French musical leaves mark on Shanghai

Audiences sing along when performers of Notre-Dame de Paris do an encore Age of the Cathedrals at the SAIC Shanghai Culture Square.

The French musical is being presented in Shanghai through Aug 11, and at the end of almost every performance, the audience sings along during the encore, according to the theater management. The cast is touched by the enthusiasm of the audiences. And the composer of the musical, Riccardo Cocciante, and one of the lead actors, Richard Charest, marvel at how Shanghai's audiences can sing in French.

The musical based on Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris premiered in Paris in 1998. Its music was composed by Cocciante with lyrics by Luc Plamondon.

One of the most successful French musicals, the production has seen more than 5,000 performances globally and was adapted into multiple languages such as English, Spanish and Italian.

In 2018, a new 20th anniversary production was presented in Paris before heading on a global tour.

The China tour of Notre-Dame de Paris this year has kicked off a new chapter in Sino-French cultural communications, says Nicolas Talar, the producer.

After Shanghai, the musical will be performed in 13 cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Harbin in Heilongjiang province.

The tour will conclude at the Shenzhen Poly Theatre in Guangdong province on Jan 12, 2020.

"In 2011, Notre-Dame de Paris the musical's English edition was the big production that kicked off our end-of-the-year season," says Zhang Jie, the general manager of the SAIC Shanghai Culture Square.