As it’s the spooky season and I already did a Fleur de Lys Costume post last year, I thought why not do an Esmeralda from Notre Dame de Paris Costume post?
Esmeralda wears two costumes in Notre Dame de Paris; her green act one costume and her white prisoner costume in act two. If you WANT to get super technical there are two other “costumes” she wears. One is a weird lab coat-looking costume as seen in the original 1998 Paris production and a red rose costume worn in London and Russian promotional pictures.
This post is just going to focus on the green dress. There are a few takes on the this costume and for even more info you can read this article. Very simply there is the swirl-like velvet version and then the takes on that version which use some form of pattern, mainly tonal florals. Then there is the Italian version which uses patchwork lace. And lastly there the 2016 redesign.
The green color can appear more like golden-olive green but darker tones can be used like in Korean version.
However there are a few design elements that remain consistence. Her dress is is an A-line silhouette with a v-neck with 3/4 bell-sleeves, and is roughly floor length with a high slit up the leg. There can be sparkly details like metallic thread or sequins. Italian version however doesn’t have an sparkly embellishments.
These picks are more based on over-all vibes rather than getting an exact matching dress which would need to be sewn. Also not including the redesign version as it a very unique dress.
Bada as Esmeralda Korean version Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris Esmeralda has darker hair compared to Fleur de Lys. Most of the time it’s the performer’s natural hair but wigs are used. The Wigs are dark brown, black or even reddish tones. Her hair is traditionally long with some form of wave to it. If you hair is already long and a darker shade, you’re good but if not you don’t need a wig if you don’t want to wear one.
Fun Fact: There has been at least one Esmeralda who has rocked short hair, Melanie Renaud.
Recently I saw the touring cast of Hadestown. I went into the show blind which I wouldn’t recommend for myself again. I didn’t love the show as I was watching but after ruminating on it and listening to the songs again I’ve come around and I do very much enjoy the show and would defiantly see it again. Also the touring cast was amazing.
Now just because I like it doesn’t mean that Hadestown and Hunchback musicals (The Disney version/Notre Dame de Paris mainly) have much do with each other outside of being musicals and that I like them. However they’re a few similarities and parallels, more than I thought, and some are quite shallow while others are deeper.
Also both shows revolve around religious iconography.
Spoilers for the shows.
An Actor
Patrick Page as Hades & Frollo
The biggest connection between the Hadestown and a Hunchback musical is Patrick Page. Page originated both Frollo in the American version of the Disney musical at La Jolla and PaperMills Playhouse and Hades in Hadestown in both the workshops and in the original Broadway cast.
First he feared the Hellfire and then he become lord of it.
A Song
Amber Gray as Persephone & Helene Segara as Esmeralda
This is more is similarity. The second act of Hadestown opens with a song called “Our Lady of the Underground” which in truth is just a reminder because “Our Lady’ and “Notre Dame” have the same meaning and to have lyrics using “Our Lady” in a musical is a direct route in my mind for a connection.
HOWEVER there is an actual “Our Lady of the Underground” Notre Dame de Sous-Terre, it is a statue at Chartres. So it might be less of Notre Dame thing and more of the connection to that but on that pesky other hand, Anaïs Mitchell was inspired by Les Misérables and wouldn’t you know it, Victor Hugo wrote both Les Misérables and Hunchback of Notre Dame. So maybe it’s not a shallow connection after all.
Both shows also more or less exist because of Les Misérables. One exists in its shadow in North America and the other reveals in its shade, guess which one is which.
A Costume
Esmeralda & Persephone’s Green Costume
Not that Esmeralda has monopoly on green costumes that use velvet and lace but if I see a green musical costume that uses those fabric I’m going to think of the original version of Esmeralda’s green dress & the Italian version of the green dress.
