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Write 5 musicals title composer. The most famous musicals Romeo and Juliet. From hate to love

About the most interesting and beautiful representatives of such a musical and theatrical stage genre as a musical, we will tell you in this top 10 of the best musicals.

10 Sounds of Music

The music for this musical was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and the libretto by Howard Lindsey and Russell Crouse. The musical tells the story of a young girl named Maria. She is an orphan who is going to become a nun. However, others believe that this role is not quite suitable for her. Therefore, Mary goes to a family of seven children and their father. There the girl will know the feeling of love.

9 Mamma Mia!

This musical with a libretto was created based on more than two dozen songs by ABBA. A young girl Sophie is preparing for her wedding with Sky. She wants her father to take her, the bride, to the altar. But the problem is that Sophie never saw her father, and her mother Donna did not tell anything about him. Sophie accidentally finds her mother's diary and learns the names of the three people Donna was romantically involved with in the year Sophie was born. The girl invites the three men to the wedding by writing to them on Donna's behalf.

8 My fair lady

This musical was created by Frederick Low based on the comedy by Bernard Shaw "Pygmalion". Henry Higgins is a famous professor and a bachelor, content with his lifestyle. One day, he argues with a friend that in six months he can turn a street flower seller into a lady who can appear in "high society". But Henry does not know that changes are waiting for him, along with the upcoming love.

7 Moulin Rouge!

This musical was released in 2001. Satine is a famous actress and courtesan in the Moulin Rouge cabaret. She needs to seduce the Duke and get funding for a theatrical production. However, a poor poet named Christian falls in love with the girl. Sateen reciprocates his feelings. The Duke finds out about this, and the plot is bordered by a love triangle.

6 Outcasts

The composers of the music for this musical are Claude-Michel Schoenberg and Alain Boublil. The English libretto was created by Herbert Kretzmer. This work is based on the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The musical Les Misérables takes place in France in the 19th century. Jean Valjean is a former convict. He is a fugitive from justice and from police inspector Javert. One day, Jean agrees to take care of Cosette, whose mother, a factory worker Fantine, has died. He does not suspect that this decision will irrevocably change their lives.

5 Cats

The musical "Cats" was created by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on the children's book "Popular Cat Science by an Old Possum" by Thomas Stearns Eliot. In the center of the narrative in the musical is a special cat's ball. A tribe of cats gathers in a huge garbage dump in order to perform a dance under the moon, and also to find out who, after death, will be able to go to cat heaven and get a new life.

4 Romeo and Juliet. From hate to love

The words and music for this musical were created by Gerard Presgurvik. This work tells the story of the classic play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. This musical is about two families who hate each other, and about the children from these families, who are connected by a feeling of love.

3 Notre Dame de Paris

Sometimes this musical is also called "Notre Dame Cathedral". It was created based on the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral" by Victor Hugo. The main character of the musical is a beautiful young gypsy Esmeralda. The priest Claude Frollo, the hunchback bell-ringer Quasimodo, and Phoebe de Chateauper, who is betrothed to another girl, fall in love with her. Also, the poet Pierre Gringoire feels sympathy for the girl. A complex romantic line at the end turns deadly for many characters in this musical.

2 Last test

The music for this musical was written by Anton Kruglov, and the words were written by Elena Khanpira. The Final Trial is based on the books The Saga of the Spear by Laura and Tracey Hickman and Margaret Weiss. The dark mage Raistlin wants to defeat the Goddess of Darkness - Takhisis - and thus gain power and authority. To do this, he takes with him the priestess of the Light God - Crysania. Raistlin and Crysania find themselves bonded in love, but Raistlin's ultimate choice, his final test, lies ahead. And the price of a magician's mistake will be incredibly high for him. There is an alternate ending to the musical.

1 Phantom of the Opera

The music for this musical was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the libretto was written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. This musical is based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Opera singer Christine Daae is in love with Viscount Raoul de Chagny. However, difficulties and dangers stand in the way of their relationship, because the mysterious Phantom of the Opera loves the girl.

A variety of musicals can open a world of beautiful music and interesting stories to a person.

