as an extra this time. I'm seriously wondering if he shouldn't be diagnosed with something regarding too much energy. He's a clown. As soon as he steps out on stage he steals the attention from everyone else. This didn't make me like him better, if possible I now like him even less. Although he made a great job playing the bishop in the beginning! Speaking of extras. I've already mentioned that the marionnette doll whores bother me. What else bothers me is that the soldiers are dressed like traditional London soldiers. I mean, come on! Doesn't the producer know any better or did he just think those hats look cool? I also hate that all the servants are dressed in a fashion 100 years out of style. The musical takes place in the 19th century, not the 18th. No powdered wigs, okay?!

Translations. I listened through all the Swedish songs from Stockholm 1990 to know something of the songs when I got there today. Imagine my disappointment when I discover that they've changed the lyrics at a fair few places! Also mayor in Swedish has 4 syllables (borgmästaren) so when Javert sings "but monsieur maîre" it sounds very forced and wrong. Do You Hear the People Sing (Folkets Sång) sounds very weird in Swedish although the both songs basically sing the very same thing in the very same order. I don't like the Swedish version of On My Own (För mig själv) maybe because "I love him" in Swedish has 5 syllables (Jag älskar honom) but it doesn't work with the song so instead she only sings "I love" (Jag älskar). Songs I do like in Swedish are Red and Black (Rött och Svart), Drink With Me (Drick Med Mig) and One More Day (Än En Dag).

Rött - för blod från arga män

Svart - för gamla tiders hat

Rött - för sol i gryningen

Svart - för natten som blir dag

Love Never Dies

I wanted to wait for the 25th Anniversary album to be released before I listened to the sequel, but I wanted more Phantom. I looked in vain for a recorded DVD-version of the musical, but when I found none I downloaded the concept album instead and read the synopsis on wikipedia. Since it's a sequel I had no hopes for it, sequels are usually not as good as the original. I don't know if it's equally good (I hate the Vaudeville stuff) but it's great in a different way than Phantom of the Opera. I love how the characters have evolved. I also love that it's "my" Phantom and Christine (Ramin and Sierra), exactly as it should be.

I've listened through the musical 2½ times and I have three favourite songs, and no, my three favourites do not include the most known 'Til I Hear You Sing (lyrics), which I find simply boring. There's nothing in it that appeals to me. My favourites here are Beneath A Moonless Sky (lyrics), The Beauty Underneath (lyrics) and Devil Take the Hindmost (lyrics). I'm one of those who can see The Beauty Underneath. Listen to the song! I can relate to it so much! Beneath A Moonless Sky is simply beautiful and shows their (Phantom and Christine) true feelings for eachother. Devil Take the Hindmost is the song where the Phantom challenges Raoul and I love it cause he (the Phantom) seems so proud and sly. I love it!

There are so many twists and turns in this story that I don't know what else to say without spoiling the whole thing. But I can tell you as much as that the opera in Paris was burned down by an angry mob, the Phantom was believed to be dead, but with the help of Madame Giry and Meg he was smuggled to America where he built Coney Island with their help. Raoul has turned into a drunk gambler and sourpuss with huge debts. Christine hasn't sung in years but she's had a very succesful European career and she's invited to launch her American career... where? At Phantasma in Coney Island. Invited by a Mr. Y. This story takes place 10 years after Phantom of the Opera and we have moved from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. All the candles have been exchanged for electricity and I'm not sure if I like this development.

Another thing that I like about this musical is that the story reveals more about the relationship between Christine and the Phantom. It reveals that Christine really loved (loves!) the Phantom and when he finds out about this his self-confidence gets a huge boost. The timidity is exchanged for pride and he challenges Raoul.

I'm torn as to whether I want to see this musical if it comes to Sweden or if I get a chance to see it in London. I mean, it won't be "my" Phantom and Christine. I wonder if that's because I totally adore Ramin's voice and his Phantom, or if it's because I'm sceptical as to whether anyone can portray the Phantom as well as he does. I learned that playing the Phantom has been a dream of his and that usually make for great portrayals.

Three Phantom-related posts in one week... Yep, I'm pretty much lost. I tried to play the soundtracks in French (1991), Swedish (1990) and English (25th) for Les Misérables yesterday. But there's something missing, suddenly.

