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Linz Les Mis was so overwhelming, and I’ve just tried to write down everything that stood out to me before I forgot everything, so - I’m incredibly sorry for how incoherent and long this got.

The stage design: I loved it! It was very simplistic and consisted only of huge, dark concrete-like blocks that were pushed around to create new settings when scenes changed or pulled down to create the barricade/half lifted to create a bridge Javert could climb for the Suicide. The backdrop was projections of different photos, which together with the light design was really very atmospheric. YMMV, but I really appreciated how the very simplistic design made you focus mainly on the actors, with these huge slabs of concrete contributing an atmosphere of claustrophobic oppression which IMO really served well to underline the main theme and also the way it is still so incredibly valid for the present. (The programme took that up as well by printing among other things excerpts from Heinrich Heine's report about the June Rebellion next to a student's report from the Maidan protests.)

Christian Alexander Müller as Valjean was AMAZING, especially as older Valjean! I'm very glad I had a chance to tell him so because he made me feel so many things! Something I'll never forget is the way when the scene changed from the wedding to Valjean's Death, the music died every and everything was completely silent for a minute or so, and the only thing on the stage was Valjean coming in with the two lighted candlesticks, struggling very hard to kneel down and place them on the ground. My heart! ;_; In general he was amazing though, beautifully emotional, and especially his relationship with Cosette impressed me. When Cosette sings “In my life I have all that I want“ while he holds her in his arms, there was this incredible smile that lighted up his face. He was so tender and loving with her, like she was his entire life. <3 And when they decide to flee from Paris during One Day More, Cosette brings him the old doll, and he gave it such a tender smile and packed it together with the candles with obvious reverence.

Barbara Obermeier as Cosette was lovely! Full of energy and love both for Marius and Valjean, and there was nothing maudlin or saccharine about her at all. She was such an embodiment of youthful energy and happiness and love in all of her scenes with Valjean and Marius!

Marius (Alen Hodzovic) was a bit bland sometimes, although he was adorably dorky during A Heart Full Of Love. And the staging of Empty Chairs broke my heart! I was actually impressed by how they combined the scene with Turning, which made Turning almost work for me for the first time : while the women were singing, Marius came in and sat down on a chair while they gathered in a circle around him, directly looking at him as they sang, so that Turning seemed not a general criticism of armed revolution, but instead gave me the impression that it was a visualization of Marius' own guilt and recriminations against himself for surviving.

Then during Empty Chairs, the Amis were shown in the background, but not as sad, silent ghosts acknowledging Marius but as a warm, lively memory, laughing and drinking and planning at their tables. When Marius sings “don't ask me what your sacrifice was for” Enjolras stood up on a table with his fist raised and all the others looked up at him and raised their fist as well, and they froze in that tableau of determination. I loved the way their spirit and excitement was juxtaposed with Marius' guilt because it seemed to counter the doubt and hopelessness of both Turning and Empty Chairs: Marius might feel guilt for being the only one who survived, but it was made very clear that they knew what they died for and thought it a worthwhile sacrifice to make and would make it all over again.

Fantine (Ann Christin Elverum): I really loved her too. No vague sadness from her, but she was a Fantine who could get very angry and very desperate.

At the Court, Valjean is baring his breast and revealing that he is Valjean directly to Javert instead of a judge, and he tells him “You will find me in the hospital” before he runs off.

Unfortunately Konstantin Zander's Javert wasn't very gay. The Confrontation wasn't a very physical fight – but they made up for that but facing each other with their chests nearly touching for the “I swear to you I will be there” which they sang very tenderly directly at each other, like a lover's duet. That made up for the lack of physicality. <3

Both little Cosette and Gavroche were awful, I'm sorry but it is true. I'm amazed that both NY and London keep finding children who can both act and sing when that seems pretty much impossible for all other productions? Neither the singing nor the acting was convincing at all.

Little Eponine was shown bullying Cosette, kicking her bucket away. Madame Thenardier was appropriately abusive instead of being a terrible parody which I appreciated – after “or I'll stop being nice” she grabbed Cosette's head and pushed it down into the bucket and held her there for a while. The bucket was of course empty, but that really worked for me, it was quite chilling and IMO illustrated very well the abuse Cosette is facing (no laughter for that line either). In general I was very glad that they went with more of a cynical than blatantly humorous vibe for the Thenardiers.

Enjolras (Riccardo Greco): he worked well enough for me, but didn't particularly stand out for me. On the other hand, there's only ever been 2 Enjolras who gave me Enjolras feels, so that's to be expected. (Instead I was watching Combeferre during all Amis scenes, what is this... D:)

During Javert's Intervention, Thenardier held a can with coins which he kept rattling at Javert, asking him for alms during the whole “let the old man keep on running” bit – he clearly wasn't that intimidated by Javert. :D (Which, to be honest, he had a reason for. Konstantin Zander's Javert is very young and was lacking in authority – but even though I usually prefer more of a clipped, cold rigidity in my Javerts, he made it work? He was young but very determined and very passionate – though not in the Will Swenson sobbing sort of way. But he definitely seemed to see Valjean's continued running from him as a personal affront and a personal failure - this Javert is definitely obsessed with Valjean. I would say he seemed way more obsessed with Valjean than the law.)