This is more of a reminder though an actual connection. Also in BOTH cases both green costumes are the act one costume and the Act 2 costume is more subdue and reflects the characters’ circumstances. For Esmeralda it is her being a prisoner and for Persephone it’s being in the Underworld/Hadestown as well as a strain of her marriage which is also messing everything up. Both characters are “trapped” so to speak.
Again this isn’t not a strong connection either, characters get costumes changes that reflect their mood/plot all the time but it’s at a “hmm that’s sort of interesting” similarity.
Swinging Set Pieces
Performer during Les Cloches & A worker during Wait for Me
Impressive set pieces in musicals is nothing new, it’s part of medium which adds spectacle and draws the audience into the experience.
Hadestown and Notre Dame de Paris both have swinging elements. Both are conical swinging metal pieces however I do think Hadestown does this better. In Notre Dame de Paris during “Les Cloches” there are three swinging bells over the stage that goes from side to side over the stage and are raised and lowered with a performer hanging from each them. This all done over the stage. It’s interesting and impressive but since it just exists over the stage space it doesn’t allow for the audience to participate, it’s spectacle.
In Hadestown during “Wait for Me,” as Orpheus goes into the underworld there are swinging lights that extend out across the stage over the audience, stage size and positing willing. There is some about shining lights into the audience from the stage that is intriguing. The swinging lights are very evocative especially since “Wait for Me” is one of the stand out songs of the show.
A Tragic Heroine
Eva Noblezada as Eurydice & Helene Segara as Esmeralda
One to one, Esmeralda and Eurydice are very different in personality and temperament. However both ladies are worldly in that they have traveled widely without being able to lay down roots. For Eurydice she is lonely, hungry and homeless and goes from place to place to eke some kind of existence till she meets and marries Orpheus. Esmeralda is a traveler and she goes around Europe with her group led by Clopin until they reach Paris, hoping for that asylum.
In either case both ladies meet a tragic end. In Esmeralda’s case her death is more concrete and Eurydice’s is more debated. Did she die in the storm or the snake like the myth? What was the deal she made with Hades? All in all it doesn’t matter as the optics are both ladies meet a tragic end and the one who loves them the most follows them into the afterlife.
Also both ladies are likened to birds, Eurydice to a songbird and Esmeralda, in Notre Dame de Paris, to a swallow.
Also as a side tangent, in the original myth Eurydice dances through a meadow and Esmeralda is a dancer.
A Bard
Reeve Carney as Orpheus & Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire
Both Gringoire and Orpheus are poets. Orpheus is more of singer-songwriter but Hades does refers to him as a poet in “Hey, Little Songbird.” They are both poor and both marry the tragic heroine though Esmeralda does not love him.
Social Messages
The Workers & Jay as Clopin
As the story has evolved from the original book, Hunchback narratives tends to lean heavily toward social commentary. Many themes can be employed but the big one is social inequality for marginalized peoples. Notre Dame de Paris leaned into issues of its day with asylum seekers seeking “sanctuary” which is a part of the original story.
Hadestown also takes into account social issues into the narrative as well. The show also goes for the blight marginalized poor peoples who are very much exploited by the powerful, in this case literal Gods, as well as Global warming. One thing that is addressed a lot is that seasons are all wrong because of the Gods. Orpheus could be seen as tiring to fix the climate by fixing Hades and Persephone’s marriage as well as saving Eurydice who was taken to Hadestown because she was caught in a storm.
Thirteen Years
Belle, Notre Dame de Paris & Wait for me, Hadestown
It took Anaïs Mitchell thirteen years to develop Hadestown from initial conception to the show opening on Broadway in 2019. Richard Cocciante had Belle as a melody thirteen years prior to the Notre Dame de Paris’ premier in Paris. I think I misunderstood the special that stated this information and wrongly thought the show was in development for thirteen years but from the subtitles it was more like five with just melody of existing thirteen years prior the show’s premier.
The Cruel Hand of the Fates
Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, & Kay Trinidad as The Fates & “Anarkia” on a wall
In Greek Mythology The Fates are three sisters: Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Allotter), and Atropos (the Inevitable). They are also called Moirai, personification of destiny.
