Sneak peek of Notre Dame de Paris!

Category: Arts, Entertainment · Tag: musical, notre dame de paris, theatre arts

We had the privilege of being invited to a sneak peek of the musical sensation, Notre Dame de Paris! And what a sensation it was – we sure are in store for a truly phenomenal musical when it opens on 17 December 2013 at Mastercard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands.

Award-winning lyricist Luc Plamondon and composer Richard Cocciante showcased their prowess on this musical. It musical isn’t made up of just songs after songs – Richard’s compositions are strongly linked to the show, smoothly portraying the emotionally charged story of unfortunate Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral Bell Ringer, the hunchback Quasimodo, and his hopeless devotion for the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda. What’s amazing about the storyline is that it is a reflection of what is happening on the streets of France: asylum-seekers, racism and the role of religion are some of them. In the making of this musical, they incorporated what they foresaw happening in the country into the 15^th century setting of the musical and it is now resonating with the audience more than ever.

We were given the pleasure of listening to Alessandra Ferrari (who plays Esmeralda) and Matt Laurent (who plays Quasimodo) sing a few songs from Notre Dame de Paris. “Bird we put in cages” was a stunning, emotionally heavy duet between them. Despite the occasional smirk at each other (it wasn’t the real show after all, simply a media call), they sang it true to the way it was supposed to be. The chemistry buzzing between them was almost tangible; so attuned to each other they were.

Alessandra discovered her passion for music at the age of 4 with local dance courses and some years later with the piano. At 12, she began to sing in a rock band, and officially started her musical career at 16 when she auditioned for Romeo and Juliette. “At 16… I was like, ‘I think I’m going to do this for the rest of my life’,” she laughed. And it’s clear that she made the right choice, as she went on to explain how she connected with her character, Esmeralda.

“I’m really honest when I say it’s one of the most beautiful roles I’ve ever done,” she said. “It permits me to discover so many parts of me… and it’s wonderful to do, night after night.”

Matt also introduces his character, Quasimodo the 20-year-old hunchback and cathedral bell ringer. “It’s always cool to play a young guy,” he snickered.

Matt has been performing in Notre Dame de Paris for the last 15 years, with more than 700 performances. With 3 solo albums and 4 hit musicals (Notre-Dame de Paris in Europe- Asia-Canada, Romeo and Juliette in Quebec, Le petit Prince in Quebec, and Dracula in France) under his belt, Matt Laurent is an experienced and high-calibre artist with many diversified talents to offer.

To vividly portray Quasimodo’s infatuation with Esmeralda, he bases himself on his own experience, back when he was a teenager falling in love the first time. Playing Quasimodo has carries a lot of weight – both figuratively and literally. “It’s a heavy costume with heavy makeup,” he explained. “It’s very different from just playing a normal guy walking down the street.”