During Stars, Javert didn't kneel but instead bent his head and took off his hat and clasped his hands over his hat in prayer. Alas, he's shorter than Valjean, but his coat was really hot (and so was he!) On the vaincs and ratkiley chart of Javert alignments he'd be repressed confused gay.

Eponine was mostly bland as well and didn't leave much of an impression on me. She mostly seemed... nice? No real emotions. :/

The Amis: OMG! This is the first production that managed to actually give them distinctive personalities for me? And most of all – I fell in love with their Combeferre apparently? WTF! There were almost no e/R vibes which made me happy (sorry e/R fans) but instead there were Combeferre/Enjolras vibes – Combeferre was always seated at a small table writing into a small black notebook. During Red and Black, he would only ever look up to gaze adoringly at Enjolras, who stood next to him most of the time. And it wasn't overdone at all - he just seemed entirely focused on only two things in the whole world, which were his notebook and Enjolras, and he was extremely focused and serious all of the time. When Javert was taken prisoner, it was also Combeferre who got to guard him with a rifle pressed to his back, and when Eponine died, he came in, and once he realized what was going on, his first concerned look was for Enjolras, who looked back at him, and then turned to gaze out beyond the barricade. Also, later Combeferre was wounded, and even while one of the women bandaged his right arm, he still kept writing in his black notebook with his left hand. (I... have a thing for quiet, stoic, earnestly devoted repressed people I guess?)

Also an unexpected bit of Marius passion: when Grantaire mocks him about Cosette he throws himself onto him and knocks him to the ground and the others have to pull him off before he can start beating Grantaire.

Gavroche's death: no over-done maudlin emotional reaction from Grantaire, yay! Instead, they made Marius clutch himself and roll around on the ground in grief, WTF?? (Sorry Marius he really didn't sing well enough to deserve any grief at all. Like, I feel bad to judge children by the same measure as I judge professional actors? But if you put them on a stage with an ensemble of professional singers, and then there is SUCH a gap of ability in both acting and singing, it just really pulls me out of the show. I'd rather have a teenage Gavroche than children who just cannot keep up with everyone else on stage!)

When Valjean intervenes and goes “Let me go, he's no more than boy” to Enjolras, Marius gets really angry at the intervention and goes “Who is that?” :D

Then during The Final Battle, Enjolras is the only one to survive, everyone else gets killed off first and at last Enjolras is just shouting “No, no, no” and climbs up to the top of the barricade and grabs the flag and waves it and then is shot and falls beyond the barricade.

When Javert climbs the barricade afterwards, he is already visibly unsettled and confused and can quite obviously not deal with the fact that Valjean let him go earlier. He doesn't pay attention to anything but his search for Valjean. And once he finally finds Valjean in the sewers, he's also so overwhelmed that he's swaying, clearly torn, pointing his truncheon at Valjean the whole time while he cannot seem to decide whether he wants to go back or forth.

Then, when Valjean is gone with Marius, he succumbs to despair and begins to climb one of the huge slabs of concrete; you can hear him panting and hear his growing despair and fear. I loved the way they staged the Suicide actually; there was a thin screen that came down for this between the stage and the audience, and the moment he jumped, it was lighted blue, and the two slabs of concrete slowly lifted away, and he wasn't flying away (thank God) but with the lighting and the rising bridges it seemed like you were watching him slowly sinking down in the water and it wasn't hilarious at all, phew.

Then during the Finale, part of the ensemble was standing in the audience and singing from there. <3

Also during the intermission people had put glow sticks down on every seat, so as a surprise to the cast for their final show, during the Finale everyone in the audience was waving glow sticks. (Turns out it were actually the people I befriended at the stage door/hung out with in my hotel later! :D)

And I keep thinking back to how absolutely overwhelming the music was – like, it grabbed you and lifted you up and carried you with it, and since the stage design was so toned down with just the huge dark monoliths, there was nothing to distract from it. Seriously, it was amazing, I've never experienced the music of Les Mis like this, like it just absolutely filled you up. (I think the theatre had easily twice as many people in the orchestra and a bigger ensemble than London too. But wow, what an AMAZING experience! The next day, I was doing some sightseeing, and when I was visiting the huge gothic cathedral, someone was played the organ inside, and I must have kept walking through the cathedral for about an hour because having that huge gothic building with its acoustics filled by that music that just flooded and filled everything like a stream of roaring water– that was about the same feeling I had during Les Mis!)

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