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.
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Theres a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone
Here they talked about revolution
Here is was they lit the flame
here they sang about tomorrow
From the table in the corner
They could a world reborn
And the rose with voices ringing
And i can hear them now
The very words they had sung
Became their last communion
At a lonely barricade
At dawn
All my friends my friends forgive me
That i live and you are gone
Theres a grief that cant be spoken
Theres a pain goes on and on
Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more
Oh my friends my friends dont ask me
What your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more
The song "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is a heartbreaking lament over the loss of comrades and friends during a revolution. The singer is mourning the death of his friends whom he used to sit with at a certain table, drinking and plotting for revolution. The empty chairs and tables that once held a sense of hope now reflect the despair of losing comrades, and the hope of tomorrow feels like it will never arrive. Their last communion was the words they sang and shared at that table, now turned into a lonely holy site where the singer remembers the passionate spirit of revolution, that once rang in their voices. Despite the singer's surviving the barricade, his pain and grief seem unbearable, as they see these empty chairs and tables, and the images of their departed friends haunt them, phantom faces at the window, phantom shadows on the floor.
The song might reflect a general emptiness, grief, and despair over lost friends or loved ones in any context, tragic experiences that leave people feeling forgotten and left behind. It highlights how the promise of change and revolution can be inspiring, but it ultimately results in tragic loss and pain. Moreover, the song may also be interpreted as a warning or expression of concern over the purpose of any revolution that doesn't value life and human beings, even after the dust has settled, and things have changed. This song is a reminder of the human cost of political and social upheaval, that sometimes ends in people's loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Theres a grief that cant be spoken
There is an overwhelming sense of sadness that cannot be put into words
Theres a pain goes on and on
There is a constant ache that never fades
Empty chairs at empty tables
The places where my friends once sat are now vacant, and their absence is palpable
Now my friends are dead and gone
The people I cared about have passed away
Here they talked about revolution
My friends and I discussed changing the world and making it a better place
Here is was they lit the flame
We started the fire of hope and passion here
here they sang about tomorrow
We sang about creating a brighter future
And tomorrow never came
However, the future we dreamed of never came to pass
From the table in the corner
Sitting in the far corner of the room where we gathered
They could a world reborn
We envisioned a world that was completely transformed
And the rose with voices ringing
We raised our voices high while singing in unison
And i can hear them now
Their voices still resonate in my mind
The very words they had sung
The lyrics of the songs we sang together
Became their last communion
The final moments we spent together were like a sacred ritual
At a lonely barricade
We stood together against an impenetrable obstacle
At dawn
When the day was just beginning
All my friends my friends forgive me
I ask my friends for forgiveness for being the one who survived
That i live and you are gone
My friends are no longer with me, but I am still alive
Phantom faces at the window
The faces of my deceased friends seem to haunt the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Shadows that seem like the images of my past companions linger on the ground
Where my friends will meet no more
The place where we once gathered will never host our reunions again
Oh my friends my friends dont ask me
I implore my friends to not ask me why I am still alive
What your sacrifice was for
What did their sacrifices add up to since they are gone now?
Where my friends will sing no more
The place where we used to sing together has now fallen silent
Contributed by Chase A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
David Zhao
My god, you've gotten so good! (I doubt you remember me, but we were in the same 8th grade science class.)