Notre Dame de Paris (2000 Studio Cast) [Epic]

With the British in a bit of a dry spell in the late 1990s, it's fallen to the French to produce Europe's pop-rock blockbuster musicals. Following in the footsteps of the Boublil-Schönberg spectacles is Notre-Dame de Paris, which opened in its title city in September 1998, toured through France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, and produced two top-selling albums. This take on Victor Hugo's classic novel features music by Richard Cocciante and lyrics by Luc Plamondon (Starmania), translated into English by Will Jennings ("My Heart Will Go On," "Up Where We Belong"), and tells a tragic tale of love and lust among Quasimodo (the raspy-voiced but effective Garou), the gypsy woman Esmeralda (Australian pop singer Tina Arena, whose timbre might remind you of Lea Salonga), the priest Frollo (Canadian Daniel Lavoie), the dashing captain Phoebus (Steve Balsamo), and his fiancée Fleur-de-Lys (Natasha St-Pierre). This talented cast (different from the one that opened in Las Vegas in January 2000) will premiere in London in May 2000 and includes numerous members from the Paris companies. Making a brief appearance is frequent Plamondon collaborator Celine Dion, whose performance of the opening track was included on her greatest hits album. This disc compiles 63 minutes of the show's appealing tunes, most notably "Live for the One I Love," "The Age of the Cathedrals," "Belle (Is the Only Word)," and "My Heart if You Will Swear"--pop-rock with a slight Gallic accent and a nod to such genre landmarks as Jesus Christ Superstar and Chess. Also included are lyrics, a brief synopsis, and color photos. Incidentally, Notre-Dame de Paris might someday find itself in competition with another developing project: Disney's latest screen-to-stage translation, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a less gritty version of the same story line. --David Horiuchi