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lesmisloony CLEARLY it is time for me to educate you people about the pure magic beauty that is... NUNOZART.
I quite literally risked my life by travelling alone from the foreign country I live in to an even more foreign country with the intention of spending the night alone in a train station just to witness this rare phenomenon, and it was a million percent worth it.
I made a plan, in fact, that would allow me to take videos of EVERY INSTANT that Nuno was onstage. Because I knew from youtube that he would do well in Je dors sur des roses and Tatoue-moi and Trublion, but what I really wanted to see was the rest of the show... For instance, hearing the infamous "la force publique" line delivered by someone who knows how to do acting.
Now. I do love Mikelangelo Loconte. In fact, based on his crazy bipolar behaviour and his questionable acting abilities, I'm thinking I even love Mikele far more than he deserves to be loved. I find him amazing and if anything bad ever happened to him--anything at all! Even if he just got a papercut--it would hurt my soul. But I also firmly believe that anyone who says Mikele's acting is good is just blinded by the glitter. My love for him does not cause me to lie about his abilities or to try to talk him up when he doesn't deserve it.
Of course, no one could ever claim that Mozart l'Opéra Rock is about acting. If it was, I'm pretty sure that the main characters wouldn't be surrounded by scantily-clad dancers during all their big emotional songs. And that's why Mikele makes a perfectly acceptable Mozart. His crazy pouncing and glassy-eyed gesturing make the character really memorable and really kind of power the heart of the show, it's true. But those things are MIKELE things, not Mozart things. What you see onstage is usually what you get at the stage door. We can compare him to oh I don't know how about Florent Mothe: Salieri is stiff, haughty, and reserved. Florent Mothe is shy, sweet, and kind. They are not the same person because Florent Mothe knows how to do acting.
Okay, I think that was a sufficient disclaimer. Let's carry on to the actual review and... the videos!!
Now, I started out in my own seat. It was on the very left-est edge of the floor, next to this really sweet little girl in a wheelchair who was singing along with every song (much to the chagrin of her mother). One thing I love about going to the tournées is you see and meet fans who adore the show as much as anyone but never got a chance to see it in Paris. All the regulars like good ol' Stagedoor Mélanie are back at home, and it's all these super-enthusiastic people who just can't believe that their favourite thing came to THEM. There's great energy in the room.
Anyway, there was an obscenely tall man sitting a few rows in front of me. I knew he was to become mine enemy.
In order to see over the tall man's head I had to hold my camera up in the air a ways, resulting in irritating shakiness. I AM SO SORRY INTERNET. I tried so hard.
Nunozart - Pour vous servir!
Oh, and how did I forget to mention... NUNONYTAIL. I was so surprised and delighted by it. I also liked that that meant Mozart and Salieri were wearing matching hair ribbons in act two.
I think Mikele's performance had gotten stale for me because he always seems to deliver some lines the exact same way. I could compare it to Flo again--take "Paraît-il", for example. Sometimes he says it kind of lightly and snidely, but sometimes (the BEST times) he says it in this low, dark, evil voice that makes me feel all fluttery. Flo's line delivery is flexible based on the way he's playing the character from night to night, whereas Mikele seems to fall into these sing-song rythms and doesn't quite convince me anymore. Maybe it's because French isn't his native language and some of the lines are hard to remember, or maybe it's just his accent, but either way it's nice to see a different take on the lines in order to shake them up a little bit.
Nunozart - Trublion
Okay, I LOVE the way Nuno slaps his butt when he says "assises". Inspired. He's not the same kind of sassy as Mikelangelo Impertinente Loconte, but he finds his own Nuno-y way to be awesome.
(Also, can I hear a little love for Patrice being a pissy drunk man in this scene?)
OOH ANOTHER THING. On "les cannons de la justice" Nuno hits that low note at the end. Mikele always kind of breathe-whispers that part. I never noticed anything about it until JUST NOW but it seems like... like Mikele maybe can't quite hit that note! What do you think? Am I making this up?
It's interesting that Nuno kisses the girl's hand at that point rather than making out with her, by the way. It's like Mikele plays Mozart as a slut and Nuno plays him as a charmer, haha.
Oh man and then the way he sings "VOOOOS droits chem-in-in-ins" is fantastic.
