"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the musical Les Misérables.[1] It is sung as a solo by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, orchestrations by John Cameron, and the English lyrics are by Herbert Kretzmer, based on the original French libretto by Alain Boublil.
| "I Dreamed a Dream" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
History
The song as it appeared in the original Paris production from 1980 was titled "J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie", translated as "I dreamed of another life". The first English language production of Les Misérables opened on the West End in London in October 1985, with the role of Fantine portrayed by Patti LuPone.[2] She would later feature the song on her 1993 album Patti LuPone Live![3]
When the musical made its Broadway début in New York City in March 1987, Fantine was played by Randy Graff.[1] Laurie Beechman would perform the role in the original U.S. touring production in 1988 and then on Broadway in 1990. That year she included the song on her album Listen to My Heart.[4] Debra Byrne sang the song on the Complete Symphonic Recording. Ruthie Henshall sang it on the Tenth Anniversary Concert Recording. A Broadway revival in 2006 featured Daphne Rubin-Vega, and later Lea Salonga, in the role.
The show—and the song—has been translated into twenty-one languages, including Japanese, Hebrew, Icelandic, Norwegian, Czech, Polish, Castilian, and Estonian, and there have been 31 cast recordings featuring the song.[5] The London cast version is Triple Platinum in the UK, for sales of more than 900,000, and Platinum in the U.S., for sales of more than one million. The Broadway cast version is Quadruple Platinum in the U.S. (more than four million), where four other versions have also gone Gold.[6]
Cover versions
Numerous popular singers have recorded cover versions of "I Dreamed a Dream". Neil Diamond recorded the song for his 1987 live album Hot August Night 2, and released the song as a single. It peaked at #13 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in November 1987 [7] and at #90 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] Diamond's version features a lyrical alteration at the end of the song; instead of "Now life has killed the dream I dreamed," Diamond sings "But life can't kill the dream I dreamed."[9]
Other male singers who have recorded the song include rock singer David Essex on his 1987 album Centre Stage,[10] Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford on his 1987 album The Phantom Unmasked,[11] LuPone's Evita co-star Mandy Patinkin on his 1994 album Experiment, and British theater star Michael Ball (Marius in the Original London production of Les Miz) on his 2003 album I Dreamed a Dream.
In 1991, Aretha Franklin included a version of the song on her album What You See Is What You Sweat.[12] Although not released as a single, Franklin has performed the song at various venues, including the 1993 inaugural celebration for U.S. President Bill Clinton.[13]
Other female singers who have recorded versions of the song include English singer and stage actress Elaine Paige, from a 1993 performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall which was included on her 1995 album, Encore,[14] original Annie title cast member Andrea McArdle in the 1996 recording On Broadway,[15] New Zealander singer Hayley Westenra and British pop star Petula Clark, each in 2001, Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe in 2005, and Broadway actress Susan Egan in 2008.
Susan Boyle
The song had a resurgence in popularity in 2009 when Scottish amateur singer Susan Boyle performed it live as her audition for the third series of the British reality television programme, Britain's Got Talent. Boyle's performance elicited a unanimous vote for passage into the next round of competition by judges Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell, with Morgan giving Boyle "the biggest yes [he had] ever given" in his three years of judging the show. Elaine Paige, Boyle's role model, later expressed interest in singing a duet with her.[16] The programme received high ratings and Boyle's performance was quickly added to sites such as YouTube, where millions of people viewed it in the first month alone.[17][18] Boyle sang the song again during the finals of Britain's Got Talent on 30 May 2009, where she placed second in the competition behind British dance troupe Diversity.[19]
Shortly after Boyle's audition aired on ITV in April, the Original London Cast Recording of LuPone singing "I Dreamed a Dream" was downloaded to such a degree that the song entered music charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Billboard magazine's Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts for the week of 2 May 2009 had LuPone's 1985 recording at #61 and #20 respectively[20] and LuPone's version reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart on the week of 25 April 2009.[21]
References
- ^ a b Les Misérables ibdb.com. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ "Patti LuPone: Biography" Turner Classic Movies website. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ [1] Patti LuPone Live! Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ [2] Laurie Beechman. Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ [3] Translations and Cast Recordings. LesMis.com
- ^ [4] Gold and Platinum. Riaa.com
- ^ Diamond 1987 version (US) Billboard.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ Diamond 1987 version (UK) Chartstats.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ Neil Diamond lyrics OldieLyrics.com. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ [5] David Essex Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ [6] Michael Crawford Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ What You See Is What You Sweat track listing Discogs.com. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin: Biography" RollingStone.com. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ Encore by Elaine Paige DiscountMusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
- ^ [7] Andrea McArdle. Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2009
- ^ Caroline Davies (19 April 2009). "Reality TV star Susan Boyle set for duet with idol Elaine Paige". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "TV ratings: Britain's Got Talent hits high note" Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
- ^ "Susan Boyle breaks past 100 million online views" Reuters.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ "Dancers beat Boyle in talent show" BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ LuPone 1985 version (US) Billboard.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ LuPone 1985 version (UK) Chartstats.com. Retrieved 26 April 2009.