Music of the Night

Seeing the Phantom of the Opera gave me a huge fangirl crush on Ramin Karimloo. Since Monday I've been looping this song over and over on YouTube:

His voice is amazing, this song gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it! Look at his eyes! The expression in them is absolutely wonderful. The way he whipsers "touch me, trust me" is amazing. His final tone in "night" is incredible. I also love the way he portrays the Phantom as bold but still awkward. If you take a look at his hands, he never really touches anything, he's just holding her in place. Still he seems to want to get close to her, but everytime she seems close to kissing him or touching his mask/face he turns away, suddenly shy. I love it! I can't stop watching it! It also helps that he manages to look cute/handsome even with the mask on!

Thing is I have to force myself to listen to other kinds of music, other artists, other groups, because my brain stops working when I hear this song.

The Phantom of the Opera

When I showed Les Misérables 25th Anniversary to Love he was, as I was before, enthralled by Ramin Karimloo who played Enjolras, one of the students. Partly because he's insanely hot and handsome, partly because he's a great singer and actor. I looked him up to see what else he'd done and found out that he was going to reprise his role as The Phantom for the 25th Anniversary in October. Love and I wanted to see it in London of course, but the tickets sold out in less than 30 minutes. We were somewhat sad about that until Tiffany mentioned that they were going to show it live from London in Malmö  on October 2nd. We immediately went to that cinema's webpage (Spegeln) to book tickets, but they were all sold out. Then I got the idea to check the similar cinema in Lund (Kino) and it turned out that they had tickets left! We immediately booked three tickets (me, Love, Kajsa) and yesterday it was time.

The show began at 7.30pm with an introduction of how the musical came to be with interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh and several others who helped the musical come to life. At 8pm the musical started. I can tell you right away that I'm not a big fan of opera. The arias of the sopranos usually gives me a headache, that said I have nothing against male opera. As soon as the show started I started thinking: "Where is the Phantom?", "I want the Phantom!". He's the only character that I've found interesting when I've read short plot descriptions. But then I also have a thing for Beauty and the Beast-ish stories, my favourite always being the Beast.

The music wasn't as fun and upbeat as the music of Les Misérables, still it was extremely beautiful. My favourite is the kind of heavy score called The Phantom of the Opera. But I also enjoy Music of the Night. All the others sort of flow together. The song with all the notes is kind of fun to listen to :)

I love the climax and the final scene. I wasn't disgusted by his face when she removed her mask at the end. Not because I knew that it was make-up, but because I never look at people's faces first. I look at their eyes, their manner of moving, their manner of speaking, I look at their general behaviour. All I wanted to do was to comfort the poor soul. He's a wonderful character who's been forced to live a hard life because of an unfortunate facial distortion. I can't do anything but to feel sorry for him and want to help him.

I loved this musical and leaving the cinema I felt really happy. I had enjoyed this musical a lot. I've gone and went all cultural! Never thought that would happen :P

I realise that I've almost only talked about the Phantom here, but I love this character.

I'll end this post with the song that got me interested in the Phantom of the Opera to begin with:

Les Misérables in Malmö #1

About the headline... We have already booked tickets to go see it again, because sometimes the actors change. Anywho...

Yesterday evening I, Love, Kajsa and Tiffany went to see Les Misérables in Malmö. I was really looking forward to it, although I was a bit sceptical and wondered whether I would agree to the Swedish translations. For some reason it seems impossible to sing pompously and majestically in modern Swedish and for some reason they always have to make the lyrics somewhat oldfashioned.

(All links to Swedish songs are from the 1990 musical in Stockholm)

Anyway we sat down and waited for the show to start. The intro was great and I didn't even react to the fact that they had changed Valjean's number from 24601 to 25601 (simply because 4 contains two syllables in Swedish and it doesn't work in the song) until Love told me so. Speaking of the intro, can someone explain the wolf to me? I liked Dan Ekborg as Valjean, although it bothered me for ages that I had seen him somewhere before but couldn't remember where. Of course Fred Johanson was absolutely spiffing as Javert, but who'd expect otherwise?