One thing I like less about Nuno than Mikele: his spindly little dancer legs. Mikele looks better in the black trouser/black stocking combo. :)
Nunozart - Bim bam boum
Bah, for this to be a decent video I'd have needed a better seat. Every time one of those fools in front of me moved my dumb camera tried to focus on their hair instead of the stage. Watching this video, though, I actually got really distracted by how cool the dancers look in this song. I just had one of those MOR love epiphanies, like... MAN this show is outstanding.
Nunozart - La Princesse d'Orange
OH MY FLO I love every decision Nuno makes at the beginning of this clip. Just hearing those lines be delivered like phrases that actually mean something rather than whatever it is Mikele does here is beautiful. Especially the, "Mais je t'eCOUTE, maMAN" that Mikele usually does. And Nuno being happy on a human level rather than Mikele's bouncing and going "Hoohoo!" I never realised that Mikele's version of this scene bothered me until Sunday. And omg yes the way Nuno stammers on "rejeté"! It's like he actually just received bad news and not like he needs to say the word "rejeté" now.
And Laurie is SO CUTE in the Princesse d'Orange scene. I noticed in in Bruxelles, too. She makes the sweetest faces and I love the little squeal here when that guy messes with her. And the fact that she sneezed all squeakily at one point. Too cute.
Anyway, I had spotted an empty seat several rows up, right next to that guy with the giant head, so during Six pieds sous terre I grabbed my bag and made a run for it. It didn't move me a whole lot closer, but at least that giant-headed guy was now next to me instead of in front of me.
Nunozart - J'accuse mon père
Once again, it's nice to see someone who seems to be trying to interpret the silly blocking here rather than just jerkily carrying it out. The two things Mikele does in this song that bother me are the robot-y move toward Aloysia (I have a clear video of it in my Lille review AND you hear me laugh out loud when he does it) and the thing where the clown throws his arms out and Mikele lowers them verrrry slowwwly. From what we see happen in this video, those are directions Mikele was given because Nuno does them too, but Nuno tries to make them a little more realistic whereas Mikele just makes them... Mikele-y.
I LOVE that Nuno seems terrified of the clown. With Mikele you aren't sure he can even see him, but with Nuno he's like OH GOD NO and then goes all ragdoll. Epic. I also love his expression when Aloysia pulls him into that big hug and he clutches the letter like WHYYY DAD COME ON THIS CHICK IS HUGGING ME WHY I GOTTA LEAVE.
Of course, then at the beginning of Tatoue-moi some woman showed up and asked me what number my seat was. The seats were basically metal folding chairs and the numbers were stuck onto the backs with stickers, so I had to scoot forward so she could see. I was afraid she was going to tell me to leave, but actually she just legit couldn't find her own seat. Phew.
Still, she ruined the beginning of Tatoue-moi, which is basically one of Mozart's most important moments. THANKS A LOT LADY.
Nunozart - Tatoue-moi
As always, since Nunozart is more of a charmer than a slut (I don't mean that to sound as derogatory toward Mikele's Mozart as it probably does... I don't MIND Mozart as a slut!) he does this song all wide-eyed and presh. And I am IN LOVE with the way he says "vile arrogance" and "taquiner leur conscience". I also love him spinning at "Je serai frivole". He's all care-free and excited and it's just SO SWEET.
Okay also. During the second refrain there's a bit where the dancers are in a group at the front of the stage and they all kind of leeeean and then POP over to Mozart. With Mikele, he usually just sort of saunters backwards, but with Nuno, for the first time I saw that as a SYMBOL of the Parisian public, like, rejecting Mozart and trying to scare him away? I don't know, it's hard to explain, but I'm just saying it meant something to me this time. Especially when Nuno then tries to go back over to the group and they just ignore him and he gets pushed away again. And then that one woman slowly extends her parasol and it's a weirdly touching moment, but then they all run off and leave Nuno alone.
I ALSO LOVE that during the bridge, the "Laisse-moi tomber dans tes bras" part, Nuno is running around trying to get peoples' attention. Mikele always just mimes holding a lady in his arms there.
And other than being able to act, my favourite favourite favourite thing about Nuno as Mozart is when he just goes off on riffs like he did at the end there. GET IT GURL.
I worry about how much I'm ragging on Mikele here. You guys remember my disclaimer, right? I love Mikele. But it was my eleventh time seeing the show (and numbers don't exist to express how many times I've seen the DVD after I made those subtitles) so the new-no element really came as a breath of fresh air.
