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Bring him home.....to Scotch
15th October,
2008
By Lauren Doutch
 If
you found yourself in Hawthorn on a stunning Sunday afternoon, what
would you do with yourself? Have lunch on Glenferrie Rd? Go shopping
down Toorak Rd? Well, for a group of around 30 – 40 people, the
answer to the question is simple: Go to rehearsal!
I
had the pleasure of being invited to attend one of the last
rehearsals for Old Scotch Collegians’ Association production of Les
Miserables over the weekend. So right now you’re probably thinking,
‘great. ANOTHER company is putting on ANOTHER production of Les Mis.
Nothing is going to be different. Whatever!’ and to be perfectly
honest, I was leaning towards that side of the fence too before I
came to this rehearsal. Within the first couple of minutes, I saw
and heard how completely and utterly WRONG I was!
The cast and crew have had the advantage of rehearsing in the
Geoffrey McComas Theatre for two weeks now, so all set moves and
other hiccups that can tag along with staging such a large scale
show have been ironed out well in advance. Scotch College has used
the theatre several times, but this is the first time that the
theatre will be used by people outside of the school. It has state
of the art facilities and is one of the best I have ever seen,
either at a school or around Melbourne. One point I must bring is
the wing space: it is absolutely HUGE! To give you an idea, each
half of the barricade fits comfortably into the wings, and it stays
there for the show with still enough room for the cast to come on
and off with relative ease.
 I
arrived at the rehearsal with perfect timing: the cast were just
about to start a run through of Act 2, with full costumes, sets, and
orchestra. Basically a dress rehearsal – but it was treated as a
‘sitzprobe’ and as such the musical director, John Ferguson, stopped
and started when he had to. The orchestra sounded beautiful from the
moment I walked in, and for quite a small and young cast, their
volume and the passion that came across blew me away.
After talking to some of the cast members quickly while they were
off stage it became clear that they cast and production team alike
are treating this show as an opera, not a piece of musical theatre,
which I found very interesting. I have always thought of Les Mis as
a brilliant piece of musical theatre with large sets and beautiful
music, which, now that I think about it, are some of the conventions
of what an opera can be really! That is at the heart of this
production and why I think it will be different to some of the other
productions of this show that we have seen: the aim is to portray
the beautifully written score with precision and passion.
 I
had quick a chat with Paul Gelsumini, who plays Enjorlas in the
show. ‘The production team has been awesome to work with. They know
what they’re doing and they’re really organised. Alan is the nicest
guy and so professional.’ What about the cast then? ‘Cast is great.
We have a good group of people who are a very talented bunch! We
enjoy being together, and right from the first meet and greet
session we all just clicked’.
From observing this rehearsal, this close – knit cast can expect to
produce a ripper of a show. So if you have not seen Les Miserables
before, this would be the perfect opportunity to expose yourself to
what looks like a brilliant production of it. Book your tickets now
because they have been selling like hot cakes. If you can’t get any,
then bribe, cheat and steel your way into the audience, otherwise
you will miss out on a fantastic show.
Old Scotch Collegians’ Association production of Les Miserables
includes:
Gérard Schneider
as Jean Valjean - Western Australian Opera Company, Victorian Opera
Company, Sponsored as of 2008 in a joint venture between the
European Union clubs and the Australian Council for the Arts.
Laura Slavin
as Cosette - Melbourne Opera Company, Victorian Youth Opera, Member
of the Australian Vocal Scholars
Paul Gelsumini
as Enjolras - Member of the Australian Vocal Scholars
Marianne Pierce
as Eponine - Victorian Youth Opera, Member of the Australian Vocal
Scholars
Phil Elphingstone
as Grantaire/ Featured Soloist - Victorian Opera, Melbourne City and
Tasmanian Opera companies.
Raphael Wong
as Feuilly/ Featured Soloist - Member of the Australian Vocal
Scholars
Kevin Kelly
- Chorus Master/ Featured soloist - Victorian Opera, Melbourne City
Opera
John Ferguson
- Music Director/ Conductor - International conductor and current
head of Music at Scotch College.
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