THE legendary globe-conquering musical Les Misérables is currently on an extended run at Dubai Opera.
EPIC OPENER: Dramatic entry scene from the enduring Les Misérables during its Dubai Opera debut
MustDoDubai.com caught up with the show and one of the leading voices of this epic, emotional helping of international theatre - and he shared a very noisy secret.
John Owen-Jones is a veteran of Broadway and the West End shows and rightly has one of the most revered voices in musical theatre.
He also admits to a rather surprising method of preparation before he goes on stage: he listens to heavy metal music.
“I’ve done this so much I can literally just put on the costume and I’m there,” says the star of his lead role as Jean Valjean, the big-hearted convict turned mayor, hero and step-dad.
“But to kind of get my emotions going, ready for the beginning, I listen to heavy metal; when I’m getting my make-up on. I used to do it in Phantom, when I was doing that. It used to drive everyone mad backstage. Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, really extreme stuff… I’ve always been a fan of that kind of music. It helps me adrenalise.”
In fact, it seems the Welshman has been finding his adrenaline rush aplenty since arriving in the UAE for Les Mis run, which concludes an extended-by-demand run on December 2.
He also admits to a rather surprising method of preparation before he goes on stage: he listens to heavy metal music.
“I’ve done this so much I can literally just put on the costume and I’m there,” says the star of his lead role as Jean Valjean, the big-hearted convict turned mayor, hero and step-dad.
“But to kind of get my emotions going, ready for the beginning, I listen to heavy metal; when I’m getting my make-up on. I used to do it in Phantom, when I was doing that. It used to drive everyone mad backstage. Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, really extreme stuff… I’ve always been a fan of that kind of music. It helps me adrenalise.”
In fact, it seems the Welshman has been finding his adrenaline rush aplenty since arriving in the UAE for Les Mis run, which concludes an extended-by-demand run on December 2.
ROCK OF AGES: Les Mis veteran and 'the best' Jean Valjean, John Owen-Jones
At the top of our interview, Owen-Jones reveals he’d also been to Ferrari World, in Abu Dhabi, the day before with some other cast members.
“Riding rollers coasters takes its toll on your body,” he says, although “very fast sitting down” is as adventurous as the performers are allowed to get during the show run. “We’re not allowed to do ice skating and skiing, so that’s two major activities we can’t do.”
Not that Owen-Jones is likely to need any more of a boost after being described in Dubai as “the best Jean Valjean“ by show creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg during a press call.
They’ve got a point. In the already much acclaimed auditorium of Dubai Opera, Owen-Jones’s voice is a powerful and goose bump-inducing tool. He, too, is impressed by the venue.
“When we first did this production, it was 2009, I was the first Jean to play in this production so I helped develop the staging. We played in an opera house in Cardiff designed by the same architect, The Wales Millennium Centre. It’s all wood and everything. Because it’s an opera house it’s flat stalls and then it suddenly goes up at the back so the sound bounces around.
“In the West End or Broadway it rakes up so the sound soaks up differently so you have to work harder, but here you can hear a pin drop without having anything mic’d up.
“Riding rollers coasters takes its toll on your body,” he says, although “very fast sitting down” is as adventurous as the performers are allowed to get during the show run. “We’re not allowed to do ice skating and skiing, so that’s two major activities we can’t do.”
Not that Owen-Jones is likely to need any more of a boost after being described in Dubai as “the best Jean Valjean“ by show creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg during a press call.
They’ve got a point. In the already much acclaimed auditorium of Dubai Opera, Owen-Jones’s voice is a powerful and goose bump-inducing tool. He, too, is impressed by the venue.
“When we first did this production, it was 2009, I was the first Jean to play in this production so I helped develop the staging. We played in an opera house in Cardiff designed by the same architect, The Wales Millennium Centre. It’s all wood and everything. Because it’s an opera house it’s flat stalls and then it suddenly goes up at the back so the sound bounces around.
“In the West End or Broadway it rakes up so the sound soaks up differently so you have to work harder, but here you can hear a pin drop without having anything mic’d up.
SOUND INVESTMENT: The cast are loving the Dubai Opera acoustics as they put the young venue through its paces
“As a cast we throw a lot of energy into the show anyway, so you can imagine how exciting it is when a lot of that sound is bouncing around.”
Owen-Jones was last in Dubai 16 years ago, performing with the English Shakespeare Company.