Anyway, the number one thing Mikele does ever that I HATE HATE HATE is when he's trying to be all ACTING! but all he does is BREATHE SO HEAVILY. You know what I mean. During his mother's death scene and during his own death scene especially. It INFURIATES me. And listen to this death scene here! The only desperate gasping is from the mother as she dies! Also, his MAMANNNNNN scream is so heart-wrenching. I have never been very convinced by Mikele's version of this death scene... sometimes it kinda makes me laugh a little.
And during La Mascarade I can't help but notice that Nuno doesn't do that random flaily arm thing Mikele always does. Maybe he forgot... or maybe it's a thing Mikele made up. Hm.
Alright, and at the beginning of THIS video that man with the giant head needed to stand up for some reason so I stood up to let him past aaaand blurry resulted. GAH PEOPLE JUST HOLD STILL INTERMISSION IS IN LIKE SIX MINUTES.
Nunozart - Aloysiaaaa
HOW GOOD IS MÉLISSA IN THIS SCENE NOW? I don't really dig her performance here on the DVD, but I just LOVE what she does this year! I love when she shoves Nuno and he goes flying across the stage and she looks so surprised!
FLOMG I also love the crazy way Jonathan Kerr busts through that curtain as Joseph Lange. He's like BACK AWAYYYYYY FROM THE WOMAN IF YOU PLEASE. It works so well.
AND HERE IT IS. The moment you were all waiting for.
Nunozart - Je dors sur des roses
IF ONLY I HAD BEEN CLOSER. I think I might have cried, though. It was really emotional in there. GAH as a human I really like Tamara in spite of how much I want to push her off a cliff--she was always SO SWEET at the PDS with fans and that time Pushy Fan refused to take a decent picture of us she was adorrrrable--but when Nuno is Mozart her arrival distracts and annoys me.
AND THEN THE RIFFS. YESSSS NUNOZART YES. I LOVVVVVVVVVE the way he does the oh's at the end. In fact, while I was typing the word "love" I scrunched up my face and just BANGED out all those v's in an effort to express the FORCE of my emotion.
ALSOOO. When Nuno fell, he actually looked like he might have died. That time I was in the fourth row at the PDS and Mikele fell... he just sort of blinked blankly up at the sky until the curtains closed. Hmmm.
INTERMISSION!
At this point I jumped to my feet and went to the front of the room so I could hunt for an empty seat somewhere closer. I saw one empty seat that was RIGHT ON THE AISLE. Right on the Victime de ma victoire aisle. RIGHT WHERE I COULD GET MY LONGED-FOR HIGH FIVE. And guess who happened to be sitting right behind that seat! The Bruxelles fans I'd been hanging with before the show. I ran up and asked, and they said there was no one in the seat.
ONE EMPTY SEAT AND IT WAS RIGHT ON THE AISLE EXACTLY WHERE I WANTED. I didn't count how close it was to the stage, but I think my videos will prove that is was REALLY CLOSE and REALLY AWESOME. I love how things just seem to work out for me on these Mozart trips even though really the karma of lying to my parents and spending all my food money on watching the same musical over and over should probably be biting me in the butt... obviously the good Lord approves of what I'm doing with my time and resources.
Anyway, so I plopped into my aisle seat and chatted with the Bruxelles fans. They were more worked up about the fact that Mikele had been in the audience than they were about the show itself. Since his presence had caused quite a fuss before the show, he had apparently somehow managed to slip out before Je dors sur des roses in order to avoid making a scene all through intermission. Apparently the absence of Mikele had something to do with my empty seat, because I was on the very same row he had previously been inhabiting? I didn't really understand what they were telling me.
And then act two!
Aaaand just as the show started some lady came up to me and asked if anyone was sitting next to me. I said I didn't know, so she elected to SQUAT IN THE AISLE next to the woman who was sitting in front of me. And they started talking. DURING THE SHOW. Also talking during the show? The Bruxelles fans who were sitting right behind me. Oyyyy.
Nunozart - Comédie je passe
Yeah, at the beginning I hear me saying "Je sais pas... y'a des manteaux?"
Then when Nuno gets closer to Solal (Une chance? Une chance?) you see that woman's head, crouching in the aisle. What really?
I also had a heck of a time getting around that giant head in front of me. I didn't want my glowy camera to annoy the Bruxelles fans behind me... later on when I realised they were going to talk through the whole show I got less worried about that.