On a warm summer evening or a rainy day, we invite you to plunge into the mixture music, songs, dances,comedy And drama. Cheer yourself up, or maybe get a little sad. We present to you 5 most famous musicals in the world:

"My Fair Lady"(My Fair Lady) (1956)

This musical is based on the play by Bernard Shaw. "Pygmalion", which tells how the main character, flower girl Eliza Doolittle, becomes a charming lady. This transformation took place because of a dispute between a professor of phonetics and his linguist friend.
The musical premiered on March 15, 1956. It has been translated into eleven languages, including Hebrew, and has been successfully broadcast in more than twenty countries. The musical received 6 Tony awards. The original Broadway cast recorded over five million copies sold, and George Cukor's film of the same name was released in 1964. Warner Brothers paid a record $5.5 million for the film rights to the musical.

"Notre Dame de Paris"(Notre-Dame de Paris)(1998)

Musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral". It was first shown in Paris on September 16, 1998 and entered the Guinness Book of Records as having the most successful first year of operation.

"Cats"(Cats) (1981)

The basis for "Cats" was a cycle of children's poems by T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, published in 1939 in England. This is a collection of ironic sketches of feline characters and habits, behind which various human types are easily guessed.
In the "Cats" theater, created by designer John Napier, there is no curtain, the hall and the stage are a single space, and the action takes place not frontally, but throughout the depth. The stage is designed as a dump and is a mountain of picturesque rubbish, the scenery is equipped with sophisticated electronics. The actors are transformed into graceful cats with layered make-up, hand-painted leotards, yak hair wigs, fur collars, tails and glittery collars.
During its existence, the musical has been staged more than forty times, it has been visited by more than 50 million viewers in thirty countries, translated into 14 languages, and the total amount of fees at the moment has exceeded $ 2.2 billion. Cats' awards include the Laurence Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, seven Tony Awards, and the French Molière Award. Recordings from both the London and Broadway original cast were awarded Grammys.

"Phantom of the Opera"(The Phantom of the Opera) (1986)

The Phantom of the Opera is based on the novel of the same name by the French writer Gaston Leroux. This is a dark and romantic story about a supernatural creature that lived in a dungeon under the Paris Opera.
It became the second longest-running play in Broadway history after Cats, with 10.3 million viewers.
More than 65,000 performances of The Phantom have been performed in 18 countries, including Japan, Austria, Canada, Sweden, Germany and Australia. Productions of The Phantom of the Opera have received more than 50 prestigious awards, including three Laurence Olivier Awards and 7 Tony Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards, and the Evening Standard Award. "The Phantom of the Opera" won the sympathy of more than 58 million viewers from all over the world. Almost 11 million people have already watched it in New York alone, and over 80 million worldwide.

"Mama Mia"(Mamma Mia) (1999)

The idea of creating an original musical based on ABBA songs belongs to producer Judy Kramer. More than 27 million - the total number of viewers around the world who visited the musical "Mama Mia". More than 20,000 people visit the musical "Mama Mia" every day around the world.
For eight years of hire, the musical was staged in more than 130 major cities. The album recording the first production of "Mama Mia" became "platinum" in the US, Australia and Korea; double platinum in the UK and gold in Germany, Sweden and New Zealand.

Happy viewing!

The musical is in which songs, music, dialogues and choreography intertwine in an amazing way. This is a relatively young one that was greatly influenced by operetta, burlesque, vaudeville, etc. Due to its spectacle, the musical is considered one of the most commercial theatrical genres, and due to the complexity of the staging process, much more money is spent on it.

The history of the emergence of a new musical genre

The starting point of this genre is considered to be 1866, when the first musical, Black Crook, was staged on the Broadway stage, in which melodrama, romantic ballet and other genres intertwined. Since that time, the list of musicals has been constantly updated with new performances. From what has been said above, it follows that America is the birthplace of this genre. At the beginning of the 19th century, American composers J. Kern, J. Gershwin, Col Porter gave the genre of the musical a truly American flavor: notes of jazz were visible in the rhythms of melodies, librettos became more complex, American turns appeared in the lyrics, etc. In 1932, the case achieved high awards. George Gershwin was awarded for the musical “I sing about you” The most famous performances that are included in the list of musicals, of course, are “West Side Story” (composer L. Bernstein) based on the Shakespearean tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” and “Jesus Christ - Superstar "to the music of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. This talented composer is also the author of other equally, and perhaps more famous musicals: "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera".

