These include the musicals:
* La Révolution Française (1973)
* Les Misérables (1980 french version- 1985 english version)
* Miss Saigon (1989)
* Martin Guerre (1996)
* Wuthering Heights (ballet 2001)
* The Pirate Queen (2006)
* Marguerite (2009)
Schönberg began his career as a record producer and a singer. By the early 1970s he had become successful.
He wrote most of the music for the French musical and rock opera, La Révolution Française, France's first rock opera, in 1973, and also played the role of King Louis XVI in the show's production that year.
In 1974 he wrote the music and the lyrics of the song "Le Premier Pas", which became the number 1 popular song in France that year and sold over 1 million copies. Le Premier Pas was produced by Franck Pourcel. He recorded albums as a singer until 1985.
Schönberg then made an album in which he sang his own songs. In 1978, he dedicated his full attention to musicals when he and Alain Boublil conceived the idea for a stage musical version of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, which opened at the Palias de Sports in Paris in 1980. The musical opened to acclaim in London in 1985 and on Broadway in 1987. The Broadway production was nominated for twelve Tony Awards and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score . In 1989, Schönberg and Boublil took London by storm with the musical Miss Saigon, which starred Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce. In its transition to Broadway, the show broke advance-ticket sales, earning $24 million before its premiere on April 11, 1991 [1]. The show was nominated for ten Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
In 1997, Schönberg and Boublil premiered a new musical, Martin Guerre at the Prince Edward Theatre in London. The musical won the 1997 Olivier Award and went on to tour the UK and the United States.
Schönberg's latest project with Boublil is The Pirate Queen, a musical about the 16th century Irish pirate, chieftain and adventuress Grace O'Malley. The Pirate Queen completed its 8-week pre-Broadway tryout at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre on November 26, 2006. The show is undergoing further development in preparation for its Broadway previews at the Hilton Theater in March 2007. The Broadway opening date is April 5, 2007. Miss Saigon co-lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. has come on-board to work with Boublil on revisions to the book and lyrics. Additionally, Graciela Daniele will work on the musical staging.
Les Miserables celebrated its twentieth anniversary in London on October 8, 2005. The Broadway production closed on May 18, 2003, making it the third-longest-running Broadway musical following Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Schönberg will oversee the production of Les Miserables that is returning to Broadway for a six-month engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre on November 9, 2006.
Claude-Michel Schönberg is also an ex-husband of France 2 evening news anchor Béatrice Schönberg.
He lives in London, and has 3 children.
He is actually writing the music and for the first time the arrangements, for a new ballet to be created in UK in 2011: Cléopâtra.
A Little Fall of Rain
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
MARIUS
But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above,
If I could heal your wounds with words of love.
EPONINE
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me
MARIUS
You would live a hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...
EPONINE
The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.
The rain that brings you here
Is Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far
So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
That's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
MARIUS(in counterpoint)
Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,
You won't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt you now
I'm here
I will stay with you
Till you are sleeping
EPONINE
And rain...
MARIUS
And rain...
EPONINE
Will make the flowers...
MARIUS
Will make the flowers... grow...
(She dies. Marius kisses her, then lays her on the ground)
ENJOLRAS
She is the first to fall
The first of us to fall upon this barricade
MARIUS
Her name was Eponine
Her life was cold and dark, yet she was unafraid.
COMBEFERRE
We fight here in her name
PROUVAIRE
She will not die in vain.
LESGLES
She will not be betrayed.
(They carry her body off)
The song "A Little Fall of Rain" is a heart-wrenching duet between Eponine and Marius, during which Eponine is dying from a gunshot wound she received while saving Marius's life. The lyrics are a reflection of Eponine's acceptance of death as the rain falls, and Marius's desperate attempt to keep her alive with his words of love. Eponine reassures Marius that she does not feel pain and that his presence alone is enough to bring her peace as she dies. The chorus "And rain will make the flowers grow" is a poetic statement of hope and renewal, even in the face of death. As the song progresses, the two sing in counterpoint, with Marius promising to stay with Eponine until she sleeps, and Eponine accepting her fate with gratitude.
The song is a poignant moment in the musical Les Misérables, as Eponine, a character who has suffered through poverty and unrequited love her whole life, finds some comfort in her final moments with Marius. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of two people facing death together, with the rain as a symbol of nature and life, and Marius's love as a symbol of human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
Eponine reassures Marius not to worry.
I don't feel any pain
Eponine is trying to hide her suffering and pain from Marius.