ALSO ALL HAIL THE RETURN OF PATRICE MAKTAV AS THE GUY IN THE BIG WIG AT THE END OF COMÉDIE-TRAGÉDIE! Usually it's Jonathan Kerr now, but it's Patrice on the DVD.
Two things: Matthias's face when Nuno quits is HILARIOUS. Also, I'm not a hundred percent crazy about the fact that Nuno says Je suis libre ten hundred thousand times, but I appreciate how happy he's being. At this point Mikele is usually just being FIERCE whereas here you can really see more relief than anything else. I like that aspect of it.
HIS SHRIEK BEFORE THE SECOND REFRAIN. I LOVE NUNO'S RIFFS MORE THAN HIS ACTING I THINK. You hear me go "Oooh!" on the video.
And then Flo arrived. I am a little depressed I couldn't video his actions, because like I mentioned in my other Bruxelles entry he was really on that night. He was reacting cutely to everything Jonathan Kerr (en Stephanie) and Yamin said and I really enjoyed watching him. More than usual, that is. Imagine if Mikele remembered to react to things other people onstage did and said... he would be fun to watch too.
Yamin said "Elle a fini"... maybe it was Barbra Streisand or something? It wasn't La Castrafiore or Lady GaGa, so idk. And he didn't sing the little Bad Romance bit.
For the first time I tore my eyes off of how much I love Diane and watched Marjolaine and Laurie during Si je défaille. It's true, they were very cute! I don't actually remember any specifics, though, except that Marjo ended up with a blanket over her head, and I only remember that much because I caught it on video.
But I also noticed that Diane had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. I, uh, saw more Diane than I really needed to, basically. I hope no one else noticed. I wonder if she's losing weight or something? She needs to stop it, if she is, because she's absolutely beautiful right now and if she became a little Claire-ish wraith I would be so disappointed.
Nunozart - Nous allons prendre soin de vous
Actually I think Mikele usually handles this scene just fine, too. But I like the look on Nuno's face when Cécilia tells him about Aloysia being pregnant. And I like the way Nuno looks down when Diane takes his hand.
Nunozart - Répétitions
WELL I missed the beginning of this scene wherein Yamin had to pull off all his Mozzarella stuff with NO STEPHANIE because I guess Jonathan Kerr got lost on his way to the stage. He just kind of absently said it to himself and then seemed to reconsider and kind of geared it toward Salieri. It was a little bumpy, but only because I'm way too familiar with how it's supposed to be. I'm guessing the first-timers didn't notice a thing. When Stephanie does show up I muttered "Ohhh le voilà!" because I'd been speaking French all day and I was starting to get confused.
I like the way Nuno looks down his nose at Yamin during the "Trop de notes!" bit. It's great because he's Nuno, so I expect him to react like Stephanie and be all "Huhhh?" but he was playing Mozart, you see, and that isn't a Mozart reaction. Acting!
Bahhh is it just me or does Nuno do a teeny Italian accent when he says "Maestro Salieri"? OMG BECAUSE SALIERI IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ITALIAN ONE. You guys things like that could make this show even more legit than it already is.
MIKELE IS BETTER AT THAT AMADEUS BOW. There you go, Mikele, I still love you. Because Mikele stomps his foot when he does it to call attention to it, and his little over-the-shoulder smirk is really cute. I think Nuno might be too mature to convincingly pull it off the way Mikele does, maybe.
AND THEN. LE BIEN QUI FAIT MAL. Flo made so many sex faces and was doing his sexy growl-y voice so much and I was just like BWUHHHHHHHHHH and got so totally caught up in it that 1. I might now be pregnant and 2. I forgot to start taping again afterward and missed "Eh bien, Maestro?" which is a shame because the way Nuno said it was strikingly different than Mikele but I completely don't remember in what way.
Nunozart - Promesse de mariage
And so you know why you hear me exhale like that at the beginning of this video. Hahaha just. Just believe me. It was SO HOT and I really wish I could have taped it and shared because... YEEOOOWWWwwwWWWWwww.
Nuno didn't quite pull off the Maman-Madame joke, but whatevs. I like that he spins around when she slaps him. Also he asked "Mais qui êtes vous, m'sieur?" in a way that implied that it was a QUESTION and not an outraged... line delivery! Go Nuno go.
