Les Misérables in Concert is a concert version of the musicalLes Misérables, produced to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It was filmed in October 1995 at the Royal Albert Hall.

This presentation uses a "modernised" and more orchestrated Alain Boublil–Claude-Michel Schönberg score than that of the musical. It follows the traditional "musicals-in-concert" format with the cast lined up against a set of microphones with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra andchorus behind them. The entire company wear costumes and use only necessary props (such as Javert's baton, Thénardier's notebook, etc.). Apart from minor movement on the concert stage, the performers do not participate in major action scenes. Where necessary, the video switches to action from the stage production. Only a few scenes from the musical are not included in the concert, including the street brawl broken up by Javert, "The Death of Gavroche" and the confrontation between Marius and Thénardier at the wedding feast, as well as some musical numbers, such as "At the End of the Day", "The Runaway Cart" and "Turning", having shortened lyrics.

From Wikipedia

The novel

Les Misérables (pronounced /lɛs ˈmɪz(ə)rəb(ə)lz/ ; French pronunciation: [le mizeʁabl(ə)]) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title, however several alternatives have been used, including The Miserable, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims and The Dispossessed. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption.

Examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for the stage, television, and film, including a musical and a film adaptation of that musical.

The appearance of the novel was highly anticipated and advertised. Critical reactions were diverse, but most of them were negative. Commercially, the work was a great success globally.

Novel form

Upton Sinclair described the novel as "one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world," and remarked that Hugo set forth the purpose of Les Misérables in the Preface:

So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.

Towards the end of the novel, Hugo explains the work's overarching structure:

The book which the reader has before him at this moment is, from one end to the other, in its entirety and details ... a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, from night to day, from appetite to conscience, from corruption to life; from bestiality to duty, from hell to heaven, from nothingness to God. The starting point: matter, destination: the soul. The hydra at the beginning, the angel at the end.

The novel contains various subplots, but the main thread is the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean, who becomes a force for good in the world but cannot escape his criminal past. The novel is divided into five volumes, each volume divided into several books, and subdivided into chapters, for a total of 48 books and 365 chapters. Each chapter is relatively short, commonly no longer than a few pages.

The novel as a whole is one of the longest ever written, with approximately 1,500 pages in unabridged English-language editions, and 1,900 pages in French. Hugo explained his ambitions for the novel to his Italian publisher:

I don't know whether it will be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone. It addresses England as well as Spain, Italy as well as France, Germany as well as Ireland, the republics that harbour slaves as well as empires that have serfs. Social problems go beyond frontiers. Humankind's wounds, those huge sores that litter the world, do not stop at the blue and red lines drawn on maps. Wherever men go in ignorance or despair, wherever women sell themselves for bread, wherever children lack a book to learn from or a warm hearth, Les Miserables knocks at the door and says: "open up, I am here for you".

From Wikipedia

《悲惨世界》（法语：Les Misérables，英语发音：/leɪ ˌmɪzəˈrɑːb/，另有中文譯名《孤星淚》，原意为“悲惨的人们”，“可怜的人们”），是法国作家維克多·雨果（Victor-Marie Hugo）于1862年所发表的一部长篇小说，是19世纪最著名的小说之一。小说描绘了19世纪初20年间几个法国人物的生活背景，涵盖了拿破仑战争和1832年巴黎共和黨人起義等政治現象敘述。

故事的主线围绕主人公获释罪犯冉阿让试图赎罪的历程。小说试图检视他的赎罪行为在当时的社会环境下的所造成的影响。这部宏大的小说，融进了法国的历史，以及巴黎的建筑、政治、道德哲学、法律、正义、宗教信仰，检视了善、恶和法律的本质，同样还有爱情与亲情的种类和本质。

雨果的创作灵感来源于一个真实的罪犯和警察，他把这个真实人物的性格分成了故事中的两个人物。悲惨世界通过它不计其数的舞台和銀幕的改编作品被世人所了解。最著名的改编作品是同名音乐剧。

小说形式

厄普顿·辛克莱称小说是“世界上最杰出的为数不多的小说之一”，并认为雨果在前言中给出了创作的意义:

