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.
In My Life
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How strange
This feeling that my life's begun at last.
This change
Can people really fall in love so fast?
What's the matter with you, Cosette?
Have you been too much on your own?
So many things unknown.
In my life
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong.
In my life
There are time when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a far away song.
And it sings
Of I world that I long to see.
Out of reach
Just a whisper away,
Waiting for me!
Does he know I'm alive?
Do I know if he's real?
Does he see what I see?
Does he feel what I feel?
In my life
I'm no longer alone
Now the love in my life is so near.
Find me now,
Find me here.
Valjean
Dear Cosette
You're such a lonely child-
How pensive,
How sad you seem to me.
Believe me
Were it within my power
I'd fill each passing hour
How quiet it must be.
I can see
With only me for company
Cosette
There's so little I know
That I'm longing to know
About the child that i was in a time long ago.
There's so little you say
Of the life you have known,
Why you keep to yourself,
Why we're always alone.
So dark, so dark
And deep,
Secrets that you keep
In my life
I have all that I want;
You are loving and gentle and good.
But papa,
Dear papa,
In your eyes I am just like a child
Who is lost in a wood
Valjean
No more words,
No more words,
Its a time that is dead.
There are words,
There are words,
That are better unheard, better unsaid
Cosette
In my life
I'm no longer a child
And i yearn for the truth that you know
Of the years, years ago.
Valjean
You will learn
Truth is given by God to us all
In our time,
In our time.
Valjean leaves the garden. Marius and Eponine arrive outside.
Marius
In my life
She has burst like the music of angels,
The light of the sun.
And my life
Seems to stop as if something is over,
And something has scarcely begun.
Eponine,
you're the friend who has brought me here.
Thanks to you, I am one with the Gods,
And heaven is near!
And I saw to a world that is new
That is free.
Eponine
Every word that he says
Is a dagger in me.
In my life,
There's been no one like him anywhere,
Anywhere, where he is.
If he asked me,
I'd be his.
Marius and Eponine
In my life
There is someone who touches my life
Marius
Waiting near
Eponine
Waiting here.
The song “In My Life” from Les Miserables is a powerful duet between Cosette and Jean Valjean, which takes place in their garden. At the start of the song, Cosette is overwhelmed with feelings of joy and newfound love, as she reflects on how strange it feels to have finally found love in her life. She wonders if it's possible for people to fall in love so fast, and confides in Valjean about the many unanswered questions she has in her life. She ponders whether the man she loves knows that she exists and whether he feels the same way towards her.
Valjean tries to comfort Cosette and reassure her that he will always be there for her. As he walks away, Marius and Eponine enter the scene, and Marius starts to sing about how much Cosette means to him. He compares his love for her to the music of angels and the light of the sun, and his life seems to stop as something new begins. Eponine, who secretly loves Marius, can't help but feel hurt as she watches him sing about Cosette. She wishes she could be the one who touches his life, and if Marius asked her, she would do anything for him.
Line by Line Meaning
How strange
This feeling that my life's begun at last.
Cosette is feeling an unusual and distinct emotion that she has never experienced before, and that makes her feel like her life has only just begun.
This change
Can people really fall in love so fast?
Cosette is recognizing a significant change in her life and is questioning whether it's possible to fall in love so quickly.
What's the matter with you, Cosette?
Have you been too much on your own?
So many things unclear
So many things unknown.
Valjean questions Cosette about her situation, wondering if her isolation has left her feeling confused about her life and the world around her.
In my life
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong.
Cosette realizes that there are many things in her life that don't make sense or feel wrong, despite seeking both questions and answers.
In my life
There are time when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a far away song.
And it sings
Of I world that I long to see.
Out of reach
Just a whisper away,
Waiting for me!
There are moments when Cosette feels a distant call or longing in her life towards a world she wishes to see, that is still out of her reach, yet close at hand.
Does he know I'm alive?
Do I know if he's real?
Does he see what I see?
Does he feel what I feel?
Cosette wonders of her unknown love interest, pondering the possibility that they might not even know that she exists or whether her feelings are reciprocated.
In my life
I'm no longer alone
Now the love in my life is so near.
Find me now,
Find me here.
Cosette is happy that she's no longer alone and that the love in her life is now within her reach, calling for her lover to find her.
Dear Cosette
You're such a lonely child-
How pensive,
How sad you seem to me.
Believe me
Were it within my power
I'd fill each passing hour
How quiet it must be.
I can see
With only me for company
Valjean sees Cosette as a lonely and sad child, and wishes he could do more to fill her life with joyful moments. He understands how it feels to be alone having only himself for company.
There's so little I know
That I'm longing to know
About the child that i was in a time long ago.
There's so little you say
Of the life you have known,
Why you keep to yourself,
Why we're always alone.
So dark, so dark
And deep,
Secrets that you keep
Cosette wants to know more about her past, something she feels like she doesn't yet know. She's wondering why Valjean keeps to himself, and why they both always seem to be alone with hidden, deep secrets.
In my life
I have all that I want;
You are loving and gentle and good.
But papa,
Dear papa,
In your eyes I am just like a child
Who is lost in a wood
Cosette recognizes that Valjean is loving, gentle and good, which makes her happy. But Cosette can't help feeling like a lost child in the eyes of her father.
No more words,
No more words,
Its a time that is dead.
There are words,
There are words,
That are better unheard, better unsaid
Valjean says that some things are better left unsaid, that the time for speaking is over and it's time to move on from what has happened in the past.
In my life
I'm no longer a child
And i yearn for the truth that you know
Of the years, years ago.
Cosette has grown up and is eager to know the truth about her past that Valjean seems to hold on to.
You will learn
Truth is given by God to us all
In our time,
In our time.
Valjean reassures Cosette that everyone will eventually learn the truth that God has given, and it will happen in due time.
In my life
She has burst like the music of angels,
The light of the sun.
And my life
Seems to stop as if something is over,
And something has scarcely begun.
Marius is struck by the arrival of an important person in his life, someone who brings light and joy to his existence, yet he feels like the arrival of this person signals the end of something old and the start of something fresh.
Eponine,
you're the friend who has brought me here.
Thanks to you, I am one with the Gods,
And heaven is near!
And I saw to a world that is new
That is free.
Marius thanks Eponine for bringing him to his current location, as it has allowed him to feel like he is one with the Gods, and he's ready to start a new, free life.
Every word that he says
Is a dagger in me.
In my life,
There's been no one like him anywhere,
Anywhere, where he is.
If he asked me,
I'd be his.
Eponine is deeply in love with someone who doesn't reciprocate her feelings, and every time she hears him speak, it hurts her deeply. Nevertheless, there's no one like him for her, and if he were to ask her to be with him, she would accept without hesitation.
In my life
There is someone who touches my life
Waiting near
Marius recognizes that there is someone special who touches his life, and that person is waiting nearby for him.
Waiting here.
Eponine is waiting by Marius' side, hoping for his affection and love in return.
Contributed by Camilla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.