Actually I think this is overall the clearest example of Nuno doing ACTING in this role. I like it a lot.
Nunozart - Les Solos sous les draps
NUNO OH NUNO. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
I WILL JUST HAVE TO MAKE A LIST.
1. When she asks if he recognises the document and he points at it like Heyyy that thing!
2. THE PROPOSAL flomg so good. HE IS SO DANG PROUD of her for ripping that thing up and so happy to ask her to marry him and she is so excited to say yes and THEY ARE SO SWEET TOGETHER LOOK AT THEM.
3. HIS GIANT SMILE after they kiss.
4. He pitched that Promesse de mariage out into the audience and a dude a few rows in front of me jumped up and caught it like a foul ball.
5. THE WHOLE REST OF THE SCENE.
Seriously, Nunozart is SO EXCITED to get married. He's like YEAHHH PUT THAT WHITE VEST ON ME and GO ON MERWAN BRUSH MY NUNONYTAIL whereas Mikele spends the whole scene being all pissy and disgruntled. Once again, I never knew Mikele was doing it wrong until Sunday.
DEAR NUNO PLEASE TEACH MIKELE TO DO THIS SCENE THIS WAY.
I take back what I said a few minutes ago. THIS is my favourite example of why Nunozart > the Mikele kind.
And of course, it is against fan law to not video the next scene.
Nunozart - Rosenbeeerg
When will I stop laughing at the same same jokes? That was a cute one from Flo (yep, that was me going D'awwwww in the video) but I don't know if anything will ever be as epic as the one I saw in Lille. Unless I someday see it get super adlibby again.
ONCE AGAIN FLO'S FACE WHEN YAMIN SAYS Et je coupe le son = adorrrrable. He was really doing fantastic that day.
AND NOW. IT IS. DA PONTE TIME.
Nunozart - Da Ponte
OH INFINITE FLOLZ I sang "Da Ponteee!" at the beginning. What can I say. I get pumped.
Did you hear my tiny noise of despair when "J'ai mieux" was not preceeded by "POOF"?
ALSO ALSO.
THESE TWO. Made me want to ship Mozart/Da Ponte in a SERIOUS way. Like a burningly serious way. Like I have been constructing fic for it in my head. I love that Nuno grabs at him and Maktav goes "Vous êtes fou!"
Usually when I see this scene with Mikele I get the idea that he's trying so hard to deliver his lines properly that he forgets to, like, pay attention to the scene. But with Nuno, who has a much better grasp of French, there was room for acting AND ADLIBBING! And chemistry!
A LOT OF CHEMISTRY. Just you wait. These two. I can't even.
Nunozart - Glitter coat
BWUHHHH FLO'S VOICE IT IS SO LOW AND AMAZING
I mean... Nuno! He delivers lines differently than Mikele. And I like it.
OKAY AND THEN WAS L'ASSASYMPHONIE which was also fantastic but you know.
I already mentioned this once but I'm going to tell it again. FLO LAUGHED AT ME DURING THIS SONG.
I mean, I've since considered it from his point of view and I've decided to construct an artistic representation of what happened.
When Flo looks out over the audience and says "Et pourtant... sa musique... est sublime!" THIS is what he usually sees:
But that day I was there and I was REALLY REALLY EXCITED that he was about to sing the best song and I was sitting close and I love him and stuff, so that day when Flo looked out at the audience, what he actually saw was this:
And that is why, after we made eye contact and then Flo had to start singing, he was trying not to grin when he said "Cette nuit". Of course, once he got over my stupid face he really threw himself into the song and it was amazing. I was quite literally staring open-mouthed.
Florent Mothe is a talented, talented man.
I already mentioned it in my other Bruxelles entry, but he was tearing at his hair and jacket and flopping all over the stage and it was SO GOOD. This song is SO GOOD. If the other stick figures in the audience had known how good it was going to be they would have been making stupid faces too.
Nunozart - Don Juan
Oh how I love this scene's existence. I love that Da Ponte and Mozart are on a first-name basis at this point. I love that I am pretty convinced they are in love thanks to Nuno.
OH FLOL in the video when Nuno grabs Maktav's hand I go "I ship it." I SURE DO.
Hahaha "They're in love."
WELL THEY ARE.
Nunozart - L'inconnu
ACTING ACTING EVERYBODY ACTING.
