2024-01-29 01:26:03
The Chinese version of the play “Les Misérables” premieres. Chinese and French artists jointly create a 210-minute drama
“Les Miserables” stills, Liu Ye plays Jean Valjean.Photo courtesy of Yanghua Drama
2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. The Chinese version of the drama “Les Misérables” is adapted from the literary classic of Victor Hugo and is produced by Yanghua Drama, directed by French director Jean Bellolini and starring Liu Ye. It has been selected as a Chinese-French masterpiece. The list of cultural exchange works was also selected as a project of the China-France Cultural Tourism Year. The play premiered at Beijing Poly Theater from January 26th to 28th. This is the first time that “Les Misérables” has been put on the Chinese stage as a Chinese drama. In 210 minutes, it was presented on a stage that was rooted in the original work but bursting with colorful new ideas, showing the fruits of the sincere cooperation between Chinese and French artists.
Yanghua Edition integrates literature and drama
The Chinese version of “Les Misérables” directed by Jean Bellolini, a well-known director in France, respects the original work more than most people imagine. A large number of high-density literary lines burst out with strong emotions; the actors seamlessly switch between performers and expressors; they do not simply play a role, but become a “intermediate” between literature and drama, self and characters. “Storyteller” leads the audience not only into the multi-layered and complex minds of the characters, but also into the world of love and hate, ugliness and beauty, hope and despair, suffering and struggle.
The drama “Les Misérables” is by no means a traditional “copying” interpretation. Director Jean Bellolini, who has always been good at using words, music, and lighting to create unique dramatic aesthetics, is also the script adaptor and lighting designer of this work. He composed poems with music and painted with lights on stage. Every beating note and every shining light embodies Bellolini’s awareness of the pain of individual life in the play and his call for collective redemption.
The famous host Zhang Yue commented after watching the drama performance: “Is there any new way to tell a story like “Les Misérables” that has been told thousands of times around the world? The Yanghua version of “Les Misérables” gave the answer: Integrating literature and drama, in a way that is closest to the original work but farthest from the original work, we build the unique splendor and romance of the theater space.”
Liu Ye volunteered to star in Jean Valjean
In the 210-minute performance of the drama “Les Misérables”, Liu Ye, who plays Jean Valjean, plays a very important role. Especially in the first act, he almost never got off the stage, and he had eight pages of lines as soon as he came on the stage. He also had to have strong expressiveness and body control to coordinate with the music, lighting and other actors. Although the performance is very difficult and challenging, Liu Ye also enjoys it: “Standing on the stage, surrounded by the audience and music, talking about his feelings, describing passion, expressing the anger and love that he is ashamed to express in life, and talking to nearly a thousand people It’s a unique and beautiful thing for people to achieve a certain emotion together.”
Liu Ye took the initiative to play Jean Valjean himself. On December 1, 2021, Wang Keran, the artistic director of Yanghua Drama, announced at the ceremony where the French Knight of the Order of Letters and Arts was awarded that Yanghua Drama will produce a Chinese version of the drama “Les Misérables”. Liu Ye, who was present at the time, was immediately ignited. He excitedly said to Wang Keran: “I want to act! Play Jean Valjean!” The two hit it off immediately.
It has been 12 years since Liu Ye last created a character on the drama stage. This time, full of deep attachment to the stage, Liu Ye put down most of the work of the past six months early and devoted himself entirely to shaping this classic character. Anna, Liu Ye’s wife and chief producer of the show, revealed that Liu Ye got up at 5 a.m. every morning and started memorizing lines, entering the role of Jean Valjean in the purest state.
Liu Ye also served as the producer of the show. “This new identity is more like a sense of mission that surrounds me. It allows me to look pure and get rid of some bad habits. At least I have to set an example for the young people in the crew!” Other actors also said that Liu Ye worked hard as a leader and made the entire crew very “curly”.
“For “Les Misérables,” everything is worth it.” In Liu Ye’s view, “This play is more like a commemoration of a certain period of his life.” For the classic role of Jean Valjean, he attaches great importance to this character of “compassion, forgiveness, truth, kindness and beauty”. “As an old literary youth who is about to turn 46, I vaguely feel that I will have great stamina.” On the premiere night of the Chinese version of “Les Misérables,” Liu Ye said with emotion, “Art has no borders, and love has no borders. I feel these two points very deeply.”
French director and Chinese actor learn from each other
The first famous book that director Jean Bellolini read as a child was “Les Misérables.” “It has been with me from my childhood to the present. This work is very important to the whole world, it is borderless and eternal. Hugo is a tall beacon from which we can see the beauty of the world and Discover the good and evil in human nature.”
As the director of the play, Wang Keran said that during in-depth exchanges, the two parties found that each other’s requirements and judgments on artistic quality are highly consistent. Therefore, based on mutual trust and respect, they started discussions on the creation and script adaptation of “Les Misérables”. Jean Bellolini said: “This is a masterpiece, but it is also the process of our original creation together. Learning from each other and building together, this is an international production. When we make drama together, we believe in the goodness of human beings.”
During the rehearsal process, Jean Bellolini paid great attention to everyone’s opinions and asked the translator Ning Chunyan to translate every sentence for him. He would always confirm repeatedly whether a word in French would have the same meaning when translated into Chinese. meaning, and feel the rhythm of Chinese through the actors’ reading, and then adjust and improve the script. “I need to always know what’s important to you,” he said. “I don’t want you to do exactly what I want because I’m from France. I want to learn from you, and we build together. We actually get together with other people, with each other.” When another culture comes together, our creations will be richer!”
The cast of “Les Misérables” includes drama actors as well as artists from different fields such as Kunqu Opera, Pingtan, and cross talk. Jean Bellolini said that he gets different energy from actors every day, while also pursuing “the fusion of the actor himself and the character.” “Actors often say that many times, we don’t know when we are actors and when we are characters. This is the most beautiful moment we are looking for.”
Jean Bellolini can speak simple Chinese, and the most common word he says is: “Try!” During the creative process, he often asks actors to “try” different narration methods and plays prepared music on the spot. Or simply sit in front of the piano and improvise, using music to help the actors quickly find the emotions and thoughts of the character. In his view, “Music can make our hearts tremble, and music is a universal language that can connect our hearts together and convey our emotions to the audience.”
It is reported that the Chinese version of the drama “Les Misérables”, as an innovative classic that embodies the friendship and talent of artists from China and France, will launch a national tour after its premiere in Beijing and will go to Montpellier, France in November this year. “Spring” Art Festival performances continue to shine on the world stage. (Reporter Wang Run)
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