Best musicals: list according to AFI

In 2006, the American Film Institute published a list of the best American musicals of the past 100 years. Here is the list for you:

"42nd Street" - (1933).
"Cylinder" (1935).
"Floating theater" (1936).
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939).
"Yankee Dudel Dandy" (1942).
“Will you meet me in St. Louis?” (1944).
"Dismissal to the city" (1949).
"An American in Paris" (1951).
"Singing in the rain" (1952).
"Theater Van" (1953).
"Seven daughters-in-law for seven brothers" (1954).
"Children and Dolls" (1955).
"The King and I" (1956).
"West Side Story" (1961).
"My Fair Lady" (1964).
"The Sound of Music" (1965).
"Funny Girl" (1968).
"Cabaret" (1972).
"All That Jazz" (1979).
"Beauty and the Beast" (1991).

Despite the fact that, according to many, the golden age of musicals is behind us, over the past 13 years, many excellent films in this genre have been shot in Hollywood. Here is a list of musicals that are considered the best of the 21st century.

"Dancing in the Dark" (2000).
"Moulin Rouge" (2001).
“Chicago (2002).
"The Phantom of the Opera" (2004).
"La Boheme" (2005).
"Enchanted" (2007).
"Mamma Mia" (2008).
"Burlesque" (2010).
"Les Misérables" (2012).
"Goddess" (2013).

French musicals: list of the best performances

Until 1958, it was considered an exclusively American genre, but this year the performance Les Misérables based on the work of V. Hugo took place in London with a triumph. The music was composed by Claude Michel Schonberg. Another work by this composer, Miss Saigon, based on the opera Madama Butterfly, was a success on the Paris stage. The list of musicals includes productions of “Starmania-Starmania” (Michel Berger), “Romeo and Juliet” (Gerard Presgurvik), “Notre Dame de Paris” (Riccardo Coccante), “Mozart” (Kunze and Levay) and others.

Russian musicals

The most popular musical in Russia for many years has been and remains the wonderful rock opera Juno and Avos. This is perhaps the most powerful work of the composer A. Rybnikov. Today, the best Russian musicals are considered to be “Nord-Ost”, “Metro”, in recent years, works translated into Russian by “Notre Dame de Paris”, “Chicago”, “Cats”, etc. have been staged on the Russian stage.

1. "My Fairy Lady" (My Fairy Lady) (1956)

Frederick Lowe (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (libretto and lyrics) analyzed the dramatic material of Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion" and decided to write a musical. The plot of the musical largely repeats Shaw's play, the story of the transformation of the main character from a vulgar flower girl into a charming young lady.

Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet with his linguist colleague, Colonel Pickering - he undertakes to turn a London flower girl named Eliza Doolittle into a real lady. Eliza moves into the professor's house, learning is not easy, but, in the end, she begins to make progress. At the embassy ball, Eliza passes the exam with brilliance. The ending of the musical is optimistic - Eliza returns to her teacher Higgins.

The musical premiered on March 15, 1956. The London premiere took place in April 1958. The role of Higgins was played by Rex Harrison, and Eliza was played by Julie Andrews. The show immediately became wildly popular, tickets were sold out six months in advance. However, the overwhelming success of the musical was a complete surprise for its creators.

The musical was performed 2,717 times on Broadway and 2,281 times in London. It was translated into eleven languages, including Hebrew, and was successfully performed in more than twenty countries. The musical received 6 Tony awards. The original Broadway cast recorded over five million copies sold, and George Cukor's film of the same name was released in 1964. Warner Brothers paid a record $5.5 million for the film rights to the musical. The role of Eliza went to Audrey Hepburn, and Rex Harrison successfully moved from the stage to the big screen. The film was nominated for an Oscar and received eight of the 12 statuettes.

The musical "My Fair Lady" is still loved by the public and thanks to producer Cameron Mackintosh and director Trevor Nunn, the show can now be seen in London.

2. "The Sound of Music" (The Sound of Music) (1959)

In 1958, American screenwriters Howard Lindsay and Russell Cruz, along with producer Richard Halliday and his wife, actress Mary Martin, teamed up to work on a play based on the German film The Von Trapp Family. The film tells about an Austrian family who, fleeing Nazi persecution, were forced to leave their homeland and go to America. The story was not invented - the film was based on a book written by Maria von Trapp, a direct participant in the events described.

Mary Martin was a musical theater star, and although this time it was a dramatic performance, she could not deny herself the pleasure of performing as a singer. Initially, the authors intended to use folk songs and religious hymns from the repertoire of the von Trapp family for the musical design of the production. However, Mary wanted to perform a song written especially for her. Composer Richard Rogers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein helped Martin in this. They composed completely new musical numbers, turning the play into the musical "The Sound of Music".