In Hadestown the Fates are a greek chorus who are symbolize conscience, doubt and anxiety. They also hyper-fixate on Eurydice. They are antagonize her and defiantly seem to delight in her suffering. They also plague Orpheus at the climax with the song “Doubt Comes In” as the lovers walk out the underworld. These three ladies are very much personified intrusive thoughts.
The Fates in Hadestown act more like concept of Ananke which is a conceptual force in The Hunchback of Notre Dame however the connection is deeper. Ananke, in Orphic tradition,* is a Goddess and the mother of the Fates. She is the personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. Her Roman named is Necessitas.
So it does seem that the Fates in Hadestown act more like Ananke but “The Fates” are more accessible to a general audience plus the all harmonies they sings are sublime.
Then there is Notre Dame de Paris. As previously stated Ananke is a big aspect in the novel. It is the word that inspired Frollo and why Esmeralda didn’t fight back when Frollo dragged to the gibbet at the end of the novel for his final crazed ultimatum.
Notre Dame de Paris has two songs that apply to Ananke and Fate. One is called “Anarkia,” which is a short song that fills in some plot points. Basically “Anarkia” which is just written on a wall, like in the novel, Gringoire asks what the word means and Frollo exclaims it means “Fatality.” Which comes from the latin “fatalis” which means “decreed by fate,” so technically correct. Weird fact: the English version changes the word to “Anarchy” and Frollo says it means “Destiny” which is just wrong.
The second song involving the subject fate closes Act I and is aptly named “Fatalité.” It’s a very dramatic yet simple song that boils down to the point that fate/destiny doesn’t care if you’re a noble or a peasant; all life is her hands. Fate is said to be the “Mistress of our destinies” so it does harkens back to greek mythology.
Despite Ananke being an omnipotent atmospheric force in novel it’s relegated to only two songs and that is more than it gets in most other versions.
I do think that it would interesting to have a Notre Dame stage musical that leans into the concept of Ananke as a character, as in a combination of The Fates and Death from the Roméo + Juliet musical.
And finally Dennis DeYoung, a founding member of Styx, wrote a Hunchback musical. Styx is the river of the underworld which is a in Hadestown. (perhaps this should be the next version for review)
I suppose there could be more connections and similarities between the musicals but that’s all for now.
So you want to fit in with all the Barbie costumes this Halloween but still want to have a costume related to Hunchback?
That is a very unique and super niche problem. To be a fair a pink Esmeralda look COULD work very well. There is also the fact that Esmeralda, Phoebus and Quasimodo were all given the doll treatment.
But which character from a version of Hunchback of Notre Dame has that stereotypical Barbie look? Who is blonde and wears pink? The Answer is….
Julie Zenatti as Fleur de Lys Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris’ Fleur de Lys . Fleur de Lys’ costume in this version is relatively simple, especially the design from 1998-2015. It’s consists of a pink sleeveless dress with darker pink dye marks and some sparse crystal details. The length is a dealer’s choice as you can make it mid-calf to floor length. Also low-high (or high-low) hemlines are fine as they are used in some productions. Though if you want, you can go shorter. If you already have a sleeveless pink dress, or gown, in your closet go for that one but if you don’t have a pink dress on-hand here are some options.
Try to avoid dresses with boho styles as that doesn’t fit Fleur de Lys. Think classic or even glam looks.
Pink Dress Options
Lilly-Jane Young as Fleur de Lys 2012 Asian Tour Cast Notre Dame de Paris
Julie Zenatti as Fleur-de-Lys with Patrick Fiori as Phoebus, Notre Dame de Paris
For shoes any type of heel can work so long as it’s pink. This is a “Think Pink” costume. To be honest as long as the shoe is pink go for it. Maybe not a sneakers though.