只要因法律和习俗所造成的社会压迫还存在一天，在文明鼎盛时期人为地把人间变成地狱并使人类与生俱来的幸运遭受不可避免的灾祸；只要本世纪的三个问题——贫穷使男子潦倒，饥饿使妇女堕落，黑暗使儿童羸弱——还得不到解决；只要在某些地区还可能发生社会的毒害，换句话说，同时也是从更广的意义来说，只要这世界上还有愚昧和困苦，那么，和本书同一性质的作品都不会是无益的。

在小说的末尾，雨果解释了作品的总体结构:

此刻读者展阅的这部书，无论存在怎样的间歇、例外或欠缺，但是从头至尾，从整体到细节，全是讲述人从恶走向善，从非正义走向正义，从假走向真，从黑夜走向光明，从欲望走向良心，从腐朽走向生命，从兽性走向责任，从地狱走向天堂，从虚无走向上帝。起点是物质，终点是灵魂。始为九头蛇，终成为天使。

小说包涵了许多次要情节，但主要线索依然是前科犯冉阿让。冉阿让是剧中的正义力量，但是却无法摆脱自己的犯罪记录。小说被划分成五部，每卷又包涵了许多卷，卷又分许多章；总计为48卷365章。每章都相对较短，通常不超过几页。以现在的标准，小说从整体上来讲是个大部头，未修订的英语版长达1,500页，[16]法语版为1900页。[17][18][19]被认为是最长的小说之一。

雨果曾经向他的意大利出版人解释自己的雄心抱负:

我不知道是不是所有人都能读到这部书，但是，我写这部书确实是为了所有的人。这部书既是给英国写的，也是给西班牙写的，也是写给意大利，写给法国、德国和爱尔兰；这部书对奴隶制共和国的作用也并不比农奴制国家小。社会问题不承认国界。人类社会的深度溃疡遍布全球，对此，两个半球地图上的蓝色或红色的国界线并不是障碍。凡是男人愚昧无知，限于绝望的地方，凡是女人为了一块面包而卖身，以及儿童因为没有学习的书籍和取暖的火炉而痛苦的地方，我的《悲惨世界》都会来敲门，说道：“开门，我找你们来了！”

1801年，一个名叫冉阿让的穷苦农民，為了幫助飢餓的姪子們而偷了一块面包(还有企图逃獄)而被判19年苦役，刑满释放后，持黄色身份证（意指：帶有前科、案底的假釋證明）讨生活又处处碰壁，只因為有罪之身。到1828年，雨果又开始搜集有关米里艾主教及其家庭的资料，酝酿写一个释放的苦役犯受圣徒式的主教感化而弃恶从善的故事。在1829年和1830年间，他还大量搜集有关黑玻璃制造业的材料，这便是到蒙特罗，化名为马德兰先生，从苦役犯变成企业家，开办工厂并发迹的由来。此外，他还参观了布雷斯特和的特龍苦役犯监狱，在街头目睹了类似芳汀受辱的场面。

1846年2月22日，雨果年轻时有一次在路上看到两个士兵挾持着一个因偷面包而被判死刑的男子，当时有一位贵夫人坐着漆有家徽的马车经过，囚犯注目贵夫人，但贵夫人对囚犯却视而不见。他认为此事表明当时法国平民承认贵族，贵族却无视平民的存在，从此使他萌发写《悲惨世界》的念头。

《悲惨世界》的主题是写人类与邪恶之間不懈的斗争，人类本性是纯洁善良的，将一同走向幸福，但要经过苦难的历程。书中穿插当时法国革命动乱的背景和拿破仑滑铁卢战役的描写，以及当时法国社会的很多细节都有论及，比如俚语、下水道和女修道院等情况，雨果在书中都分有独立章节描写。故事情节错综复杂、设计巧妙、跌宕起伏。雨果力图表现严刑峻法只能使人更加邪恶，应根据人道主义精神用道德感化的方法处理，他借主人公之口说道“最高的法律是良心”。他写道：“将来人们会把犯罪看作一种疾病，由一批特殊的医生来医治这种病。医院将取代监狱。”

为了这部书，雨果前后构思了40年，到晚年才完成。他自称这是“一部宗教作品”

From Wikipedia