Napoleon (musical)
Encyclopedia
Napoleon, The Musical is a musical by Canadians Andrew Sabiston
and Timothy Williams (Composer)
. It premiered at the Elgin Theatre
in Toronto on 23 March 1994 with Jérôme Pradon
in the title role and Aline Mowat as leading lady Josephine. Directed by John Wood and orchestrated by David Cullen
, it was the largest ever Canadian musical, with a budget of five million dollars. It was nominated for a Dora Award for Best Musical.
The musical was later produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre
in London with previews from 30 September 2000 and officially opened on 13 October 2000, starring Paul Baker
and Uwe Kröger
(who performed three of the eight a week in the title role), with Anastasia Barzee
as Josephine. It was directed by Francesca Zambello
, and legendary West End producer by Duncan Weldon. Orchestration was by Jonathan Tunick
.
Napoleon ran for six months. While Friday through Sunday were sold out, Tuesday through Thursday were slow. With 32 in the cast and an orchestra of 28, producers cited the high running costs as the principal reason for closure. The show closed on 3 February, just two months after the booking period was extended to 28 April 2001.
The show celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2009 with a brand new concert version in Barrie
, Ontario
. It was directed by Richard Ouzounian
. The concert version starred Canada's own Adam Brazier (previously seen on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber
's The Woman in White
and Blythe Wilson
. To mark the anniversary the original 1994 cast album with Jérôme Pradon and Aline Mowat was released by Stage Door Records (UK), with 15 tracks. The original release was 18 tracks.
Andrew Sabiston
is a television and theatre writer in Toronto, and Timothy Williams (Composer)
went on to be a film/television composer. In addition, he orchestrated and conducted 300
, Watchmen
and The Day The Earth Stood Still
. He has won a Dora Award and two Thea awards.
. In the musical, Josephine sings most of the memorable numbers including "The Friend You Were to Me," "Only in Fantasy" and "On That First Night" (which is a duet with Napoleon).
, Stephanie Martin, Adam Brazier, and Blythe Wilson.
Songs were recently incorporated into Field of Dreams and Anthology of Canadian Musicals. Excerpts can frequently be heard on Radio programs hosted by Richard Ouzounian in Canada and Elaine Paige in England.
In 2001, First Night Records released a 5-track Cast Recording for sale of the Original London Cast. Re-orchestrated, it features only one new song ("Only In Fantasy"), sung by Anastasia Barzee
. Reportedly the entire full score with the large orchestra was recorded, but unfortunately due to union contracts and payment issues, the cast recording remains unreleased.
In 2009, there was a limited re-release celebrating the 15th anniversary, featuring 15 tracks instead of 18.
In 2001, Uwe Kröger
recorded the song "Sweet Victory Divine", Napoleon's rousing Act 1 Finale, for the CD version of the concert "So In Love With Musicals", also starring Pia Douwes
.
Andrew Sabiston
Andrew Sabiston is a Canadian actor, theatre and television writer and lyricist. He went to St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia, graduating in 1982, the same year as classmate Leslie Hope. Both had been cast in their final year in the Paul Almond movie, Ups & Downs, which...
and Timothy Williams (Composer)
Timothy Williams
Timothy Williams is a bilingual British author who has written five novels in English featuring Commissario Piero Trotti, a character critics have referred to as a personification of modern Italy. Williams' books include Black August, which won a Crime Writers' Association award...
. It premiered at the Elgin Theatre
Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden theatre is seven stories above the Elgin Theatre....
in Toronto on 23 March 1994 with Jérôme Pradon
Jérôme Pradon
Jérôme Pradon is an actor and singer who has performed in the West End, Paris and various other places around the world. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France on 3 June 1964.- Theatre :...
in the title role and Aline Mowat as leading lady Josephine. Directed by John Wood and orchestrated by David Cullen
David Cullen (disambiguation)
David Cullen is an Irish basketball player.David Cullen is also the name of:* David Cullen , Canadian ice hockey defenceman* David Cullen , Wisconsin State Assemblyman...
, it was the largest ever Canadian musical, with a budget of five million dollars. It was nominated for a Dora Award for Best Musical.
The musical was later produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
in London with previews from 30 September 2000 and officially opened on 13 October 2000, starring Paul Baker
Paul Baker (actor)
Paul Baker is a Olivier Award winning British musical theatre star. He is remarked as one of the stage's most versatile performers based from his performances. He is best remembered for his roles in Taboo , for which he won his Olivier Award, and the 2000 West End Mega-flop Napoleon in the title...
and Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger is a famous musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in numerous galas and concerts, as well as making a few television and film appearances...