November 16, 1959 premiered on Broadway. The play was directed by David Jay Donahue. The main role, of course, was played by Mary Martin, the role of Captain von Trapp - Theodor Bickel. The audience, in love with Mary Martin, struggled to get into the musical, which provided him with excellent fees.

The Sound of Music was played 1,443 times and won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the original album won a Grammy. In 1961, the musical toured the United States, and in the same year the show opened in London, where it ran for more than six years, thus becoming the longest-running American musical in the history of the West End.

In June 1960, 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights for $1.25 million. The plot of the film was somewhat different from the story told in the play, but it was in this version that The Sound of Music gained worldwide fame. The film had its world premiere in New York on March 2, 1965. The picture was nominated for an Oscar in 10 categories, of which it won five.

The film adaptation did not become the last page in the history of the musical, it is still loved by the public and is staged all over the world. In the 1990s, the show could be seen in the UK, South Africa, China, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Peru, Israel and Greece.

3. "Cabaret" (Cabaret) (1966)

The literary basis for this legendary performance was Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories about Germany in the early 1930s and John Van Druten's play I Am the Camera. The musical tells about the romance of a young American writer Cliff Bradshaw and a singer from the Berlin cabaret "Kit-Kat Club" Sally Bowles.

In Berlin in the 1930s, the fate of a young Englishman Brian Roberts, an aspiring writer forced to earn extra money by lessons, throws. Acquaintance with the American cabaret singer Sally gives Brian a fresh, unforgettable experience. The writer and the singer fell in love with each other, but they are destined to survive the separation. Sally refuses to go to Paris with her beloved, Cliff leaves Berlin with a broken heart. Cabaret, the last refuge of the spirit of freedom, is filled with people with swastikas on their sleeves...

The premiere took place on November 20, 1966. The production was directed by the famous Broadway director Harold Prince, John Kantser wrote the music, song lyrics - Fred Ebb, libretto - Joe Masteroff. The original cast included Joel Gray (entertainer), Jill Haworth (Sally), Bert Convy (Cliff) and others.

The production withstood 1,165 performances and received 8 Tony awards, including in the Best Musical nomination. In 1972, Bob Fossey's Cabaret was released with Joel Gray (entertainer), Liza Minnelli (Sally) and Michael York (Bryan). The film received eight Oscars.

In 1987, Joel Gray again played the role of the entertainer in the revival of the show. In 1993, in London, and then five years later, on Broadway, a completely new production of "Cabaret", created by director Sam Mendes, opened. This version of the play has also received numerous awards. The musical went through about 2,377 performances and 37 previews and closed on January 4, 2004.

4. "Jesus Christ– Superstar" (Jesus Christ Superstar) (1971)

"Jesus Christ" was conceived by Andrew Lloyd Webber (composed music) and Tim Rice (libretto) not as a traditional musical, but as a full-fledged opera written in a modern musical language, observing all operatic traditions (hero's aria, chorus, heroine's aria, etc.). d.). Unlike traditional musicals, there are no dramatic pieces in "Jesus Christ" - everything is built on vocals and recitatives. The combination of rock music with classical motifs, the use of modern vocabulary in the lyrics, their high quality, the so-called sung-through principle (the whole story is told exclusively through songs, without the use of unsung dialogues) made "Jesus Christ Superstar" a real hit.

The musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" tells the story of the last seven days of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, seen through the eyes of his disciple Judas Iscariot, disillusioned with what the teachings of Christ had become. The plot covers the period from the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to his execution at Golgotha.

The opera was first heard in the form of an album in 1970, on which the main role was played by Ian Gillan, who is the vocalist of the "golden composition" of Deep Purple, the role of Judas was played by Murray Head, Mary Magdalene by Yvonne Elliman. On the Broadway stage, the musical was first shown in 1971. Some critics believe that Jesus was portrayed as the first hippie on earth. The Broadway production only lasted 18 months.

A new production of the musical was created at the London theater in 1972, the role of Jesus was played by Paul Nicholas, Judas - Stephen Tate. This production was more successful, ran on stage for eight years and became the longest-running musical. American director Norman Jewison made a feature film based on the work in 1973. In 1974 the film won an Oscar for Best Music. In addition to great music and vocals, the film is interesting for its unusual interpretation of the theme of Christ, which is an alternative to orthodox Christianity.