I really love all the eerie noises in this scene. That's right, add sound design to the ever-growing list of random aspects of this show with which I am obsessed.
I also love the way Da Ponte doesn't know what to do to comfort Mozart, so he just kind of takes off.
AND HERE IT IS.
Nunozart - Victime de ma victoire
OH YES.
LE NORD VAUT MIEUX QUE ST-TROPEZ.
PRINCE INCONGRU BOOGIE
HE PUNCHED OFF THAT GIRL'S WIG AND SHE HAD TO GO BACKSTAGE TO GET IT REAFFIXED
ALL THE OTHER GIRLS FIGHTING WITH FLO WHILE HE TRIES TO SMACK THEIR WIGS
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
MY HIGH FIVE
AND THEN TWO OF THE DANCERS HIGH FIVED ME
AND THEN FLO PIRHOUETTED
SERIOUSLY I WOULD TAKE THE TRAIN TO BRUXELLES JUST TO SEE THIS SONG PERFORMED AND NOTHING ELSE
IT WOULD BE WORTH IT
I was so worked up over my high five that my hands were shaking pretty badly at the beginning of the next video.
Nunozart - Vivre à en crever
Is Süssmayr a girl? It looks just like the girl who played Rosenberg in Mozart Est Là. Honestly? They don't have enough dancers and stuff to have a guy play Süssmayr when Nuno is Mozart? At the PDS it was Bravo Mozart Guy, which is amazing.
ALSO GOD BLESS NUNO RESENDE for not doing that stupid pant-y breathing during this death scene. And even more for not going "AAAH!" after "pour tout immoler" because that annoys the crap out of me. When Nuno riffs, he does it because it's a good moment in the song for some emotion to be expressed. When Mikele riffs, it seems like he just does it because he likes the sound of his voice.
NUNO'S HARMONY NUNO'S HARMONY NUNO'S HARMONY OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS
So basically, Nuno is amazing.
Here's curtain call!
Nunozart - Curtain call
FLO WAS SO WIRED. There's a bit where you hear me laugh because he had just stuck out his tongue and made a face for some fan's camera. Unfortunately I managed to not have his head in the shot at that moment. Plus he was making up his own harmony during his "woahhhh" part of C'est bientôt la fin while everyone else says "Encore encore encore encore..." and it was great. He was jumping and being really stoked. Maybe because he loves Nuno. Maybe because he loves me. Maybe because he was excited to get out of Bruxelles. I pick the second one. :D
And then I thought I was done taking videos, but these fans passed up some giant flowers and Merwan put one on his head. And during the "pleurent les violons de ma vie" bit Nuno was standing a little bit too far away from Flo, so Flo looked over his shoulder like wtf? and then looked pointedly at the spot where Nuno was supposed to be standing. That was when my camera ran out of memory space and cut out, but what you miss is that Nuno obeyed by backing obediently into Flo. And then when they came back to the front of the stage Flo was playing the guitar, singing, AND jumping up and down. What a multi-tasker.
You also see someone trying to give Flo that cardboard cutout of himself by balancing it on his guitar and Flo being like GET THAT THING OFF ME. As you may recall from my previous entry, for some reason Laurie ended up with it and played with it all the way home on the train.
And when I saw them again in the metro, Merwan was still holding one of those giant flowers.
This cast is so cute. I love them all.
And yes, I promise I do love Mikele.
I quite literally risked my life by travelling alone from the foreign country I live in to an even more foreign country with the intention of spending the night alone in a train station just to witness this rare phenomenon, and it was a million percent worth it.
I made a plan, in fact, that would allow me to take videos of EVERY INSTANT that Nuno was onstage. Because I knew from youtube that he would do well in Je dors sur des roses and Tatoue-moi and Trublion, but what I really wanted to see was the rest of the show... For instance, hearing the infamous "la force publique" line delivered by someone who knows how to do acting.
Now. I do love Mikelangelo Loconte. In fact, based on his crazy bipolar behaviour and his questionable acting abilities, I'm thinking I even love Mikele far more than he deserves to be loved. I find him amazing and if anything bad ever happened to him--anything at all! Even if he just got a papercut--it would hurt my soul. But I also firmly believe that anyone who says Mikele's acting is good is just blinded by the glitter. My love for him does not cause me to lie about his abilities or to try to talk him up when he doesn't deserve it.
