Victor Hugo, author of the novel
Claude Michael Schoenberg, music
Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, original French libretto
Herbert Kretzmer, lyrics
Trevor Nunn, ohn Caird, author of the arrangement
John Cameron, original orchestration
Stephen Metcalfe, Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Brooker, orchestration
James Felton, additional materials

Licensed by: Music Theatre International Eutope Ltd, CAMERON MACKINTOSH LTD.

Stanislav Moša, director
Dinko Appelt, conductor

Bojan Valentić, producer
Nina Kleflin, assistant director
Dražen Bratulić, translation author
Tihana Strmečki, choreographer
Tina Vrtar Stipić, dance master
Andrea Kučerova, costume designer
Eva Karakaš Bedrina, Josip Đerek, assistant choreographers
Petr Hlousek, set designer
David Kachlir,  lighting designer
Igor Pauk, sound designer
Irena Ružić, make-up
Iva Olujić, stage manager

Tomislav Babić, orchestra organizer
Dinko Appelt, keyboard programmer
Tomislav Parmać, répetitéur
Davor Kelić, chorus master

Cast:
Jean Valjean: Ervin Baučić / Dražen Bratulić
Javert: Igor Drvenkar / Đani Stipaničev
Fantine: Renata Sabljak / Vanda Winter
Marius: Filip Hozjak / Neven Stipčić
Cosette: Gita Haydar / Katarina Margaretić /Gabriela Mijatović
Thénardier: Jan Kovačić / Ronald Žlabur
Madame Thénardier: Nika Ivančić / Zrinka Kušević
Enjolras: Devin Juraj / Fabijan Pavao Medvešek
Eponine: Dora Trogrlić / Sara Vojičić / Nikolina Vujić
Young Cosette: Lejla Hajdarević /Leonora Herceg / Emili Rogina
Gavroche: Josip Makar / David Novosel / Lovro Žužul
Young Eponine: Rita Palić / Una Šilić Dragoljević

Les Misérables is one of the most popular musicals of all time, as demonstrated by a successful Broadway run lasting more than a quarter of a century, eight Tony Awards and the title of the longest-running show in London’s West End. Among its innumerable cinematic and theatrical incarnations, Les Misérables has a special connection with the capital of neighbouring Croatia, since it was first staged in Zagreb before it became famous around the world (1982), a mere year and a half
after its Paris premiere. That production at Zagreb’s Komedija Theatre was even seen by the original French librettists Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, who are on record as being extremely pleased with the performance. Yet more than 40 years would have to pass for this story – encompassing the relentless police persecution of the social outcast Jean Valjean, his moral dilemmas, parental love, student revolts and the challenges faced by those at the bottom of society – to return to the Komedija stage. In the intervening years, the Komedija Theatre has continued its artistic mission and become famous for its first-rate productions of comedies, operettas and musicals. It was, in fact, this theatre that was responsible for the success of the famous Yugoslav musical Yalta, Yalta. We may be sure, then, that one of the most important specialised theatres in the region will provide a top-flight musical spectacle, interwoven with unforgettable musical numbers such as  I Dreamed a Dream and Do You Hear the People Sing?

The musical will be performed in Croatian with Slovene surtitles.

• Critical reviews for Les Misérables were initially negative. At the opening of the London production, the Sunday Telegraph’s Francis King described the musical as “a lurid Victorian melodrama produced with Victorian lavishness”.
• Michael Ratcliffe of the Observer considered the show “a witless and synthetic entertainment”. Literary scholars condemned the project for converting classic literature into a musical.
• Public opinion differed, however, and the box office received record orders. The three-month engagement sold out and reviews improved. The London production has played over 15,000 performances, making it the second longest-running musical in the world after The Fantasticks.
• The first Broadway production opened on 12 March 1987 and ran until 18 May 2003, closing after 6,680 performances. At the time of its closing, it was the second-longest-running musical in Broadway history.
• The musical’s emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette sweeping the Thénardiers’ inn (which occurs in the musical during Castle on a Cloud).
• Victor Hugo began planning his great novel about social misery and injustice in the 1830s. Once he started actively working on it, it took him a full 17 years to complete. Les Misérables was eventually published in 1862.
• The critical reaction to the novel was generally unfavourable, but Les Misérables proved popular enough with the masses that the issues it highlighted were soon on the agenda of the National Assembly of France.