Musical Notre Dame de Paris features spectacular acrobatic performances

Musical Notre Dame de Paris features spectacular acrobatic performances

No safety ropes. No safety nets.

No wonder the audience gasped and held its breath as three acrobats swung from and rocked a large bell suspended about 3m above the ground.

One miscalculation and the musical spectacular could have turned ugly.

Officials at the State Kremlin Palace in the Russian capital of Moscow, where the show was staged, had doubts about the safety of the Notre Dame de Paris acrobats. But their faith in the acrobats paid off. The show's opening night there on Nov 13 was a success.

Since its premiere in France in 1998, Notre Dame de Paris has been staged more than 5,000 times in about 20 countries, such as Italy, Russia, the United States, China and South Korea.

And for the first time, the English version of the show, which is about two hours long, will be performed in Singapore. It will be staged at the MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands from Dec 17 to Jan 5.

The tragic love story, set in Paris in the 1400s, is about beautiful gypsy Esmeralda (Alessandra Ferrari) who charms hunchback Quasimodo (Matt Laurent) and is lusted after by a priest called Frollo (Robert Marien). Yet, she pines for military captain Phoebus (Alberto Mangia Vinci), who is betrothed to Fleur-de-Lys (Elicia McKenzie).

Notre Dame de Paris, based on Victor Hugo's 1831 French novel of the same name, has acrobats and dancers in addition to its 26-men musical cast.

As the singers rip-roar their emotional lines, supporting dancers - one of whom holds the Guinness Record for the most number of spins on his head - complete the performance with contemporary dance, gymnastics and parkour moves.

But it is no easy feat, said Laurent, 46, who plays Notre Dame's hideous bell ringer. This is especially so for the Canadian, who has to climb down a wall while singing and slouching and gets tied to a spinning wheel.

"I have to be really careful as I climb down the wall because the microphone is just beside my mouth, so I have to control my panting and exhale through the other side of my mouth," he said.

Laurent, a well-known recording artiste in his home country, is no stranger to Singapore. He was in the French version of Notre Dame de Paris staged in Singapore in 2006.

Co-star Ferrari, 23, spent nights ploughing through Hugo's 700-page novel to understand Esmeralda's character. But she still finds it "a difficult role to portray", given Esmeralda's involvement in almost every scene and with every character.

Ferrari, who studied music and started her career in 2005 with a rock band in Italy, did not take long to grow into the role.

"The character requires me to be honest and that's what I tell myself to do," she said. "Plus, having some chocolate before going on stage helps."

About Notre Dame de Paris

  • The Notre Dame de Paris first opened at the Palais des Congres theatre in Paris in September 1998.
  • It holds the Guinness record for the show with the most successful first year of any musical ever produced.
  • It is based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel of the same name.
  • The show was first performed in Singapore in French in 2006. This will be the first time it will be performed here in English.
  • English lyrics for the Notre Dame de Paris were written by Will Jennings, Oscar winner for the Celine Dion hit My Heart Will Go On.


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