(who performed three of the eight a week in the title role), with Anastasia Barzee
Anastasia Barzee
Anastasia Barzee is a celebrated Broadway, Film and Television actress. She is a graduate of Frost School of Music at Miami University. Along with fellow Miami grads, the Grammy Award nominated Matt Pierson and Grammy Winner Gil Goldstein she has recorded a solo album, The Dimming of the Day, of...
as Josephine. It was directed by Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello is a leading American opera and theatre director. Zambello lived in Europe when she was a child, learning to speak French, Italian, German and Russian. Zambello is of Italian descent, the daughter of Jean , an actress and Charles C. Zambello, a former actor who became head of...
, and legendary West End producer by Duncan Weldon. Orchestration was by Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
.
Napoleon ran for six months. While Friday through Sunday were sold out, Tuesday through Thursday were slow. With 32 in the cast and an orchestra of 28, producers cited the high running costs as the principal reason for closure. The show closed on 3 February, just two months after the booking period was extended to 28 April 2001.
The show celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2009 with a brand new concert version in Barrie
Barrie
Barrie may refer to:* Barrie, city in Ontario, Canada* Barrie , Canadian federal electoral district* Barrie , provincial electoral district* Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, former Canadian electoral district...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. It was directed by Richard Ouzounian
Richard Ouzounian
Richard Ouzounian is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He is currently the chief theatre critic for the Toronto Star and the Canadian theatre correspondent for Variety.-Life and career:...
. The concert version starred Canada's own Adam Brazier (previously seen on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's The Woman in White
The Woman in White (musical)
The Woman in White is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel with a book by Charlotte Jones, based on the novel The Woman in White written by Wilkie Collins...
and Blythe Wilson
Blythe Wilson
Blythe Wilson is a Canadian actress who has been part of the Stratford Festival company since 2003, playing lead roles as Nancy in Oliver! in 2006 and Laurey in Oklahoma! in 2007....
. To mark the anniversary the original 1994 cast album with Jérôme Pradon and Aline Mowat was released by Stage Door Records (UK), with 15 tracks. The original release was 18 tracks.
Andrew Sabiston
Andrew Sabiston
Andrew Sabiston is a Canadian actor, theatre and television writer and lyricist. He went to St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia, graduating in 1982, the same year as classmate Leslie Hope. Both had been cast in their final year in the Paul Almond movie, Ups & Downs, which...
is a television and theatre writer in Toronto, and Timothy Williams (Composer)
Timothy Williams (composer)
Timothy Williams is an award-winning composer of film and theater, a conductor and orchestrator. Born in England in 1966, he moved to Canada in 1970. He studied music at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He won many piano competitions and was originally on a...
went on to be a film/television composer. In addition, he orchestrated and conducted 300
300
Year 300 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius...
, Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
and The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. The screenplay is based on the 1940 classic science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, and the 1951 screenplay adaptation by Edmund H...
. He has won a Dora Award and two Thea awards.
Plot
The plot of Napoleon centers mostly on two aspects - Napoleon Bonaparte's rise from a common man to a leading war general (and leader) of France. Secondly, it focuses on the romantic relationship of Napoleon and his first wife, Joséphine de BeauharnaisJoséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
. In the musical, Josephine sings most of the memorable numbers including "The Friend You Were to Me," "Only in Fantasy" and "On That First Night" (which is a duet with Napoleon).
Recordings
The original cast recording of Napoleon was released by EMI Angel Broadway and has become a cult item. A bonus track was recorded by Dan Hill and reached number 16 on the Canadian charts. Songs from Napoleon have been covered by Dan Hill, Stig Rossen, Uwe KrögerUwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger is a famous musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in numerous galas and concerts, as well as making a few television and film appearances...
, Stephanie Martin, Adam Brazier, and Blythe Wilson.
Songs were recently incorporated into Field of Dreams and Anthology of Canadian Musicals. Excerpts can frequently be heard on Radio programs hosted by Richard Ouzounian in Canada and Elaine Paige in England.
In 2001, First Night Records released a 5-track Cast Recording for sale of the Original London Cast. Re-orchestrated, it features only one new song ("Only In Fantasy"), sung by Anastasia Barzee
Anastasia Barzee
Anastasia Barzee is a celebrated Broadway, Film and Television actress. She is a graduate of Frost School of Music at Miami University. Along with fellow Miami grads, the Grammy Award nominated Matt Pierson and Grammy Winner Gil Goldstein she has recorded a solo album, The Dimming of the Day, of...
. Reportedly the entire full score with the large orchestra was recorded, but unfortunately due to union contracts and payment issues, the cast recording remains unreleased.
In 2009, there was a limited re-release celebrating the 15th anniversary, featuring 15 tracks instead of 18.
In 2001, Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger
Uwe Kröger is a famous musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in numerous galas and concerts, as well as making a few television and film appearances...
recorded the song "Sweet Victory Divine", Napoleon's rousing Act 1 Finale, for the CD version of the concert "So In Love With Musicals", also starring Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes is a Dutch musical theatre actress who is extremly successful in Europe.- Biography :Douwes was born in Amsterdam, North Holland as Petronella Irene Allegonda Douwes, to an arts dealer and a social worker and the grandniece of Doris Day...
.