Les Misérables in Concert – A Spectacular Opening Night at Rod Laver Arena

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Date Reviewed: 14/05/2025

The opening night of Les Misérables in Concert at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena was nothing short of breathtaking. A near-capacity crowd witnessed a bold reimagining of the beloved musical, transformed into a grand-scale arena spectacle. This concert version, conceived by Cameron Mackintosh, proves that Les Misérables remains as powerful and relevant as ever, nearly four decades after its London premiere.

Staging Les Misérables in an arena could have risked losing the show’s intimacy, but the creative team masterfully balanced grandeur with emotional depth. The vast space was brought to life through Matt Kinley’s striking set and image design, featuring towering video screens that projected Victor Hugo-inspired paintings and live footage of the performers. The effect was cinematic: expansive yet detailed, immersing the audience in 19th-century France.

Lighting designers Paule Constable and Warren Letton played a pivotal role in shaping the narrative. Their work was not just illumination but storytelling, most notably in the poignant moments where a soft white light enveloped fallen characters, as if guiding them heavenward. Meanwhile, Mick Potter’s sound design ensured every note and lyric resonated with clarity and power, no small feat in such a vast venue.

The production brings together an extraordinary ensemble, beginning with Alfie Boe's profoundly moving Jean Valjean, whose journey from prisoner to redeemed man anchors the show with vocal brilliance. Michael Ball brings commanding gravitas to Javert, their confrontations electrifying the arena. Earl Carpenter's compassionate Bishop provides one of the production's most spiritually resonant moments in his pivotal early scene. Matt Lucas and Marina Prior steal every scene as the deliciously amoral Thénardiers, while Shan Ako's raw, heartbreaking Éponine and James D. Gish's fiery Enjolras deliver standout performances. Rachelle Ann Go's fragile yet powerful Fantine, Jac Yarrow's romantic Marius, and Beatrice Penny-Touré's radiant Cosette complete this exceptional company, with young Scarlett Sheludko (Little Cosette) and Christopher Joseph (Gavroche) adding delightful moments.

Claude-Michel Schönberg's magnificent score, paired with Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel's original French adaptation of Hugo's novel, finds its perfect English voice through Herbert Kretzmer's celebrated lyrics, together creating one of musical theatre's most enduring works. Under Stephen Brooker's musical supervision, the 65-strong company did full justice to this legacy, with Stephen Metcalfe's orchestrations ensuring every nuance resonated powerfully throughout the arena. The music swelled with cinematic grandeur, from the thunderous One Day More to the haunting On My Own and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. The production’s success is a testament to the vision of directors James Powell and Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, who ensured that even in an arena, the story’s intimacy was never lost.

This concert version is more than a revival, it’s a reinvention. By embracing the scale of an arena while preserving the musical’s essence, the production offers both longtime fans and newcomers a thrilling new way to experience Les Misérables. Victor Hugo’s tale of justice, love, and redemption has never felt more epic: or more moving.

For those who missed opening night, this is a theatrical event not to be missed. A triumph of music, staging, and performance, Les Misérables in Concert proves that some stories truly are timeless.

 

Reviewed by Irena Begelfor