One of the most famous musicals, also called rock opera, generated a lot of controversy and became a cult work for a whole generation of hippies, without losing its relevance today. "Jesus Christ Superstar" has been translated into various languages, has been staged many times and has been staged for more than 30 years in Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Bulgaria, France, Sweden, America, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Bolivia, Germany, Japan and the UK .

5. "Chicago" (Chicago) (1975)

On March 11, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune published an article by journalist Maureen Dallas Watkins about a certain variety actress who had killed her boyfriend. Because sex crime stories were especially popular with readers, another article by Watkins appeared on April 3, 1924. This time it was about a married woman who shot her lover. The buzz that accompanied these and other crime stories made a deep impression on Maureen. Later, leaving the newspaper, she went to study drama at Yale University. It was there, as an educational assignment, that she wrote the play "Chicago".

On December 30, 1926, Chicago opened on Broadway. The play withstood 182 performances, in 1927 the film of the same name was shot, and in 1942 the film "Roxy Hart" directed by William Velman with Ginger Rogers in the title role was released.

Bob Fossey, the famous choreographer and Broadway director, could not pass by such a plot. Fossey brought in composer John Kander and librettists Fred Ebb and Bob Fossey to implement the project. The score of "Chicago" is a brilliant stylization of American hits of the late 20s, and in terms of the way the musical material is presented and its theme, "Chicago" is very close to vaudeville.

This is the story of corps de ballet dancer Roxie Hart, who murdered her lover in cold blood. Once in prison, Roxy meets Velma Kelly and other killers. Roxy is helped out by the prison warden, Matron Mama Morton, and the sly lawyer Billy Flynn. The court finds Roxy innocent, but this does not bring her joy. In the musical's final scene, the entertainer announces the debut of the "duo of two sparkling sinners," Chicago crime queens Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart. They made their way into show business.

The musical premiered at the 46th Street Theater on June 3, 1975, with Gwen Verdon as Roxy, Chita Rivera as Velma, and Jerry Orbach as Billy. Chicago only opened in the West End in 1979. This production had nothing to do with the performance of Bob Fossey. After 898 performances on Broadway and 600 showings in the West End, the show was cancelled. In 1996, the show was revived under the direction of Walter Bobby and choreographer Ann Rinking. The four performances played at the City Center were received with such enthusiasm that the producers of the show decided to move it to Broadway. The cast included Ringing herself as Roxy, Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, James Naughton as Billy Flynn and Joel Gray as Amos. "Chicago" was awarded six Tony Awards, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Album.

In 1997 the musical opened at London's Adelphi Theatre. Chicago London won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical and Ute Lemper for Best Actress in a Musical. The performance was remastered in Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Holland, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal and Russia.

At the end of 2002, the Miramax film studio released a film adaptation of the musical with Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma), Renee Zellweger (Roxy) and Richard Gere (Billy Flynn), directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall. The film "Chicago" was enthusiastically received by the public and was awarded the "Golden Globe" in the category "Best Musical or Comedy". In addition, the picture was nominated for an Oscar in 12 nominations, of which it won six.

6. "Evita" (Evita) (1978)

In October 1973, Tim Rice was driving a car and accidentally heard the end of a radio broadcast. The program was about Evita Peron, the wife of the Argentine dictator Juan Peron, and this story interested the poet. Tim Rice felt that Eva's life story could well be the subject of a new musical. His co-author Lloyd Webber was unenthusiastic about the idea, but on reflection he agreed.

Rice studied the biography of the main character of his future musical in detail, walking through London libraries and traveling to Argentina, where he wrote most of the storyline. "Evita" combines various musical styles, the score includes Latin American motifs. Tim Rice introduces a narrator, a certain Che (whose prototype is Ernesto Che Guevara), into the musical.

In the summer of 1976, the first demo recordings of a new musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were presented to guests at the first Sidmonton Festival. Soon the studio "Olympic" began recording the album. The part of Evita was performed by the actress Julie Covington, the young singer Colm Wilkinson became Che, and Peron was performed by Paul Jones. The album was a wild success. Already three months after its release, the number of copies sold was 500 thousand, and even in Argentina, where the disc was banned, every self-respecting family considered it necessary to purchase it.