Of course, no one could ever claim that Mozart l'Opéra Rock is about acting. If it was, I'm pretty sure that the main characters wouldn't be surrounded by scantily-clad dancers during all their big emotional songs. And that's why Mikele makes a perfectly acceptable Mozart. His crazy pouncing and glassy-eyed gesturing make the character really memorable and really kind of power the heart of the show, it's true. But those things are MIKELE things, not Mozart things. What you see onstage is usually what you get at the stage door. We can compare him to oh I don't know how about Florent Mothe: Salieri is stiff, haughty, and reserved. Florent Mothe is shy, sweet, and kind. They are not the same person because Florent Mothe knows how to do acting.
Okay, I think that was a sufficient disclaimer. Let's carry on to the actual review and... the videos!!
Now, I started out in my own seat. It was on the very left-est edge of the floor, next to this really sweet little girl in a wheelchair who was singing along with every song (much to the chagrin of her mother). One thing I love about going to the tournées is you see and meet fans who adore the show as much as anyone but never got a chance to see it in Paris. All the regulars like good ol' Stagedoor Mélanie are back at home, and it's all these super-enthusiastic people who just can't believe that their favourite thing came to THEM. There's great energy in the room.
Anyway, there was an obscenely tall man sitting a few rows in front of me. I knew he was to become mine enemy.
In order to see over the tall man's head I had to hold my camera up in the air a ways, resulting in irritating shakiness. I AM SO SORRY INTERNET. I tried so hard.
Nunozart - Pour vous servir!
Oh, and how did I forget to mention... NUNONYTAIL. I was so surprised and delighted by it. I also liked that that meant Mozart and Salieri were wearing matching hair ribbons in act two.
I think Mikele's performance had gotten stale for me because he always seems to deliver some lines the exact same way. I could compare it to Flo again--take "Paraît-il", for example. Sometimes he says it kind of lightly and snidely, but sometimes (the BEST times) he says it in this low, dark, evil voice that makes me feel all fluttery. Flo's line delivery is flexible based on the way he's playing the character from night to night, whereas Mikele seems to fall into these sing-song rythms and doesn't quite convince me anymore. Maybe it's because French isn't his native language and some of the lines are hard to remember, or maybe it's just his accent, but either way it's nice to see a different take on the lines in order to shake them up a little bit.
Nunozart - Trublion
Okay, I LOVE the way Nuno slaps his butt when he says "assises". Inspired. He's not the same kind of sassy as Mikelangelo Impertinente Loconte, but he finds his own Nuno-y way to be awesome.
(Also, can I hear a little love for Patrice being a pissy drunk man in this scene?)
OOH ANOTHER THING. On "les cannons de la justice" Nuno hits that low note at the end. Mikele always kind of breathe-whispers that part. I never noticed anything about it until JUST NOW but it seems like... like Mikele maybe can't quite hit that note! What do you think? Am I making this up?
It's interesting that Nuno kisses the girl's hand at that point rather than making out with her, by the way. It's like Mikele plays Mozart as a slut and Nuno plays him as a charmer, haha.
Oh man and then the way he sings "VOOOOS droits chem-in-in-ins" is fantastic.
One thing I like less about Nuno than Mikele: his spindly little dancer legs. Mikele looks better in the black trouser/black stocking combo. :)
Nunozart - Bim bam boum
Bah, for this to be a decent video I'd have needed a better seat. Every time one of those fools in front of me moved my dumb camera tried to focus on their hair instead of the stage. Watching this video, though, I actually got really distracted by how cool the dancers look in this song. I just had one of those MOR love epiphanies, like... MAN this show is outstanding.
Nunozart - La Princesse d'Orange
OH MY FLO I love every decision Nuno makes at the beginning of this clip. Just hearing those lines be delivered like phrases that actually mean something rather than whatever it is Mikele does here is beautiful. Especially the, "Mais je t'eCOUTE, maMAN" that Mikele usually does. And Nuno being happy on a human level rather than Mikele's bouncing and going "Hoohoo!" I never realised that Mikele's version of this scene bothered me until Sunday. And omg yes the way Nuno stammers on "rejeté"! It's like he actually just received bad news and not like he needs to say the word "rejeté" now.
And Laurie is SO CUTE in the Princesse d'Orange scene. I noticed in in Bruxelles, too. She makes the sweetest faces and I love the little squeal here when that guy messes with her. And the fact that she sneezed all squeakily at one point. Too cute.