A little fall of rain
Eponine is minimising her situation and trying to put on a brave face.
Can hardly hurt me now
Eponine is trying to convince herself that she won't feel much pain.
You're here, that's all I need to know
Eponine is finding comfort in Marius' presence.
And you will keep me safe
Eponine trusts Marius to protect her.
And you will keep me close
Eponine wants Marius to stay close to her.
And rain will make the flowers grow.
Eponine finds solace in the idea that something positive can come from the rain.
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Eponine wants Marius to be with her in the moment.
Shelter me, comfort me
Eponine desires safety and comfort from Marius.
You would live a hundred years
Marius wishes he could make Eponine's pain disappear.
If I could show you how
Marius feels helpless and unable to help Eponine.
I won't desert you now...
Marius promises to not leave Eponine's side despite the grim outlook.
This rain will wash away what's past
Eponine sees the rain as a cleansing force, removing the bad from the past.
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.
Eponine sees Marius' embrace as where she wants to spend her last moments.
The rain that brings you here is Heaven-blessed!
Eponine sees Marius' arrival in the rain as a blessing from heaven.
The skies begin to clear
The rain clears up as Marius arrives to be with Eponine.
And I'm at rest
Eponine finds peace and relief in Marius' company.
A breath away from where you are
Eponine is close to Marius and can sense his presence.
I've come home from so far
Eponine feels like she has come home after being lost for so long.
Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine
Marius sings Eponine a lullaby in an effort to comfort her.
You won't feel any pain
Marius tries to tell Eponine that she won't feel any pain anymore.
I will stay with you
Marius promises to stay with Eponine until she falls asleep.
Till you are sleeping
Marius won't leave Eponine's side until she is no longer conscious.
Will make the flowers...
Both Marius and Eponine repeat the idea that the rain will make the flowers grow.
Her name was Eponine
Marius tells the group who Eponine was.
Her life was cold and dark, yet she was unafraid.
Marius admires Eponine's bravery in life despite the hardships she faced.
She will not die in vain.
The group vows to honour Eponine's death and fight on in her name.
She will not be betrayed.
The group promises to not let Eponine's death be for nothing, and continue their fight against injustice.
Contributed by Owen W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@KeldorDAntrell
Your type loves the internet because it gives you your only chance to talk tough and insult someone without having to face any risk.
"Dont know you are saying." - Too stupid to be able to string a sentence together.
"You are just insecure that she has a gifted golden and angelic voice" - More of your stupidity. Firstly, Lea is gifted, not her voice. Secondly, why would I be insecure because someone I've never met and don't know has a great singing voice - when I'm not even a singer?
If you had more than half a brain you might just realise that I never once criticsed her voice. It's magnificent. I criticised her use of it.
"while you just have a trashy attitude" - Yet I'm not the one hurling insults, hypocrite. How is it a trashy attitude to make a vaild criticism? Oh, sorry, I forgot you own the internet and have disallowed any opinion that disagrees with you.
Now grow up and stop imagining I've insulted your girlfriend. Lea Salonga doesn't know you exist.
@tomadams5582
She was the first to fall , the first of us to fall on this barricade ,
Her name was Eponine , Her life was cold and dark , yet she was unafraid
We fight here in her name
She will not die in vain
She will not be betrayed
@marleygreen3866
everyone is upset over the fact that marius always smiles during this song, but i think he is trying to give eponine reassurance that everything will be okay, even though they both know that she is dying. i also think marius really did care about her a lot, but not in the way that eponine wanted him to.
@saradoro7102
marley green One of the main differences between the book and musical is that in the musical Marius was a really close friend to Eponine. While in the book Marius didn't really care for her. He was polite to her but he wasn't close to her.
@marleygreen3866
right lol, i'm speaking in terms of the musical. also, my opinions about their relationship have changed since a year ago so i don't necessarily stick with 100% of what i said
@16princessdaisy
+Sara Doro damnit I'm reading the book and I thought that Eponine and Marius were close friends :((((( now I'm sad
@camelotsecho7289
+Andrea C. M. Yeah, me too.
@marandas
I agree that Marius smiles because he is trying to comfort Eponine. At the end of the song, you can see Marius kisses her and cries---in real tears.
@jp3813
No one does a musical death scene better than Lea Salonga.
@truk23100
yeah..you're definitely right..
@michaeloconnor5904
Frankly, it's bad that I didn't lol
@jp3813
***** Too many syllables. lol