Celebrity director Hal Prince began work on the production. Elaine Page became the new Evita, and the famous rock singer David Essex was invited to play the role of Che. Evita premiered on June 21, 1978. The play was a huge success and received the West End Theater Society award for "Best Musical of 1978", Elaine Page received the award for Best Actor in a Musical. The disc of the original London line-up of Evita went gold in the first weeks after going on sale.

On May 8, 1979, Evita opened in Los Angeles. Four months after the American premiere, on September 21, 1979, the same cast performed for the first time on Broadway. "Evita" won the hearts of the public and received 7 "Tony" awards.

After the success on Broadway, the musical was staged in a huge number of countries: Australia, Spain, Mexico, Austria, Japan, Israel, Korea, South Africa, Hungary. Filming began twenty years after Evita was born. Directing was entrusted to Alan Parker, Madonna played Eva Peron, Spanish film star Antonio Banderas was invited to play the role of Che, British actor Jonathan Pryce played Peron. Especially for the film, a new song was written - "You must love me", which brought its authors "Oscar".

7. "Les Misérables" (Les Miserables) (1980)

The novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo received its second birth in a musical created by composer Claude-Michel Schonberg and librettist Alain Boublil. Work on the musical lasted two years and, finally, a two-hour sketch of the future musical was recorded. With the help of librettist Jean-Marc Nathel, this sketch was turned into a concept album, which was released in 1980 and sold 260,000 copies. The hallmark of the musical was an engraving depicting a little Cosette.

The stage version was presented to the Parisians on September 17, 1980 at the Palais des Sports. The performance was attended by over half a million people. Maurice Barrier played the role of Jean Valjean, Jacques Mercier - Javert, Rose Laurence - Fantine, Marie - Eponina, Fabienne Guyon - Cosette.

In 1982, the young director Peter Ferago, who really liked the concept album Les Misérables, brought it to the attention of British producer Cameron Mackintosh. McIntosh turned the project into a show of the highest class. A strong team worked on the creation of the new version of the musical "Les Misérables": directors were Trevor Nunn and John Kead, the English text was composed by Herbert Kretzmer in close collaboration with the creators of the musical. The performance was staged at the Barbican Theater under the auspices of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The premiere of the new version of the musical took place on October 8, 1985. The most "long-lived" production of the musical "Les Misérables" is proud of the Palace Theater in London. In total, the performance was shown in this theater more than six thousand times.

In 1987, Les Misérables crossed the Atlantic and settled on Broadway, thus beginning their triumphal march around the world. Despite the fact that the musical is already over twenty years old, it does not leave the stage and continues to be very popular all over the world. Les Misérables has been translated into many languages: Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, German, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Spanish, Mauritanian, Creole, Flemish, Finnish, Portuguese. In total, the musical "Les Misérables" was seen by residents of two hundred cities in thirty-two countries of the world. The creation of Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg was watched by more than 20 million viewers around the world.

8. "Cats" (Cats) (1981)

Andrew Lloyd Webber began writing songs based on Eliot's poetry in the early 70s. By 1980, the composer had accumulated enough musical material, which was decided to be processed into a musical. The cat show was destined for success: the British are known for their love for these animals. The musical team consisted of talented people - producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Trevor Nunn, stage designer John Napier and choreographer Gillian Lynn.

When it came to stage performance of Webber's songs, the main problem faced by the creators of the musical was the lack of a plot. Fortunately, thanks to the widow of T. S. Eliot, Valerie, the authors had letters and drafts of the poet at their disposal, from which they bit by bit fished out ideas for the plot outline of the play.

There were special requirements for the actors of the musical - they had to not only sing well and have perfect diction, but also be extremely plastic. In the UK, it was not easy to recruit a troupe of 20 people, so the line-up of the performers included the premiere of the Royal Ballet Wayne Sleep, and pop singer Paul Nicholas, and actress Elaine Paige, and young singer and dancer Sarah Brightman.

In the "Cats" theater, created by designer John Napier, there is no curtain, the hall and the stage are a single space, and the action takes place not frontally, but throughout the depth. The stage is designed as a dump and is a mountain of picturesque rubbish, the scenery is equipped with sophisticated electronics. The actors are transformed into graceful cats with layered make-up, hand-painted leotards, yak hair wigs, fur collars, tails and glittery collars.

