HERE IS THE NEW IDEA TO REVOLUTIONIZE MUSICALS: SINGING!
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And yet, nobody tried it before… Singing LIVE in a musical is the new trick that Tom Hooper, director of Les Misérables decided to try for this new film. It actually makes sense, the music is essential in a musical and if it is not done correctly, it can be a problem since the audience will not be transported in the whole magic of the movie.
As a result, Tom Hooper ditched the lip-singing . All the musical numbers are live instead of recorded in a studio before the acting part. This should be very interesting, actors can try many ways of doing their numbers and as for the audience, it will give us a sense of authenticity. It is so easy to sound fake in a musical number as soon as it is playback… that is the reason why Les Misérables director gave the actors the opportunity to sing live on set, having multiples takes, reactions and singing styles obviously.
The actors of the movie seem all very happy about it. Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman are pretty excited about the singing part and the opportunity to do it in different ways. Hugh Jackman, who plays Jean Valjean, says that “the idea of singing live is daunting , but it gives you this amazing freedom”. I guess we will see some good numbers! But how can they do it? How can they sing on set with the music adapting to each one of their changes? Well, a simple piano will do the trick! And later on, in the post-production process they will add the orchestra on the actor’s singing.
We can’t wait to see the result… What do you think? Will it actually change the way people feel about musical or is it useless?
I guess we will find out this winter when the movie comes out…
A cura di Flavia Nicolò
(21 settembre 2012)
