London: about 2 hours 50 minutes, including a 15-minute interval
Delfont Mackintosh’s published timing for the Sondheim Theatre, checked 10 October 2026. Other productions may differ.
13 / A MUSICAL WORTH KNOWING
From an idea on paper.
To voices around the world.
The people who made it. The stages that gave it life. And an interactive journey through the musical, one dramatic stop at a time.
Two acts. One interval.
The interval follows One Day More. Lengths and connective material can vary between versions and productions.
38 stops to listen through
Major songs, transitions and reprises, with context and listening questions.
FAMILIAR SONGS · A FRESH WAY TO LISTEN
Six songs. Six ways into Les Mis.
A small listening route through private longing, collective hope and the score’s dramatic contrasts.
A private voice. A melody with echoes.
On My Own
On My Own gives Éponine a solo spotlight. The English words are Herbert Kretzmer’s, set to Claude-Michel Schönberg’s music: two distinct contributions to the voice we hear.
TAKE THIS QUESTION INTO YOUR LISTENING
How does the singer move between inward thought and a more open sound?
The plot context and links between scenes stay behind the spoiler warning.
FROM SONG TO PERFORMANCE
Hear it come to life
Story positions follow the stage musical; recordings and screen adaptations can order or group numbers differently.
IT DIDN’T BEGIN ON A REVOLVING STAGE
How does a story become a musical?
1862: the novel
Victor Hugo published Les Misérables in 1862. His novel supplied the characters and story that Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg later reshaped for musical theatre.
1980: a French concept album
The musical first took recorded form as a French-language concept album in 1980. It established the musical project before its first stage production.
September 1980: Paris
Robert Hossein directed the original French stage production at the Palais des Sports in Paris in September 1980. That production preceded the English-language version by five years.
8 October 1985: the English version
The reworked English-language version opened at London's Barbican on 8 October 1985, presented by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Trevor Nunn and John Caird directed it; Herbert Kretzmer supplied the English lyrics, with additional material credited to James Fenton.
4 December 1985: the West End transfer
The English production transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985. The 1980 French premiere and the 1985 London opening therefore mark different stages in the musical's creation.
BEHIND THE SUCCESS STORY
A rough critical welcome. An eager audience.
The familiar story that Les Misérables “failed at first” compresses different events. Separate the 1980 French beginning, the 1985 London reviews and the audience response.
1980
The French concept album
The project first appeared as a French concept album, before Robert Hossein’s Paris staging at the Palais des Sports that September.
8 October 1985
London opens to mostly poor reviews
The expanded English production opened at the Barbican. The official study guide describes mostly poor reviews, but also Mackintosh calling the box office and finding ticket demand strong. Critical hostility and commercial failure are different claims.
1985 → 1987
From London demand to Broadway recognition
The production moved to the Palace Theatre less than two months after the Barbican opening. The Broadway production won eight Tonys, including Best Musical, Book and Original Score. The score award credits Schönberg’s music and lyrics by Kretzmer and Boublil.
The accurate shorthand: French origins in 1980, a difficult London critical reception in 1985, and strong audience demand despite those reviews.
What shaped the music? Open the composition notebook
A French beginning, an English reshaping
Claude-Michel Schönberg composed the music and co-wrote the book with Alain Boublil. The original French text is credited to Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; Herbert Kretzmer wrote the English lyrics, with additional material credited to James Fenton.
A songwriter’s ear
Before his stage successes, Schönberg worked in France as a pop singer, songwriter and record producer. Boublil conceived Les Misérables as a musical and developed it with him.
The singing carries the action
Les Misérables is a sung-through musical: music carries exchanges and transitions as well as the major solos. MTI describes it as a sung-through pop opera. Listen beyond the famous numbers to hear how the scenes connect.
The spark came from another musical
The official study guide traces Boublil’s inspiration to Oliver!: the Artful Dodger suggested a singing Gavroche. The connection is a starting point for the adaptation, not evidence that the two scores share music.
EACH ROLE CHANGES THE SOUND
Not one person. A collective work.
Alain Boublil
Co-writer of the book; co-writer of the original French text
Boublil conceived the musical adaptation of Les Misérables and developed it with composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. Their other collaborations include Miss Saigon, Martin Guerre and The Pirate Queen.
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Composer; co-writer of the book
Schönberg began in French popular music as a singer, songwriter and record producer. With Boublil, he created the scores and co-wrote the books of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and other musicals.
Jean-Marc Natel
Co-writer of the original French text
Natel studied visual art in Toulon before turning to poetry. After moving to Paris in 1968, he met Boublil and entered songwriting through their collaboration on Les Misérables.
