Characters: Parīzes Dievmātes Katedrāle

Esmeralda with Djali

While often faithful to the novel, Parīzes Dievmātes Katedrāle has its own unique interpretation of the characters.

Esmeralda strikes a balance between innocent and mature. As a result, she is much more likable than she is in the novel, as she is more independent and less petty. She stands up for Quasimodo, despite his worry that she is going to harm him, and fights back against Frollo's advances, just to name a few examples. But that sense of innocence, while less pure naivete, is still there. Her first song, describing how she wishes that "dreams could come true," contrasts with her final words before her untimely death, gasping of "the pain" and "peace" of it all.

Quasimodo

Quasimodo, played by Latvian rock star Igo, is the highlight of the show. While the majority of the cast do their jobs fairly well, it's the little bits of acting such as the way he lumbers about and the range of his voice that make him memorable. This version places less emphasis on Quasimodo's facial deformity as it does his physical abnormality. Quasimodo is often referred to, by himself and others, as a "cripple," and lame person. Quasimodo's plight is used less for audience sympathy as it to draw a comparison.When Frollo, near the beginning, likens adopting the infant Quasimodo to when"Jesus went to the lame and the sick," this notion seems clearer.

Claude Frollo

Claude Frollo is one of the most developed versions of the character in any adaptation I've seen. Unlike, say, the 1982 Hallmark TV movie or the recent Disney stage musical, Frollo isn't portrayed as an ideal saint before he saw Esmeralda. While his backstory is not really examined, it doesn't need to be. His character is developed through the music. Frollo is a threatening and often frightening villain because of his failed humanity, and that concept is shown beautifully in this opera. Sergejs Martinovs does a fine job playing madness without resorting to camp or caricature.

Gudule and Esmeralda

Gudule's importance is increased in this opera, unlike the novel where she was part of a minor subplot. She doesn't have any extras scenes really, but they are interspersed throughout instead of short chapters. She's more sympathetic here because of the way the character is framed. In the book, Gudule is a crazy old hag first before her motivation is explored. This is the case for a lot of characters in the novel, likely to enforce the "deception of appearance" theme. While that may work for a novel, the opera chooses a more conventional method of storytelling, and it succeeds as a result. In the case of Gudule, I can certainly say that this in an improvement.

Pierre Gringoire

Pierre Gringoire is not particularly different from his literary counterpart. He's given a bit of pathos, which is refreshing after Fitzball's and Jetlag Productions' flat comic relief. Being that Jehan Frollo is absent from this adaptation, the author decides to combine include elements of that character into Gringoire, such as the scene where he asks Frollo for money. While I usually don't like when adaptations of books combine characters, it works very well here. One strange addition to this adaptation is a scene where Gringoire is nearly raped by a group of women in the court of miracles. I'm not sure what the point of this scene really is. I suppose it is effective in showing the court as a dangerous place, but the scene is played more for laughs than anything else. (Then again, that itself is a bit problematic.) 

Fleur de Lys and Phoebus

Phoebus is also basically unchanged from the novel. Both his arrogance and ignorance are used for comic and dramatic affect throughout. Fleur de Lys also is similar, but works nonetheless. The two of them have a certain chemistry together. There are shifts of power that I really like. Early on, Fleur de Lys admires Phoebus as an idea hero and he plays the part on the surface. However, after she discovers his misadventure with Esmeralda, Fleur de Lys has power over Phoebus and says that they will  be together forever once married. It's an expansion of a concept hinted at near the end of the book, and it's both humorous and dramatically satisfying.

Clopin and a beggar

Clopin is also not very different from how he is in the book. He's filthy and cruel, but not humorless as in the French musical or Hallmark TV movie. There's also a lot of vulgarity with this Clopin, and it works very well. I really like this interpretation, and the actor seems to be having a lot of fun playing the character. 

The extras all of a bit of personality, which usually is not the case in theater productions. It's fun to spot the wiry man with a crutch hobble about with a paranoid gaze or the noble women who talk with their hands. Details like this make the world come alive.

Next: Sets, Lighting and Costumes