Standout Moments from "Les Misérables" Recordings, #27
1997 Chelmsford Concert proshot video
Jeff Leyton (Jean Valjean), Michael McCarthy (Javert), Ruthie Henshall (Fantine), Chris Langham (Thénardier), Gay Soper (Mme. Thénardier), Frances Ruffelle (Éponine), Matthew Cammelle (Marius), David Bardsley (Enjolras), Annalene Beechey (Cosette)
Ruthie Henshall’s ending of “Lovely Ladies.”
Several cast members from the 10th Anniversary Concert appear in this concert too, either in the same roles or in different ones, and the most prominent role reprise is Ruthie Henshall’s Fantine. The standout moment of her performance here, and of the whole concert, is her delivery of “Come on, captain…” at the end of “Lovely Ladies.” It’s a passage that she sings very differently than in her TAC performance, and arguably better. Instead of being overtly seductive, she delivers the first lines in a gentle, casual, friendly way – a different yet equally valid way of flirting. Some bitterness creeps into her voice on “Don’t it make a change to have a girl who can’t refuse?” but she passes it off as a joke, adding a little laugh at the end of the line. But then on “Easy money lying on a bed…” the lighthearted façade dissolves completely, and her true, scathing anger spews forth.
*David Bardsley becomes the first Enjolras I’ve heard chronologically to sing a high B-flat on “…until the earth is free!” I don’t know if he was the first ever to do it or not, but he’s the earliest one I’ve heard.