Anne Meson as Fleur de Lys in the Las Vegas Cast Notre Dame de Paris
In Notre Dame de Paris, Fleur de Lys is typically blonde, the foil to Esmeralda. Some productions however opted to have Fleur de Lys use their natural hair colors. In those productions the Fleur de Lys straighten their locks and the Esmeralda has wavy hair. So if you don’t not want to wear a wig or dye your hair at least straighten it. You can also add flowers or crystal into your hairstyle.
Do you live in or near Montreal? Or are you planning on visiting Montreal or Quebec during Aug 2nd through the 12th? Do you like Notre Dame de Paris and what to see it? Or have you never seen it and would like the chance?
Well you’re in luck because the show is being performed in Montreal Aug 2nd-12th at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier! So go see if you can.
I got this sheet music over a decade ago however I had barely touched it till recently. I took piano lessons for seven years and I would say I’m passable. At best maybe fair, B- or C+ on a good day maybe. I do really enjoy playing the piano however even if I’m not good. There was period in late fall of 2020 when I was playing more which was a coping mechanism. However I don’t recall playing “Belle” during that period of time. Then I stopped playing and started up again a few weeks ago and “Belle” is very enjoyable to play.
This particular arrangement has vocal accompaniment but I tend to just play the vocals. The vocals are just more fun but I do want to get better with the accompaniment. I find Quasimodo’s verse the easiest to play and Phoebus’ hardest. This is because all the notes in the first part of the verse are flat and mind you I’m not an accomplished piano player so a little tricky, still fun though. C and F flats throw me off.
My mind did a shut down once playing this. I had been playing “In the Hall of the Mountain King” which starts off similarly so when I switched to “Belle” I was had a moment where I couldn’t figure out what I was playing.
I might try and get a Disney Hunchback sheet music book at some point, I do have other pieces that I want to learn/relearn before I get anything new. “Moonlight Sonata” was the last piece I was working on before I stopped taking lessons so ideally I would love to get passable at that one. But for right now I’m enjoying playing “Belle.”
I love Notre Dame de Paris and I love costumes so here some ideas for more costumes for the show.
Let me just preface by saying these ideas are adding, not subtracting or even really changing existing costumes in the show. Also I only have ideas for three characters.
So let’s start with the idea that is the least likely to happen, (also I do not think any of these ideas will get used in the show but if they do that would be great.)
1st idea: Quasimodo’s Grand Reveal
Gringoire spotting Quasimodo during the Feast of Fools
When Quasimodo is first seen in the show he on the cathedral rock wall structure and the audience sees his figure descending down. I think it could be cool if he had a cloak that really accentuates his form. Maybe with a wired structure or something. The cloak could be made in such a way it’s pulls a parts prior to his song for a dramatic true reveal. Might be hard to execute but could be done. It’s not like the his entry isn’t enough as is, this would just be extra spectacle . Or they do opposite and hide Quasimodo’s form with the cloak till his first song making him more of a reveal.
2nd idea: More Esmeralda Costumes
Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda
As I said I like costumes so more costume is always a plus and it’s more of a plus when they added thoughtful. Esmeralda doesn’t necessarily need more costume changes but there are places in the show that they could go and would work for the narrative. In theory she could be a different dress for the Fête much like in the Disney movie. This one is least necessary but I just wanted to mention it as possibility.
At the end of act 1 she meets Phoebus for their tryst. In a few movies versions Esmeralda gets a costume change for their meeting. Also the show did use a red rose fringe dress for promotion that depicted this scene. The dress was used for the London cast, 2001 French Cast also maybe the Russian cast too. So this would a very good place to add another pretty costume for Esmeralda.
Shirel as Esmeralda in the Red with Laurent Ban as Phoebus Notre Dame de Paris 2001 French Cast
Beginning of Act 2 Esmeralda as been arrested for killing/attacking Phoebus. She is recused by Quasimodo. In the book Quasimodo gives her some new clothing which is white and a nun’s habit. Not saying that for “Vivre” but it would be nice to have different costume from the prisoner one. Also in the original cast Esmeralda had her ruffle dress plus a lab coat looking item which she wears after “Vivre” though that could be for practical reasons. So she had two looks in the 2nd act, at least she did in the pro-shot. Maybe something white and a little ethereal and ephemeral to counter the previous costume which is now a heavy textured costume.
