Today’s Fan-Art is by Esmira. And it’s a depiction of Esmeralda from the book, and it’s gorgeous.
Esmeralda by Esmira
In 2010, I saw the first few episodes of an anime called Blessings of the Campanella (Shukufuku no Campanella). I confess, I watch it mainly because of the word “Campanella” which can mean either a Free Standing Bell Tower like the Tower of Piza or Little Bell. So I was surpise by the Hunchback of Notre Dame reference which many people have overlooked. (Looked though the comments no one mentioned it)
Meet Agnes Boulange.
Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella
Agnes is a street performer who performs more or less in front of a Cathedral that looks identical to Notre Dame de Paris.
Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella
Notre Dame de Paris depicted in Shukufuku no Campanella
As a street performer Agnes makes automatic puppets (automata) dance. She even has a special puppet that can speak and takes money (Djali’s counterpart). This puppet is called Tango and it’s one of the few automata puppets that can speak (spoiler; there are like two).
Agnes with her dancing automata puppets Shukufuku no Campanella
Agnes and Tango Shukufuku no Campanella
Tango, Agnes' speaking automata puppet Shukufuku no Campanella
Now for the sake clarification. Hunchback’s leading lady, Esmerlada, is a street performer who dances for the people outside of Notre Dame de Paris but for those who don’t know her birth name is Agnes. So to have a woman named Agnes performing infront of a building that is clearly Notre Dame de Paris is a clear reference to Victor Hugo’s book. The special peforming “animal” is just a special bonus. Plus like goats, cats are associated with witches, but I think it’s just meant to be a cute animal in the anime.
Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella
19th century Illustration of Esmeralda
I also want to mention that within the context of the anime, the world is a Fantasy which takes place in a city called Ert’Aria and the characters’ name do not follow a cultural scheme. One’s name is English in origins, another Italian. Agnes is the french one.
The anime itself is not very good. It’s a Fantasy-Harem (one male and several females) but if you’re curious or just want to see the reference for yourself you can watch the first episode on youtube with Japanese subtitles. Watch Here
Oddly, it is not available on DVD (at least in the States) however if you’re interested in either the audio CDs or the video game.
Agnes performing with Tango and the dancing automata puppets
This is the sixth part of my review on the music of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Trommeln in der Stadt
Mob Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Trommeln in der Stadt (Drums in the City) is a new song that uses Sanctuary from the original soundtrack. This song opens Act 2 and it expresses what the citizens think of Crazy Frollo’s search for Esmeralda. At first when they though it as just about “cleansing” (creepy word choice huh?) the city of Gypsies that was fine but with the all the soldiers, blockages and fire they’re are none to happy about it.
Like I said this song uses the music from Santuary, which is the music playing when Quasimodo is recusing Esmeralda from the Pyre in the movie, so the music is great. It’s dramatic and has high energy which is a great way to start the the second act. It also great to see how the normal people of Paris react to Frollo’s obsession.
Ein Mann wie du
Quasimodo with the Gargoyles Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Ein Mann wie du (A Man like you) is A Guy like you. It pretty much the same as the original song but it’s less annoying. Instead of making visual gags the Gargoyles throw random French words and phases into the song. Which isn’t as annoying as it sounds.
The song has one other difference Quasimodo sings in it. From what I can understand of the lyrics (because my German is non-existence) is that Quasimodo expresses that he wants to believe the Gargoyles but doesn’t quite. Musically I don’t think it adds much I guess it adds a bit of character development because this musically is a a lot guilty at throwing Quasimodo at the audience but at least he is more interesting here than the Disney movie Quaismodo.
Quasimodo with Antoine, Charles and Loni Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Given that this song in it’s conception is song that provides levity it’s a little awkwardly placed in this musical. As movies have continuous action something was need after Hellfire, the torture of Gypsies, the burning of the house, Phoebus getting shot and falling in the river to bright up the mood and while I don’t like A Guy like you at least the placement makes sense. Ein Mann wie du as a song of levity doesn’t really work. It’s the second song in Act 2 so the audience has had a break and the song prior didn’t have an emotional investment in it as it’s just about the Citizens of Paris. So ultimately and this pains me to say it’s not as successful as A Guy like you, it’s just better performed and not nearly as annoying.
So it’s mixed I don’t hate this song as I hate it’s Disney counterpart but I dislike the song in the musical as it doesn’t work as it’s concept intended. It hard because I like 10x better than the Movie version.
Next Time-
Weil du liebst
Tanz der Zigeuner
Weil du liebst
Quasimodo, Phoebus and the Gargoyles Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
I’ve found a ton of pictures from the Asian Tour Cast but in an effort to keep my sanity I’m going to post them over a series of posts, so Enjoy!