Continuing on to Fantine (Karolin Funke), I thought she looked old and it bothered me that she wore a wig. I mean how hard can it be to find a blond girl suitable to play Fantine in Sweden? Seriously? Her voice was spot-on (I Dreamed a Dream / Jag Drömde en Dröm), and her performance was nice. Another small detail that bothered me was the colour of her dress. I want Fantine to be dressed in white because Cosette sings of a woman all in white in Castle on a Cloud (I Himlens Slott) and I've interpreted that as she's singing about her mother, but she doesn't remember that it's her mother. Little Cosette and little Éponine were amazing though. I'm also not too sure about the general performance of Lovely Ladies (Sköna Damer) because they had made most of the extras who were whores were dressed as marionette dolls for some reason.

I liked the Swedish version of Master of the House (Herre i sitt Hus), but I was so disappointed in David Lundquist as Thénardier. He looked ragged and disgusting, somewhat like a zombie. I've seen pictures of the regular Thénardier, Peter Harryson, and it's still not how I picture Thénardier, but at least he doesn't look slimy. Madame Thénardier (Evamaria Björk) was very convincing and I liked her performance a lot.

Moving on to Paris. Gavroche sounded too cute in Stockholm Swedish. Maybe I'm spoiled with Robert Madge, but even the French 1991 version of Gavroche is cockier. We all agreed that Cosette (Mathilda Ahnell) sounded to opera-y to be fitting for Cosette. But the students were awesome! The guys portraying Enjolras (Anders Gjönnes) and Marius (Philip Jalmelid) are hot! :) I actually prefer the Swedish version of Red and Black (Rött och Svart) on the other hand the Swedish version of Do You Hear the People Sing (Folkets Sång) was bad. The translation was bad. The English version is true to the French original, while the Swedish has a meaning somewhat resembling the English/French ones. It's still a battle song, but not as awesome as the English/French ones.

I liked the stage, I can say as much. I also liked the Sweeney Tood-esque costumes and aura of the play. I liked how they had set up the scene of Master of the House, the whole bar was awesome. Still don't get the wolf though. Can someone also explain why the bushes in the park later on was formed as Christmas trees? Or why Cosette is in a cage?

During intermission we were nerdy enough to stay seated instead of stretching our legs, use the toilet and buy sweets. We sat there discussing the play thus far and comparing it to the original book, the French version, the original London cast version, 10th anniversary and 25th anniversary. None of us liked Éponine (Ida Högberg). Why does she resemble a Joker with a big fat green bow on top of her head? We liked her voice and her singing but not how they had styled her appearance.

The second act started and there was not much new to tell. I liked to watch the fighting at the barricade, it was well done. It was also my first time seeing the death of Gavroche. I cried some when Éponine died, which I didn't when I watched 25th anniversary, so I thought it was well done.

When it was all over we got out of the stage room, decided not to go to the stage door to get autographs and walked out through the doors while singing Do You Hear the People Sing. All in all it was a great night :)

Coming home I booked another viewing almost immediately. Today I've been listening through the soundtrack in French and Swedish. I've also found some songs in Danish and I also stumbled across some songs in Japanese! Gavroche sounded too cocky there! xD

Little People

Is it bad that I can relate to this, despite being 20 years old?

The gym, Pottermore, Les Misérables

So I started going to the gym last week. Not to get a muscular body, just to get rid of some fat that I don't think I need. Simply I'm just doing 30 minutes of spinning and then, since I'm going easy on myself, two reps on some machines for the shoulders, lower back, chest and abdomin. I actually think I like it. Today I woke up lazy however, so there was no trip to the gym today. I needed a lazy day so I've just been hanging about at home. Tomorrow however I'm going again. Next week I think I'll buy a pass card. If I can get that flat belly 'til the end of February I'll go get that pierced navel again. Better to do it in springtime, rather than during the dogdays as I did last time... About 5½ months, exercising about 4 times a week... You think I'll make it if I try to stay away from sweets and ice cream as well? Christmas this year will be tough!