3rd idea: The Noblelady Fleur de Lys
Lilly-Jane Young as Fleur de Lys Asian Tour Cast Notre Dame de Paris 2012
This idea would be the easiest to add to the show. A lot of the costumes have multiple layers, like coats and vests. Though over the years the production have played around with it, Gringoire still have his coat as does Frollo. Clopin has lost his coat in favor of a vest. Esmeralda has long since lost her lab coat thing. Phoebus’ chainmail get taken off and on but Quasimodo and Fleur de Lys never got an extra layer. It makes sense for Quasimodo but for her….
I think Fleur de Lys should have detachable sleeves for the 1st act and for the curtain call and them have off for act 2. This would give her more prim elite noblewoman appearance in 1st act and then 2nd act when she use her sexuality to get Phoebus to make sure Esmeralda hangs her bare arms would further get the point across. She’s showing some skin to manipulate her man though showcase the power dynamics in their relationship. It would show how her character has changed throughout the show.
The type of sleeves I would like to see for her is not historically accurate but none of the costumes in this show are so it doesn’t matter. I would like to see her with long sleeves with a tippet. A tippet is hanging piece of fabric off a part of a garment. For Fleur de Lys it would a long streamer attract to the upper part of the sleeves. In this picture of Buttercup from The Princess Bride, the silver part of the sleeve is the tippet. So that and the sleeves would be detachable.
I could see the performer having fun this these especially during the curtain calls as the Fleur de Lys performers tends to spin and hold her arms out. Plus it would make her look even more noble and would be a subtle change from the first act to the second act.
So are my costume ideas for Notre Dame de Paris. If i could pick one it was be Fleur de Lys sleeves, even the designer went in a different direction it would be great for the character.
Notre Dame de Paris July 2022 New York City Lincoln Center
Notre Dame de Paris is returning to Lincoln Center in New York City. The Cast also performed in Turkey back in May and is returning to Paris in late November at the original venue of the Palais des congrès de Paris
As for the Lincoln Center performances, it was recently extended by a week. Shows start June 22 and go til July 16th.
The cast is very similar to last year
Quasimodo – Angelo Del Vecchio Esmeralda – Elhaida Dani Frollo- Daniel Lavoie Gringoire – Gain Marco Schiaretti Clopin – Jay Fleur de Lys – Alyzée Lalande Phoebus – Jérémy Amelin
So if you are able to go, please go and maybe it will return again. I read that it was returning to New York for the 25th anniversary of the show but it would great if comes back again soon.
On personal note I don’t think I can go this year, I would to love of course but it’s doubtful. Hopefully it will come back again soon that would be so wonderful. If you’re going I hope you enjoy.
Notre Dame de Paris July 2022 New York City Lincoln Center
As a Christmas present in 2020 I was given tickets to see Notre Dame de Paris in New York City July 2022. So I had a long time to get hyped. The tickets were for the Saturday afternoon show on the 16th. In theory I could have gone to Canada to see the show but New York City is closer to me despite the fact that I had only been once prior as child. So in the future if the show never returns to NYC I could go to a performance across the border but who knows maybe it will return someday. It’s so weird to me that this the only second time it’s been performed in the states. The Second and the first time in the Big Apple. Then again a lot of shows have never been performed in the States.
David Koch Theater Lobby before the show
So this was first my time seeing the show live. I had always thought that if I was going to see the show in the States that it would be in English and I was ok with that. So I was happy to learn back when it was first announced that it was going to be in French.