Dennis Ten Vergert as Gringoire Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Ian Carlyle as Clopin Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Candice Parise as Esmeralda Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Stephen Webb as Phoebus and Lily-Jane Young as Fleur de Lys Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Dancer Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Court of Miracles Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Stephen Webb as Phoebus Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Robert Marien as Frollo Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
Matt Laurent as Quasimodo Asian Tour Notre Dame de Paris
I was doing some research at work a few days ago on Russian Animation and I found these pictures (which have nothing to do with Russian Animation.) In fact these pictures are concept art by Rowland B. Wilson. Wilson created production art for Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as The Little Mermaid, Tarzan and Hercules.
Enjoy!
Quasimodo by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Esmeralda and Djali by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Frollo by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Gargoyle by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Rats by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Bats by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Pigeons by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Birds by Rowland B. Wilson Disney the Hunchback of Notre Dame
This Week’s Fan-Art is by TheDutchesse and it’s Gringoire Bruno Pelletier-style ^^! I love the use of color in this piece ^_^
Le Temps de Cathedrales by thedutchesse
Here are some video clips of the Asian Tour Cast of Notre Dame de Paris, Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/2-F0RmfB6gE
and a link with a video
http://news.kbs.co.kr/culture/2012/01/22/2423616.html#
So what do you think of this cast? Tell Me!
This is the fifth part of my review on the music of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Esmeralda
Esmeralda saving Phoebus Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Esmeralda is the closing number of Act 1 so it’s high on drama and plot. This song takes place when Frollo is searching for Esmeralda and Phoebus realizes that he would rather be “good than smart”, (morality over career ambition) and he disobeys Frollo. After he stands up to Frollo, Frollo condemn his to death and Phoebus flees with Esmeralda’s help. Frollo then begins to burn down Paris for Esmeralda while Quasimodo worries.
Musically this song is the melody that Clopin and Esmeralda sing in Tanz auf dem Seil and Draußen. However there are other melodies floating around in this piece and therefore it have more of mash-up feel.
Frollo and Phoebus Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
What I like about this song is that it speaks to the basic plot of Hunchback, three men one women. There is another famous Notre Dame song like this, mmm but it’s name escapes me, what could it be?
Esmeralda Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
All in all Esmeralda is a very dramatic song that ends the first act perfectly with Phoebus falling into a river. Mmm that reminds me of another Hunchback musical where the first act ends with Phoebus getting injured, mmm which one was that?
Click here to watch a video of Esmeralda being performed on Stage
Note – this song made my list of the top Ten Best Hunchback song which was my fist squidoo lens. Click Here to go there now
Next time – Trommeln in der Stadt & Ein Mann wie du
Mob Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
So I thought I would go a little behind the scenes of the Hunchblog and share some of the names that were suggested to me by a friend for the Blog’s title. (I remember these because they are still on my cell phone) Enjoy
– Rollin’ with Frollo
– Frollo’s Draughts
– Frollo’s Promissory
– Frollo’s Fashion
– The Fashions of Notre Dame
– Dernier Cri de Notre Dame
– Huncnback, Allez
– Notre Dame de Cafe
– C’est la Notre Dame
– The Polish of Notre Dame
– Illuminations de Notre Dame
– Hunchback in Flames
– The Circus of Notre Dame
– Hunchback Spotting
– Assemblage of Notre Dame
– Frollo Files
– Blog of Notre Dame
Two Questions!
Which one of these is your favorite and did I make the right decision with The Hunchblog of Notre Dame?
This the fourth part of my review on the music of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Das Licht des Himmels
Drew Sarich as Quasimodo in Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Das Licht des Himmels (Heaven’s Light) is identical to the Disney version. The minor difference is that a used piano during the part where Quasimodo calls Esmeralda an angel. That’s it. It’s still sweet and is a good counter to Quasimodo’s bitterness of his unrequited love.
Das Feuer der Hölle
Norbert Lamla as Frollo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
Here’s a question for all of you, What do like about Hellfire in the original Disney movie? Is it the song itself? Tony Jay’s singing? The Animation? Or the fact that this song about hell and lust was produced under the Mouse? And when those things like the animation, Tony Jay and the Disney movie context are removed is the song still as awesome? I would like to say yes but this version is not my favorite, there is something about the way Norbert Lamla sings it that just devoid of the emotional intensity that Jay gave it. I’m not saying Lamla is a not a good singer because he is. I think he maybe trying to mimic Jay’s performance. Maybe this is number is more amazing on stage than it sung. Though from what I’ve read the stage re-creates the Disney Hellfire sequence. But it just doesn’t compare to the Disney version but it couldn’t have been better in it’s own right.
Next Time – End of Act 1 Esmeralda
Esmeralda saving Phoebus Der Glöckner von Notre Dame