Quast makes it believable, compelling, and beautiful. This is the most important moment of the song, when the hopelessness of Javert’s position has begun to dawn on him, when the actor/singer has to convince the audience that committing suicide is better than living with the knowledge that his long-time nemesis is a good man. Now skip ahead one last time, to about 4:00. His voice soars with the orchestra and I get chills, no matter how many times I hear it. Listen to that tone, that intonation, that inflection, then take note of his high note at about 3:20. Go back to that clip and skip ahead to about 2:30.

The man in the second clip is distinguished actor Philip Quast, an Australian who has won the Laurence Olivier Award three times. Who on earth would choose this: over this: ? Because Les Miserables is not just a movie it’s a musical. If only I could say the same about his vocal performance. He looked the part of Javert and his dramatic portrayal was pitch perfect. Russell Crowe is a fine actor, a distinguished craftsman and an attractive man. ( ) Crowe’s voice at the Oscars had the same effect that it had in the movie: the fourth wall came crumbling down and I was no longer carried away by the moment. It was as if a foghorn had started blowing in the middle of a Sousa march and was as distracting as the cowbell in that classic SNL skit. In the Les Mis montage last night at the Oscars, the cast appeared on stage singing the stirring anthem “One Day More” to great effect and I was moved… until Crowe entered and nearly ruined it. On a purely technical level, it’s laughable on an aesthetic level, it’s horrendous. And because he’s powerful and rich and famously not prone to anger (!), I’m going to use Russell Crowe as my example. I want to talk about professional singing, ie., singing for which one is paid and which people pay money to enjoy. (In case you didn’t know, even singing badly is good for you: )īut I’m not here to discuss recreational singing, karaoke singing, singing in the shower or even singing around the campfire. The health benefits of singing have been exhaustively researched and universally lauded.

Yes, everyone can sing and everyone should sing. First of all, let me set to rest your concerns about my headline.

Les miserables full movie 2012 youtube