Photo-op in the David Koch Theater Lobby before Notre Dame de Paris
One thing that was a little weird/interesting was that in the lobby there was large photos from the show and mostly it was from the current revival cast, pretty sure, except there was one of Lola Ponce who played Esmeralda in the first Italian cast and is currently reprising her role. Not sure why they had that photo at Koch theatre unless they thought it was just a good photo op. It just stood out to me.
The stage at David Koch Theater before Notre Dame de Paris
So how was it? It was great. 10 out 10 I would see it live again. Was it so different seeing it live than seeing it in the pro-shot or recordings as I have for years? I’m not really sure. I did like that could look around the stage and see interactions that I would typically miss especially with the pro-shot. Like entrances and exits or what other performers are doing when the focus isn’t on them. I also just liked being in the space with a crowd watching the show.
Also I didn’t know the show used a haze effect so I learned something new. There were also changes to the show that didn’t know like that “Val de Amour” got toned down. I don’t typically rewatch that number so I didn’t know about the changes, it’s not as racy as the pro-shot or the Italian version pro-shot. There are also little things with blocking noticed but I won’t go into specifics.
This is not my recording. I’m miserable at getting pictures as I just never think to get them in the moment. But this recoding of the curtain call is from the performance I attended. Also my seat was up in the 4th ring so I was very high up so it might have been it might good have been a good shot any way but I did unobstructed view because I was in row 1 so I could see whole stage.
If I ever see show again I will try to get a picture from the curtain call. Also also at points in the show spotlights sweep over the audience and one at the end of “Vivre” went pretty much into my eyes and probably everyone else in my area too.
My Notre Dame de Paris haul
Also of course there was merch. The merch included shirts, a mug, a tote, a poster, a keychain and a book. There could have been more but those items are what I remember.
At first I was like “Nah I don’t need stuff.” Then by intermission I decided to get the book and then like two minutes after that I impulsively got the Belle shirt. I sort of regret not getting the tote bag but I thought it was a little small for my purposes. Whatever. It’s fine.
Has seeing the show rekindled my interested in the show? A little bit yeah.
Hey all, I’m sorry I haven’t been updating and I’m sorry that I haven’t finished watching/reviewing The Magical Adventures of Quasimodo. I’m not going to go into reasons or excuses as to why as they pertain to matters of my personal life and I am not going there on this platform. All I really can say I’m not sure when I will get back to those review posts. Just know that I would like to at some point. For now posts will remain sporadic.
And now an unrelated story.
Helene Segara as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris
So I also write Hunchback content on Hubpages. Way back in the before times of 2011 I did a page on Esmeralda’s green costume from Notre Dame de Paris. She wears this costume throughout the first act. You can see that hub here.
On this page I compare the different versions of the costume from production to production. Mostly the costume is fairly consist from cast to cast with minimum differences in the overall design. Basically aside from the Italian version, which deviated in design very early on from the Original French version and the Korean version being darker, the costume has remained mostly unchanged from the original 1998 design.
There some changes though. For instance the costume was getting tighter and shorter especially from 2012 to 2015. Good for sex appeal but not for dancing. In 2021 I decided to update all my hubpages which is still an ongoing thing since many require a lot more work. I should mention that prior to my update of the Esmeralda’s green costume page I hadn’t updated it since 2015, a year before the current World Tour production, can’t really say cast since the cast has changed since 2016.
In the 2015 update of my page, I added an observation which basically said that the costume needed a redesign because the newer iterations lacked movement. And in 2016 they did update the costume along with some others in the musical.
Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda
The new version of Esmeralda’s green costume has lots layers of lightweight fabric to show off the performer’s movement.
COINCIDENCE?
Maybe. It is suspect though given the timing. Perhaps my obsessive breakdown of the costume gave the production the idea to do a redesign. Perhaps it was parallel thought. Perhaps my page was one voice amongst many asking for a change. I do not know. More than likely it’s a case of parallel thought and the production and I had the idea independently of each other. The simplest explanations are typically the most likely.
