Claude-Michel Schönberg

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Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in

La Révolution Française (1973), Les Misérables (1980), Miss Saigon (1989), Martin Guerre (1996), The Pirate Queen (2006), and Marguerite
(2008).

Career

Early career

Schönberg began his career as a record producer and a singer. He wrote most of the music for the French musical and

Louis XVI
in the show's production that year.

In 1974 he wrote the music and the lyrics of the song "Le Premier Pas", which became the number one hit in France that year, selling over one million copies. Le Premier Pas was produced by

Waterloo", which was recorded by the group.[1]

Schönberg then made an album in which he sang his own compositions. In 1978 he dedicated his attention to musicals when he and Alain Boublil conceived the idea for a stage musical version of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. The original production was staged at the Palais de Sports in Paris in 1980. In 1985 and 1987 respectively, the musical opened in London and on Broadway, to acclaim in each instance. The Broadway production was nominated for twelve Tony Awards in 1987 and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

In 1989, Schönberg and Boublil produced the London showing of the musical Miss Saigon, which starred Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce. In its transition to Broadway, the show broke advance-ticket sales, earning $24 million before its premiere on 11 April 1991.[2] The show was nominated for ten Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

In 1997 Schönberg and Boublil premiered a new musical,

Olivier Award
and went on to tour the UK and the United States.

2000 to present

In 2001, Schönberg composed his first ballet score, Wuthering Heights. This production was performed by the United Kingdom's Northern Ballet Theatre Company in September 2002.[3]

Schönberg's next project with Boublil was

book and lyrics, and Graciela Daniele
worked on the musical staging.

Following a critical savaging and poor ticket sales, The Pirate Queen closed on 17 June 2007 after 85 performances and 32 previews, resulting in a loss of almost $18 million, ranking it among the largest commercial flops in Broadway history.[citation needed]

Les Misérables celebrated its twentieth anniversary in London on 8 October 2005. The Broadway production closed on 18 May 2003, making it the third-longest-running Broadway musical, following Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Schönberg oversaw the production of Les Misérables that returned to Broadway for an intended six-month engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre on 9 November 2006, although it later extended its run.

Schönberg's

Alexandre Dumas, fils, Marguerite is about the mistress of a high-ranking German officer who attracts the love of a musician half her age.[4]

In 2011, Schönberg created the musical score for the ballet Cleopatra for the Northern Ballet, based in Leeds. Choreography is by the Ballet's artistic director David Nixon. The show toured the UK throughout 2011.

Schönberg was nominated for

Personal life

Schönberg was born in

Vannes, France, to Hungarian Jewish parents.[6] His father was an organ repairer and his mother was a piano tuner.[7] He was formerly married to evening news anchor Béatrice Schönberg
.

Broadway productions

Awards

  • 1987
    Tony Award[9]

Decorations

References

  1. Salon
    . Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. ^ "AmerAsians". Newsun.com. 11 April 1991. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  3. ^ "',Wuthering Heights', Northern Ballet Theatre". Northernballettheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  4. ^ "New Musical From ‘Les Miz’ Team", The New York Times, 10 July 2007
  5. ^ "70th Golden Globe Awards Nominations". Deadline.com. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. ^ Daniel Rosenthal (6 December 1998). "How We Met: Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg - Arts and Entertainment". The Independent. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  7. .
  8. ^ The Broadway League. "The official source for Broadway Information". IBDB. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  9. ^ "Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg". Hem.passagen.se. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Nomination dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres janvier 2016 - Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication" (in French). Culturecommunication.gouv.fr. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.

External links