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.
Rue Plumet
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cosette
How strange
This feeling that my life's begun at last.
This change
Can people really fall in love so fast?
Have you been too much on your own?
So many things unclear
So many things unknown.
In my life
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong.
In my life
There are times when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a far away song.
And it sings
Of a 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.
Marius goes into the garden leaving Eponine outside.
The song "Rue Plumet" from Claude-Michel Schönberg's musical “Les Misérables” captures the contrasting emotions of the three main characters -Cosette, Valjean, and Marius- as they face pivotal moments in their lives. The song begins with Cosette standing in her garden on Rue Plumet, feeling grateful and overwhelmed for finally having found love. She wonders if falling in love so fast is common, and reflects on the unanswered questions and unknowns in her life.
Valjean enters the garden and notices the sadness and loneliness in Cosette's eyes. He wishes to fill the void in her life and remarks on how lonely it must be for her to have only him for company. Cosette longs to know more about Valjean's past but is unable to because of the secrets he keeps. Although she is content with her present life, she expresses her desire to know more about her past and the truth Valjean has hidden from her.
The scene then shifts to Marius and Eponine outside the garden, where they express their mutual love for each other. Eponine's suppressed feelings for Marius become painfully evident, and she wishes for him to acknowledge her love. Marius, on the other hand, is oblivious to her feelings and is captivated by Cosette. Rue Plumet exemplifies the dynamics of love and longing between the various characters in the musical, highlighting their insecurities, desires, and secrets.
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?
Cosette is overwhelmed by the sudden change in her life and wonders if falling in love so quickly is possible.
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 past and whether her isolation has caused her confusion and lack of knowledge about her own life.
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong.
In my life
There are times when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a far away song.
And it sings
Of a world that I long to see.
Out of reach
Just a whisper away,
Waiting for me!
Cosette reflects on the unanswered questions in her life and her longing for a better world, which she believes is within reach but still out of touch.
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 sympathizes with Cosette's loneliness and wishes he could do more to alleviate it, as he himself is also alone.
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 is curious about her own past and wants to know more, while also questioning why Valjean is so guarded and secretive.
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 decides to stop talking about the past and instead focus on the present, believing that some things are better left unsaid.
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 overwhelmed by his love for Cosette and feels as if his life has been changed forever, despite the fact that their relationship has only just begun.
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 Marius, but his love for Cosette is like a painful reminder of her unrequited love, though she still wants to be with him if given the opportunity.
In my life
There is someone who touches my life
Waiting near
Waiting here.
Both Marius and Eponine feel that their lives have been changed by the other's presence and are waiting for something to happen between them.
Contributed by Madelyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.