Would I like to think I had something to do with it? Yes I would.
It is nice to see that the costume got more movement since that should add to the overall experience for the audience who is watching the musical live. And I guess I can comment on that further when I see it next month (July 2022) in New York City!
Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda & Martin Giroux as Phoebus
I have been watching videos of the most recent cast of Notre Dame de Paris and I noticed something about Hiba Tawaji’s portrayal of Esmeralda that was just off. It was something I couldn’t place but it was something I didn’t like. It was like she was trying to do too much but not succeeding. She just wasn’t coming off as natural but forced.
Just so we’re clear this has nothing to with her as singer or person, this is just in her acting. She is fine as a singer.
Hiba Tawaji singing Bohemienne
The weirdness in her acting was further noticeable when you watch the preview when the cast was announced. She is singing Bohemienne and she was coming off as sweet, happy and natural. From that video she seemed like the perfect Esmeralda. But then you watch the performance and she has a weird expression on her face and she trying to be sultry and playful and doing weird arm movements.
This led me to watch every Bohemienne performance I could find to see what the other Esmeraldas were doing since there is a bit of a disconnect from Segara’s original performance to what other Esmeraldas do with the song. I say this because I’m most familiar with Segara’s version but it’s not the standard anymore.
Esmeralda and Phoebus Notre Dame de Paris
Bohemienne, under at least Segara, starts off mysterious and somewhat aloof. Some Esmeraldas maintain some mystery but in other parts of the song. The reason why Segara’s Esmeralda starts this way was because of changes to the lead-in to the song. In the original Frollo starts off by ordering Phoebus to arrest the refugees in which he immediately runs into Esmeralda and then she starts her song after he asks her who she is. There is a threat here with Phoebus, as he was starts pursuing her and then tries to flirt. She is aloof because she on her guard.
In subsequent versions Phoebus gets his orders, there is a scene shift and then runs into Esmeralda already dancing for the people. She is unaware of Phoebus’ orders. So the song is already upbeat and happy at the start.
Lola Ponce as Esmeralda Italian Notre Dame de Paris
Most Esmeraldas perform Bohemienne in a happy upbeat playful manner. Dancing varies but most try to move in a dancing like fashion whether or not it looks natural. Probably the best Esmeralda at conveying the spirit of a dancer and a playful flirtatious attitude is the Italian cast Original Esmeralda, Lola Ponce. She is very natural in this performance. However the trade-off is her singing suffers. While it’s not bad she does get breathy and out breath in places but you can forgive it as she commits.
Many Italian Esmeraldas follow Ponce’s example in the playful flirty persona. Some try and focus more on singing so they don’t commit as fully. Some are just less natural in their movements and you can see them aiming to hit the next mark.
Other Esmeraldas it’s just hard to tell if their happy and succeeding in the choreography because the quality of footage is bad.
Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda & Jay as Clopin
So it’s a question of choreography vs singing vs an Esmeralda who is natural with their movements. It would be unfair to put the blame solely on Tawaji as the choreography is weird at times. Like when she gesturing out towards the audience, why? Or maybe she’s just not super comfortable trying to move sensually while trying to be playful, effervescent and flirtatious while maintaining good vocals. It’s a tall order if not impossible But then you watch Tawaji perform other songs in the show there is still that awkwardness with her movements so I don’t know. She could not be a very adept actress, great singer and not good in the acting department, she wouldn’t be the first singer not great at acting.
However there seems to be awkwardness with Daniel Lavoie’s movements in this version opposed to his original performance, so I really don’t know what to think. Could be the director? Or maybe this all better live and the videos are not doing the performances any justice?
The point is in the case of Bohemienne there is no right way to perform the song. The performer can be more playful, aloof, flirtatious, sensual, wistful, youthful etc. However it does seem like sometimes the minor choreography can get in the way of the performer’s natural movements and that is when an Esmeralda can look mechanical or awkward and that is something an Esmeralda should never be.
