Kavana in Les Miserables

[maartendas]

via Libera 360 Facebook:

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My, his voice is low... Good performance though (confession time - I've never seen or heard Les Mis before, so I can't compare...)

[labbie]

This song is performed by the character Javert, an officer of the law who is obsessed with tracking down and capturing Jean Valjean, an escaped convict, who is attempting to make a new life for himself. Valjean's original crime, for which he was incarcerated, was the theft of a loaf of bread in order to feed his sister's child, his nephew, who was weak from illness. The original novel, "Les Miserables" (loosely translated as "The Poor" or "The Wretched"), is the story of Valjean's life and the people who touch it and inspire him to live for making things better in his and their lives. He befriends a young woman, Fantine, whose life is in ruins as her fortunes have taken a downward turn. She is dying, and beseeches Valjean to take care of her young daughter, Cosette. Valjean adopts the girl and raises her to young womanhood, providing the necessities of life for her, as he has become a person of influence in the town where they live, even though the citizens are unaware of his past as a convict. He is haunted by his past and the knowledge that someday Javert will find him, which eventually does happen. Javert discovers, however, that recapturing Valjean, to whom he refers as "24601" (prisoner number),may not that simple. He sees what Valjean means to the people around him, and is aware that this convict seems to have the respect of others. Javert however, persists in his belief that his own way is "the way of the Lord", and that the law is not mocked. This song, "Stars", reflects Javert's determination to recapture Valjean and bring him to justice. "Les Miserables" has many characters and tells their stories, and reflects the history of the lower classes in France at the time, notably a revolt by the students, one of whom, Marius, eventually falls in love with Cosette. The musical is really worth seeing and hearing. You should go if you get the chance.
As far as the song itself goes, it is usually performed on stage by well-known musical actors. There were two anniversary concerts issued on DVD, a 10th and a 25th anniversary performance. I have the 10th. Excerpts from the concerts can be found on YouTube, including this song (Stars). In the 10th anniversary concert, Javert is portrayed by Philip Quast, an experienced stage actor. I admire Kavana's undertaking of the song. It is a challenging piece for a 13-year old boy, considering that adults usually play this role. His stage experience with Libera has given him the poise and control necessary to perform it credibly for his age. He should be encouraged to continue to develop as an actor in musicals. A commendable job. Kavana is to be congratulated for his efforts.

[Szepilona]

Wonderful job from Kavana! What's funny is that my sisters' high school just performed Les Mis It's one of my favorite musicals of all time! It's not really fair to compare a 13 year old with a new low voice to an 18 year old high schooler, but Kavana did quite well even compared to the great performance I saw on Saturday.

[Julia]

Kavana did a incredible job with this! Of course, the sound on the camera is not the best, that is to be expected, but one can still tell that Kavana has ajusted beautifully to his new voice. He also seemed relaxed and energized-totally comfortable with the stage Great Job Kavana!!!!

[Yorkie]

Not Les Mis related but somebody Tweeted this link:

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[tom413]

At his goodbye party?
Is that British for graduation party?

[Jamesrepa]

The uploader, Harry Sugden is following Kavana in twitter, and Luke is following him. So I guess that they are all friends, and probably they all goes to the same school.