Les Mis Fans ~ Keep An Eye Out During PBS Pledge Break Times

[sk8sue]

The first trailer is out. I got a bit teary-eyed watching.

[Holley Calmes]

Oh my! I got misty too!

[Wyliefan]

So did I! It looks REALLY good!

[cruisin]

Sk8sue, thank you for finding and posting that.

[skatesindreams]

Oh my! I got misty too!

You aren't alone!
Now, I'm really looking forward to this.

[Gazpacho]

The first trailer is out. I got a bit teary-eyed watching.

Anne Hathaway's singing in that trailer gets me a bit nervous about the vocals. Hugh Jackman, Samantha Barks, and Aaron Tveit are proven musical theater talents, but the rest aren't.

She is, or at least was, a better singer than Crowe, based on what I've heard. If that's her "I Dreamed a Dream", then what is Crowe's "Stars" like?

[cruisin]

Anne Hathaway's singing in that trailer gets me a bit nervous about the vocals. Hugh Jackman, Samantha Barks, and Aaron Tveit are proven musical theater talents, but the rest aren't.

She is, or at least was, a better singer than Crowe, based on what I've heard. If that's her "I Dreamed a Dream", then what is Crowe's "Stars" like?

I got the impression that she was going for less vocal quality and more acting/emotion of a dying woman. She has a better voice than that. But, who knows?

[my little pony]

She is, or at least was, a better singer than Crowe, based on what I've heard. If that's her "I Dreamed a Dream", then what is Crowe's "Stars" like?

at least it looks nice

[pollyanna]

Sk8sue, thank you for finding and posting that.

Ditto. I got goosebumps.

Anne Hathaway's singing in that trailer gets me a bit nervous about the vocals. If that's her "I Dreamed a Dream", then what is Crowe's "Stars" like?

I got the impression that she was going for less vocal quality and more acting/emotion of a dying woman. She has a better voice than that. But, who knows?

I had the same reaction as cruisin, that she was going for the emotion, rather than vocal purity. I wonder if that how Hooper directed it? Still, we haven't heard the entire song, so we'll see.

[Gazpacho]

I had the same reaction as cruisin, that she was going for the emotion, rather than vocal purity.

The two aren't mutually exclusive, as great musical theater actresses have demonstrated.

The experienced musical theater actors will be bringing their best voices, so I hope the contrast in quality doesn't sound jarring. In the Phantom of the Opera movie, not only was Gerald Butler unqualified as a singer, but Patrick Wilson was so much better that it was jarring. Oh well, yet another reason to root for Valjean over Javert

The artistic visuals look beautiful.

[jenny12]

Although Anne Hathaway doesn't have the most powerful voice, I thought she did a great job capturing the emotion of the song and I was moved. Obviously you can't tell everything from a trailer, but it got me really excited to see the film. I think Hugh Jackman will be brilliant.

[cruisin]

The two aren't mutually exclusive, as great musical theater actresses have demonstrated.

No, they are not. And as much as I love I Dreamed a Dream, and the power in the voices that have sung it on stage. I think that Hathaway may be giving it a different twist. That Fantine was depressed and ill, and not up to a power ballad. Or, Hathaway is just not up to the level of power that we're used to hearing with that song. I don't know.

[my little pony]

i thought she sounded like she had a head cold in the high parts

[TheGirlCanSkate]

Anne has a pleasant voice, she has sung before in Ella Enchanted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6TYWuQ7rM
And at the Oscars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlZ9kAz9Wuc

[Gazpacho]

Anne has a pleasant voice, she has sung before in Ella Enchanted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6TYWuQ7rM
And at the Oscars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlZ9kAz9Wuc

She also did a very nice job at a tribute to Meryl Streep. http://youtu.be/rV7ZD9Gvf_Q

As pleasant as her voice is, it's not suited for musical theater like Les Miserables. However, the director worked around that by having her sing the song after she's sold her hair, from what I've read. In the musical, the song is sung after she gets fired from the factory, before she becomes ill. She's in despair but not broken down and ill. The movie version, however, moves the song to after she's completely broken and ill.

Very smart way to work around her vocal limitations!

Really looking forward to Hugh Jackman's performance. While I'm not expecting Alfie Boe's voice, Jackman does have the singing chops and I imagine can adapt well. The role of Valjean was originally written for a baritone, but when they found Colm Wilkinson, they wanted him so much for the role that they re-wrote it! Also very excited to see/hear Samantha Barks.

Most curious about the movie's Marius. He'll inevitably be compared to an impossibly high standard (Michael Ball) and a low standard (Nick Jonas). My guess is that it'll fall somewhere in between. The movie will be a complete disaster if he's not even as good as Jonas.

[Kruss]

Saw this today - absolutely cannot wait! I think it's going to be really good.

[Holley Calmes]

Yes, Mr. Jackman does have the singing chops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC7Hci7Tc4I

I'm not a voice expert by any means, but it works for me! Not to mention how pretty he is....

I did read long ago that he studied opera in Vienna while he was on location filming "Van Helsing" in preparation for The Boy From Oz. I think. I know I read he was training with an opera coach in prep for something on Broadway.

Anyone ever seen his "Inside the Actor's Studio" interview?

[skatesindreams]

Several people have uploaded it on YouTube - no surprise there -
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...0.0.0.0.62.205

[cruisin]

Yes, Mr. Jackman does have the singing chops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC7Hci7Tc4I

I'm not a voice expert by any means, but it works for me! Not to mention how pretty he is....

I did read long ago that he studied opera in Vienna while he was on location filming "Van Helsing" in preparation for The Boy From Oz. I think. I know I read he was training with an opera coach in prep for something on Broadway.

Anyone ever seen his "Inside the Actor's Studio" interview?

I was lucky enough to see Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz, He was incredible. He captured Peter Allen perfectly. I was also fortunate to have seen Peter Allen live, twice. He was an incredible shaman, Im sure he was smiling down on Jackman when he portrayed Allen. Allen died far too young, from AIDS.

[Gazpacho]

Yes, Mr. Jackman does have the singing chops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC7Hci7Tc4I

I'm not a voice expert by any means, but it works for me! Not to mention how pretty he is....

Here is a clip of him singing a song that's closer to the Les Mis style. He's not Alfie Boe, but he's more than qualified for the role.

That's why I'm worried about the contrast between him and Crowe. One of the reasons Nick Jonas sounded bad is that he was singing alongside glorious powerful voices, and that made his weakness more apparent.