On a different note, Pottermore is making people crazy. Kajsa got her entry mail today and after she got sorted she called me to vent her frustration of being placed in Slytherin other than her House of choice; Hufflepuff. Slytherin really doesn't fit her at all... Not like it actually did me after I got over the first shock of not being placed in Ravenclaw (#lunadontleaveme ;)) I couldn't help being quite amused by it all, sorry hon, but one kind of gets into a happy bubble when one is able to enter. Just now I read on Facebook of another friend who hasn't gotten her mail yet, and she's getting seriously frustrated by that. Even threatening to write and complain if she doesn't get her entry mail in the coming batches of mails being sent out! While I myself am being completely frustrated that the second book; the Chamber of Secrets, isn't available to explore until February. FEBRUARY! What am I going to do 'til then? Brew friggin' potions?! At the moment I'm re-exploring the first book; the Philosopher's Stone, for the fourth time, and re-reading all Rowling's thoughts and news on characters, magic and places.

#lunadontleaveme that I wrote above comes from when Evanna Lynch twittered after she got sorted on Pottermore. I'll copy the article from MuggleNet:

Ahhhh umm errrrrr.... Just got sorted. Slight identity crisis. Need to sit down and process this... #pottermore
I'm in Gryffindor. #Pottermore #confusion #shock #pride #happiness #LUNADONTLEAVEME!!!
 I don't know what to do. I feel like Jo just told me I'm a man. I'm SO utterly confused.Gryffindor! Woahhh what an honour! I'm so happy! But confused! But happy! BUT CONFUSED. #Pottermore #farewellravenclaw
Dammit, now I have to change my whole bleedin' wardrobe!!! #pottermore #butredandgoldarenotmycolours
Sorry for the tweet explosion... I'm just...having a moment. #farewellravenclaw #pottermore #JowhathaveyouDONE?!

Tonight we re-watched Les Misérables 25th Anniversary in Concert at the O2. This time it wasn't as painful to watch Nick Jonas, he's not that bad although he's still leagues behind the rest of the cast. I'm getting slightly nervous. I, Love, Kajsa and Tiffany are going to watch the Swedish version of Les Miz in two weeks and I wonder if it will be as grand? I'm guessing not, I never get my hopes up really high for a Swedish version of anything really. Swedish doesn't really have that big of a vocabulary, and compared to English it's a very small and limited language. I'm not that fond of it actually, except maybe the spelling that can be beautiful sometimes. Beautifully strange :P Also, will I like the songs as much as I like the British ones? Will they sound as great? Will they ruin my favourite songs; Master of the House, Do Your Hear the People Sing?, Look Down and Lovely Ladies? Anyway, I hope that they will prove me wrong. I'm actually looking forward to it, despite being nervous about it.

Les Misérables and Pottermore

Last Sunday, the day after our party (which was a success btw, we'll be doing that more times), I went home to Kajsa to watch Les Misérables in Concert at the O2 25th Anniversary with her and Tiffany. It was my first time seeing this musical since I'm not that fond of musicals. I usually find that they're either great at singing and suck at acting, or they're great at acting and suck at singing. It's not very often that they're brilliant at both. This kind of proved me wrong and Tiffany assured me that West End really is brilliant at everything =P

However since this was "in concert" it meant that there wasn't much acting around and that may be the reason why I really liked it. At this moment I'm actually downloading both the show and the soundtrack. I'm gonna let Love watch it, I'm sure he'll like it. I loved little Cosette, too bad she's only in it for about 15 minutes, and then she becomes a whimp. I'm fascinated by how much Lea Salonga actually can open her mouth O.o And I thought the girl who played Éponine was gorgeous, however I though her character was pretty pathetic - like every other female character in the show (I can tell the story was written 150 years ago), the only female that wasn't pathetic was the wife of the Master of the House, and instead she was an idiot. My favourite character by far was Gavroche.

I disliked all the love scenes and I loved all the scenes that showed their everyday life, like "Lovely Ladies", "Master of the House" and when Gavroche sings that everyone comes to him. I also like the intro "Look Down".

Yesterday I signed up for Pottermore! I figured out the clue. I was head over heels with excitement after I found the Magical Quill and made it fly. And now my nick is FelicisGoblet :) You better remember it, if you're going to register ;) Now my friends are asking me for help registering, turns out the pocedure is different every day. Pretty cool actually. It's not just a new clue, but also a new procedure.

I read on about Pottermore while I was waiting for the new clue to show up today. Turns out that when it opens to everyone in October it will start at Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and it's pretty obvious when you sign in after you've registered - you're at Privet Drive and you see a wizard standing at the edge of the street. This is gonna be awesome! ^^ I'll blog more about it as I slowly gain access to the site in a few weeks :)