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.
Master of the House
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Welcome, m'sieur
Sit yourself down
And meet the best
Innkeeper in town
As for the rest,
All of 'em crooks
Rooking their guests
Seldom do you see
Honest men like me
A gent of good intent
Who's content to be
Master of the house
Doling out the charm
Ready with a handshake
And an open palm
Tells a saucy tale
Makes a little stir
Customers appreciate a bon-viveur
Glad to do a friend a favor
Doesn't cost me to be nice
But nothing gets you nothing
Everything has got a little price!
Master of the house
Keeper of the zoo
Ready to relieve 'em
Of a sou or two
Watering the wine
Making up the weight
Pickin' up their knick-knacks
When they can't see straight
Everybody loves a landlord
Everybody's bosom friend
I do whatever pleases
Jesus! won't i bleed 'em in the end!
Thenardier & chorus
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Everybody's chaperone
Thenardier
But lock up your valises
Jesus! won't i skin you to the bone!
(to another new customer)
Thenardier
Enter m'sieur
Lay down your load
Unlace your boots
And rest from the road
(taking his bag)
This weighs a ton
Travel's a curse
But here we strive
To lighten your purse
Here the goose is cooked
Here the fat is fried
And nothing's overlooked
Till i'm satisfied...
Food beyond compare
Food beyond belief
Mix it in a mincer
And pretend it's beef
Kidney of a horse
Liver of a cat
Filling up the sausages
With this and that
Residents are more than welcome
Bridal suite is occupied
Reasonable charges
Plus some little extras on the side!
Charge 'em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut
When it comes to fixing prices
There are a lot of tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! it's amazing how it grows!
Thenardier and chorus
Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody's boon companion
Gives 'em everything he's got
Thenardier
Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! what a sorry little lot!
Mme. thenardier
I used to dream
That i would meet a prince
But god almighty,
Have you seen what's happened since?
`master of the house?'
Isn't worth me spit!
`comforter, philosopher'
- and lifelong shit!
Cunning little brain
Regular voltaire
Thinks he's quite a lover
But there's not much there
What a cruel trick of nature
Landed me with such a louse
God knows how i've lasted
Living with this bastard in the house!
Thenardier & chorus
Master of the house.
Mme. thenardier
Master and a half!
Thenardier & chorus
Comforter, philosopher
Mme. thenardier
Ah, don't make me laugh!
Thenardier & chorus
Servant to the poor. butler to the great.
Mme. thenardier
Hypocrite and toady and inebriate!
Thenardier & chorus
Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!
Thenardier
Everybody raise a glass
Mme. thenardier
Raise it up the master's arse.
All
Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!
The song "Master of the House" from the musical Les Misérables is a character song featuring horrible, manipulative innkeeper Thenardier and his wife. The song serves to depict the couple's dishonesty and cunning towards their guests, as well as their ability to deceive them expertly. The lyrics portray Thenardier as a charismatic and smiling host who is always glad to do a favor for his customers. They also show that he's prone to overcharge and deceive them, and he employs any deceitful means possible to obtain every possible penny.
The lyrics reveal Thenardier's moral depravity, his willingness to cheat anyone who comes to him by adding a number of charges to the bill, even to the extent of picking visitors' pockets when they're not watching. The song is a brilliant showcase of the couple's ability to deceive and cheat their customers expertly. Despite its dark subject matter, it is memorable and lights up the musical's mood.
Line by Line Meaning
Thenardier
The owner of the inn, Thenardier, greets a new customer.
Welcome, m'sieur
Welcome, sir!
Sit yourself down
Take a seat.
And meet the best
Meet the best innkeeper.
Innkeeper in town
Of the town.
As for the rest,
As for the rest of the innkeepers,
All of 'em crooks
They all are dishonest.
Rooking their guests
Cheating their guests.
And cooking the books.
Manipulating their accounts.
Seldom do you see
It's rare to see
Honest men like me
Men like me, who are honest.
A gent of good intent
A gentleman of good intentions.
Who's content to be
And who is happy to be,
Master of the house
The owner and the master of the inn.
Doling out the charm
Being charming to the guests.
Ready with a handshake
Always ready to shake hands.
And an open palm
And with an open hand to take money.
Tells a saucy tale
Telling spicy stories.
Makes a little stir
Creating some excitement.
Customers appreciate a bon-viveur
Guests like an innkeeper who enjoys life.
Glad to do a friend a favor
Happy to do a favor for a friend.
Doesn't cost me to be nice
Being nice does not cost me anything.
But nothing gets you nothing
But one cannot expect something for nothing.
Everything has got a little price!
Everything has a cost.
Master of the house
The owner and the master of the inn.
Keeper of the zoo
It's just like keeping a zoo by managing the guests.
Ready to relieve 'em
Always ready to make them pay
Of a sou or two
For a little bit of money here or there.
Watering the wine
Diluting the wine.
Making up the weight
Adding extras to the products, to increase the price.
Pickin' up their knick-knacks
Stealing their little things
When they can't see straight
When they're too drunk to notice.
Everybody loves a landlord
Everyone loves an innkeeper.
Everybody's bosom friend
Everyone becomes a friend of the innkeeper.
I do whatever pleases
I do whatever pleases me.
Jesus! won't i bleed 'em in the end!
The customers will end up paying a lot of money to me eventually.
Master of the house
The owner and the master of the inn.
Quick to catch yer eye
Quick to catch your attention.
Never wants a passerby
Never wants to miss a guest.
To pass him by
And let him go without staying in the inn.
Servant to the poor
Serving the poor guests too.
Butler to the great
Serving the great guests too.
Comforter, philosopher,
Providing comfort and philosophical advice.
And lifelong mate!
Being a lifelong friend for every guest.
Everybody's boon companion
Everyone's favorite companion.
Gives 'em everything he's got
Giving everything he could to make the clients satisfied and pay more.
Dirty bunch of geezers
All the guests are dirty old men.
Jesus! what a sorry little lot!
What a miserable group of people!
I used to dream
Madame Thenardier talks about the past.
That I would meet a prince
That she would marry a prince.
But god almighty,
But God, oh my!
Have you seen what's happened since?
Have you seen what she has ended up with?
`master of the house?'
She questions her husband's worthiness.
Isn't worth me spit!
He's not even worth her spit.
`comforter, philosopher'
She mocks the title that the song has given her husband.
- and lifelong shit!
He's a shit in her life, not a lifelong mate.
Cunning little brain
He's a sneaky man.
Regular voltaire
Like Voltaire, but not so smart.
Thinks he's quite a lover
He considers himself a great lover.
But there's not much there
But he doesn't have much to offer.
What a cruel trick of nature
What an unfortunate situation
Landed me with such a louse
Having to live with a man like him.
God knows how I've lasted
God knows how she has put up with him.
Living with this bastard in the house!
Having to live with him.
Master of the house.
The owner and the master of the inn.
Master and a half!
Half of what he thinks he is.
Comforter, philosopher
Providing comfort and philosophical advice.
Ah, don't make me laugh!
It's not even funny!
Servant to the poor. butler to the great.
Serving everyone.
Hypocrite and toady and inebriate!
A hypocrite, a sycophant, and a drunkard.
Everybody bless the landlord!
Everyone should thank the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!
And his spouse too!
Everybody raise a glass
Let’s all raise a glass!
Raise it up the master's arse.
Even if we raise it up his ass too!
Everybody raise a glass to the master of the house!
Here's a toast to the owner and the master of the inn.
Contributed by Isaiah A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.