“There was no theatre to perform in so we were doing it in ballrooms in hotels,” he recalls. “None of this was here, but it was an amazing place then. You can imagine my delight to walk here and see what has happened to this place and what is continuing to happen – it’s quite incredible being back.
And it was a thrill coming back with this show. When we rehearsed this version in London with this cast it was in the same rehearsal room we started back in 2009 with a lot of the same set managers, some of the same cast. It’s almost like a homecoming. It’s weirdly comfortable."
The Welshman has arguably made the role of Valjean his own for 20 years, both in London and New York, and beyond, so Dubai Opera is getting one of music theatre's best for its longest-running offering, thus far.
So how has Les Mis been so enduring and travelled so well? Owen-Jones says its appeal to both him and audiences everywhere stems from several factors.
Owen-Jones was last in Dubai 16 years ago, performing with the English Shakespeare Company.
“There was no theatre to perform in so we were doing it in ballrooms in hotels,” he recalls. “None of this was here, but it was an amazing place then. You can imagine my delight to walk here and see what has happened to this place and what is continuing to happen – it’s quite incredible being back.
And it was a thrill coming back with this show. When we rehearsed this version in London with this cast it was in the same rehearsal room we started back in 2009 with a lot of the same set managers, some of the same cast. It’s almost like a homecoming. It’s weirdly comfortable."
The Welshman has arguably made the role of Valjean his own for 20 years, both in London and New York, and beyond, so Dubai Opera is getting one of music theatre's best for its longest-running offering, thus far.
So how has Les Mis been so enduring and travelled so well? Owen-Jones says its appeal to both him and audiences everywhere stems from several factors.
GLOBAL DRAMA: Les Mis is a world-class production that will surely put Dubai Opera on the musical theatre map
“It’s because it is a very universal story,” says the star whose character is key to this story of salvation, family, discontent and honour.
“When Claude-Michel and Alain decided to write a musical about this piece they couldn’t really have picked better source material because it’s so rich and deep.
"They’ve amazingly taken all the best bits of the book and united it into this incredible piece of theatre which tells a universal story of love, hope, redemption and all the emtions you could feel.
"Also it’s got this thing where if you’re a young lad you get the young guys with guns doing all the fighting and macho; if you’re a teenage girl you get Éponine's love story.
"It reflects a lot of different parts of life. You couple that with amazing music and great set design and brilliant actors (points to himself), it’s going to be a success isn’t it. Modest, brilliant actors."
That said, Owen-Jones admits his performance has changed over time - for the better.
“There was a period of time when I first did it I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids and I always felt I was too young for it," he admits.
"But I remember coming back to the London production after having children and I thought I was doing the same performance, felt the same, but the movement director of London said ‘what’s happened, it’s like a completely different, what’s happened? Have you had children?’"
And he had, says Owen-Jones, adding: “So, I guess my emotions have grown. I’m a more rounded human being and hopefully that reflects.”
DETAILS:
Les Misérables continues its run until December 2 with performances nightly and twice a day at weekends. Visit www.dubaiopera.com/showlist/les-miserables for ticket and timing details.
Check out our Good To Know section for a review of the show and stay tuned this week for more cast interviews.
“When Claude-Michel and Alain decided to write a musical about this piece they couldn’t really have picked better source material because it’s so rich and deep.
"They’ve amazingly taken all the best bits of the book and united it into this incredible piece of theatre which tells a universal story of love, hope, redemption and all the emtions you could feel.
"Also it’s got this thing where if you’re a young lad you get the young guys with guns doing all the fighting and macho; if you’re a teenage girl you get Éponine's love story.
"It reflects a lot of different parts of life. You couple that with amazing music and great set design and brilliant actors (points to himself), it’s going to be a success isn’t it. Modest, brilliant actors."
That said, Owen-Jones admits his performance has changed over time - for the better.
“There was a period of time when I first did it I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids and I always felt I was too young for it," he admits.
"But I remember coming back to the London production after having children and I thought I was doing the same performance, felt the same, but the movement director of London said ‘what’s happened, it’s like a completely different, what’s happened? Have you had children?’"
And he had, says Owen-Jones, adding: “So, I guess my emotions have grown. I’m a more rounded human being and hopefully that reflects.”
DETAILS:
Les Misérables continues its run until December 2 with performances nightly and twice a day at weekends. Visit www.dubaiopera.com/showlist/les-miserables for ticket and timing details.
Check out our Good To Know section for a review of the show and stay tuned this week for more cast interviews.