Herbert Kretzmer
English lyrics
Born in South Africa, Kretzmer moved to London in 1954 and pursued journalism alongside songwriting. His work with Charles Aznavour included the English-language songs She and Yesterday When I Was Young.
Trevor Nunn
Co-adapter and original English-production co-director
Nunn led the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1968 to 1986 and later directed Britain's National Theatre. His musical-theatre work also includes the original productions of Cats and Starlight Express.
John Caird
Co-adapter and original English-production co-director
Caird is a writer and director working across plays, opera and musical theatre. He is also the author of Theatre Craft, a practical book for directors published in 2010.
James Fenton
Additional material
Fenton is a poet, journalist and writer for the stage. He served as Oxford's Professor of Poetry from 1994 to 1999 and has written plays, translations and opera libretti.
Cameron Mackintosh
Producer of the English-language production
Mackintosh has produced theatre since 1967, with credits including Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. He also produced the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables with Working Title and Universal.
Victor Hugo
Author of the source novel
Hugo (1802–1885) wrote novels, poetry and plays, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Les Misérables appeared in 1862, during his long political exile from France.
Robert Hossein
Director of the original French stage production (1980)
Hossein was a filmmaker who directed the first French staging of Les Misérables. His Paris production played more than 100 performances at the Palais des Sports in 1980.
James Powell & Laurence Connor
Directors of the new 25th-anniversary production (2009)
Powell and Connor directed the new staging first presented in 2009 for the musical's 25th anniversary. Their work also includes the anniversary concert at London's O2 in 2010.
LANDMARKS IN THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY
A local stage. A global echo.
Milestones in the production’s history.
September 1980
Paris
Palais des SportsThe first French stage production, directed by Robert Hossein.
1985–present
London
Barbican → Palace → Queen’s / SondheimThe English version opened at the Barbican in October 1985, then transferred to the West End. Today it plays at the Sondheim Theatre.
December 1986
Washington, D.C.
Kennedy Center Opera HouseThe American premiere and pre-Broadway engagement.
Broadway premiere: 12 March 1987
New York
Broadway Theatre; later Imperial TheatreThe original Broadway production was followed by later revivals.
2016
Tel Aviv
Habima National TheatreA Hebrew production directed by Moshe Kepten, using Ehud Manor’s translation.
2024–2025
Paris
Théâtre du ChâteletA new French production brought the musical back to Paris.
Before listening: four ways music tells the story
LISTEN TO THE FORM, NOT ONLY THE SONG
Four ways the music tells the story
No musical training needed. Notice who has the floor, how voices meet, and what changes when familiar music returns.
- 01Solo · one person in focus
A solo gives one person room to be heard. In I Dreamed a Dream, try following the movement of a thought rather than waiting for the biggest note.
Does the voice feel as if it is remembering, arguing or discovering something?
- 02Voices in dialogue · meeting or collision
When characters share a number, their voices can answer, interrupt or overlap. The Confrontation turns an encounter between Valjean and Javert into a clash of perspectives.
Are the characters listening to each other, or trying to make themselves heard?
- 03Ensemble · one moment, several futures
One Day More brings several characters into the same musical moment while they imagine different tomorrows. Follow one voice first, then listen to the whole group.
Does singing together make the characters sound united, even when their wishes differ?
- 04Reprise · familiar music, changed context
A reprise brings earlier musical material back. You may recognize the tune before you have worked out why this return feels different.
What do you know now that you did not know the first time?
The musical examples follow the stage guide’s reference version. Source pages may reveal the plot.
THE FULL JOURNEY · INCLUDING THE ENDING
Open the whole musical?
These stops include plot, relationships, loss and the ending. The scene list and explanations appear only after you choose to reveal them.
Which version is this, and what can change?
38 stops through the principal numbers and connecting scenes across both acts.
MTI groups several songs into larger sequences. Familiar song names are shown alongside catalogue names; connective passages and reprises are grouped where useful.
The sequence follows the full stage version and its dramatic order. School editions, concert cuts, the 1980 French original, films and recordings can differ.
London running time is provided separately.
Hebrew song labels were translated for this guide.
MTI: Les Misérables, UK Tour Version (2009), current full-version listing (opens in a new tab)MTI: full-version song catalogue (opens in a new tab)MTI: full-version two-act synopsis (opens in a new tab)Wharton Center: authorized touring-production programme and synopsis (opens in a new tab)Delfont Mackintosh Theatres: London running time (opens in a new tab)