Record-holder French musical comes to Istanbul stage

ANKARA

The musical ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ wll be in Istanbul until May 4.

After taking the stage in 15 countries, the most successful French musical of all time is at Istanbul’s Zorlu PSM Center.

Adapted from Victor Hugo’s immortal novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the musical “Notre Dame de Paris” speaks of the love the deformed and deaf Quasimodo feels for Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy street dancer. It shows that even the most miserable are capable of treasuring and nurturing what is most precious to them. The musical, a classic love story adapted to the modern stage by Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante, transports the audience back to the Paris of the 1800s with its rich costumes, detailed settings and fantastic performances.

The production opened in 1998 at Palais des Congres in Paris, and succeeded in selling over 10 million CDs and DVDs, with over 8 million tickets in 15 years. It holds the Guinness Book World Record for the most ticket sales in a single year and went on to have an extraordinarily successful run in London’s West end.

The show’s gorgeous soundtrack includes the celebrated song “Belle,” which was chosen as the Best Song of the 20th Century by French TV audiences and the Song of the Decade by Russian audiences.

The script was adapted into English for the stage by Will Jennings, the writer of the immortal song “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic.”

The musical, which made its debut on April 22, will continue until May 4 in English with Turkish surtitles.