The musical premiered on May 11, 1981 in London, and a year later the play opened on Broadway. Until its closing on May 11, 2002, the performance was a great success in London, earning the title of the longest-running theatrical production in the history of the English theater (more than 6,400 performances). The musical "Cats" broke every conceivable record in the United States. In 1997, after 6,138 performances, the musical was recognized as the number one Broadway longevity. Over 8 million people have watched the London production in 21 years, and its creators have earned £136 million.

During its existence, the musical has been staged more than forty times, it has been visited by more than 50 million viewers in thirty countries, translated into 14 languages, and the total amount of fees at the moment has exceeded $ 2.2 billion. Cats' awards include the Laurence Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, seven Tony Awards, and the French Molière Award. Recordings from both the London and Broadway original cast were awarded Grammys.

9. The Phantom of the Opera (1986)

The birth of the musical began in 1984, when British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber married the young actress and singer Sarah Brightman. Based on the voice of Sarah, Lloyd Webber composed "Requiem", but he wanted to show his wife's talent in a larger work. This work was the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", created based on the novel of the same name by the French writer Gaston Leroux. This is a dark and romantic story about a supernatural creature that lived in a dungeon under the Paris Opera.

Sarah Brightman played the role of the main character - Christina Daae. The main male part was performed by Michael Crawford. The role of Christina's lover, Raul, was played by Steve Barton in the premiere cast. The libretto was written by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the lyrics were written by Charles Hart. Theater artist Maria Bjornson conceived the famous Phantom mask and insisted that the infamous falling chandelier be lowered onto the audience rather than onto the stage.

The musical premiered on October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre, in the presence of members of the royal family. The first Broadway production of The Phantom premiered at New York's Majestic Theater in January 1988. It became the second longest-running play in Broadway history after Cats, with 10.3 million viewers.

More than 65,000 performances of The Phantom have been performed in 18 countries, including Japan, Austria, Canada, Sweden, Germany and Australia. Productions of The Phantom of the Opera have received more than 50 prestigious awards, including three Laurence Olivier Awards and 7 Tony Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards, and the Evening Standard Award. "The Phantom of the Opera" won the sympathy of more than 58 million viewers from all over the world. Nearly 11 million people have already watched it in New York alone, and over 80 million worldwide. Income from ticket sales for the Phantom of the Opera exceeded $ 3.2 billion.

10. "Mamma Mia" (Mamma Mia) (1999)

The idea of creating an original musical based on ABBA songs belongs to producer Judy Kramer. The basis of the musical is 22 songs of the group. Since in the original all the songs were performed by women, the story of mother and daughter, about two generations, was offered as a starting point. It was necessary to come up with a story worthy of the famous hits of the Swedish quartet. The writer Katherine Johnson came to the rescue, writing a story about a family living on the Greek islands. History is of no less interest to the viewer than songs. Katherine was able to logically build the songs into a single storyline, the songs are broken into dialogues and colored with new intonations. The music was written by Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and directed by Phyllida Lloyd.

"Mama Mia" is a modern, ironic, romantic comedy in which two main lines appear: a love story and a relationship between two generations. The plot of the performance is an interweaving of comedy situations, which are emphasized by the cheerful music of ABBA, original costumes and witty dialogues of the characters. The essence of the project is expressed in the characteristic logo "Mama Mia" - the image of a happy bride. This picture has become an internationally recognized brand.

A young girl Sophie is about to get married. She wants to invite her father to the wedding to take her to the altar. But she doesn't know who he is, as her mother Donna never talked about him. Sophie finds her mother's diary, in which she describes relationships with three men. Sofia decides to send invitations to all three. All the most interesting things begin to happen when guests arrive for the wedding ... Mom gets married at the same time as her daughter.

The first test of the musical "Mama Mia" took place on March 23, 1999, when the pre-premiere screening took place in London. Then the reaction of the audience could be described in one word - delight: people in the hall did not sit in their seats for a minute - they danced in the aisles, sang along and clapped. The premiere took place on April 6, 1999.

After the London production, the musical "Mama Mia" is staged in parallel in 11 different places around the world. 11 worldwide productions gross more than $8 million per week. More than 27 million - the total number of viewers around the world who visited the musical "Mama Mia". More than 20,000 people visit the musical "Mama Mia" every day around the world.

US$1.6 billion worldwide box office revenue from Mama Mia.

For eight years of hire, the musical was staged in more than 130 major cities. The album recording the first production of "Mama Mia" became "platinum" in the US, Australia and Korea; double platinum in the UK and gold in Germany, Sweden and New Zealand.

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