Anyway, I had spotted an empty seat several rows up, right next to that guy with the giant head, so during Six pieds sous terre I grabbed my bag and made a run for it. It didn't move me a whole lot closer, but at least that giant-headed guy was now next to me instead of in front of me.
Nunozart - J'accuse mon père
Once again, it's nice to see someone who seems to be trying to interpret the silly blocking here rather than just jerkily carrying it out. The two things Mikele does in this song that bother me are the robot-y move toward Aloysia (I have a clear video of it in my Lille review AND you hear me laugh out loud when he does it) and the thing where the clown throws his arms out and Mikele lowers them verrrry slowwwly. From what we see happen in this video, those are directions Mikele was given because Nuno does them too, but Nuno tries to make them a little more realistic whereas Mikele just makes them... Mikele-y.
I LOVE that Nuno seems terrified of the clown. With Mikele you aren't sure he can even see him, but with Nuno he's like OH GOD NO and then goes all ragdoll. Epic. I also love his expression when Aloysia pulls him into that big hug and he clutches the letter like WHYYY DAD COME ON THIS CHICK IS HUGGING ME WHY I GOTTA LEAVE.
Of course, then at the beginning of Tatoue-moi some woman showed up and asked me what number my seat was. The seats were basically metal folding chairs and the numbers were stuck onto the backs with stickers, so I had to scoot forward so she could see. I was afraid she was going to tell me to leave, but actually she just legit couldn't find her own seat. Phew.
Still, she ruined the beginning of Tatoue-moi, which is basically one of Mozart's most important moments. THANKS A LOT LADY.
Nunozart - Tatoue-moi
As always, since Nunozart is more of a charmer than a slut (I don't mean that to sound as derogatory toward Mikele's Mozart as it probably does... I don't MIND Mozart as a slut!) he does this song all wide-eyed and presh. And I am IN LOVE with the way he says "vile arrogance" and "taquiner leur conscience". I also love him spinning at "Je serai frivole". He's all care-free and excited and it's just SO SWEET.
Okay also. During the second refrain there's a bit where the dancers are in a group at the front of the stage and they all kind of leeeean and then POP over to Mozart. With Mikele, he usually just sort of saunters backwards, but with Nuno, for the first time I saw that as a SYMBOL of the Parisian public, like, rejecting Mozart and trying to scare him away? I don't know, it's hard to explain, but I'm just saying it meant something to me this time. Especially when Nuno then tries to go back over to the group and they just ignore him and he gets pushed away again. And then that one woman slowly extends her parasol and it's a weirdly touching moment, but then they all run off and leave Nuno alone.
I ALSO LOVE that during the bridge, the "Laisse-moi tomber dans tes bras" part, Nuno is running around trying to get peoples' attention. Mikele always just mimes holding a lady in his arms there.
And other than being able to act, my favourite favourite favourite thing about Nuno as Mozart is when he just goes off on riffs like he did at the end there. GET IT GURL.
I worry about how much I'm ragging on Mikele here. You guys remember my disclaimer, right? I love Mikele. But it was my eleventh time seeing the show (and numbers don't exist to express how many times I've seen the DVD after I made those subtitles) so the new-no element really came as a breath of fresh air.
Anyway, the number one thing Mikele does ever that I HATE HATE HATE is when he's trying to be all ACTING! but all he does is BREATHE SO HEAVILY. You know what I mean. During his mother's death scene and during his own death scene especially. It INFURIATES me. And listen to this death scene here! The only desperate gasping is from the mother as she dies! Also, his MAMANNNNNN scream is so heart-wrenching. I have never been very convinced by Mikele's version of this death scene... sometimes it kinda makes me laugh a little.
And during La Mascarade I can't help but notice that Nuno doesn't do that random flaily arm thing Mikele always does. Maybe he forgot... or maybe it's a thing Mikele made up. Hm.
Alright, and at the beginning of THIS video that man with the giant head needed to stand up for some reason so I stood up to let him past aaaand blurry resulted. GAH PEOPLE JUST HOLD STILL INTERMISSION IS IN LIKE SIX MINUTES.
Nunozart - Aloysiaaaa
HOW GOOD IS MÉLISSA IN THIS SCENE NOW? I don't really dig her performance here on the DVD, but I just LOVE what she does this year! I love when she shoves Nuno and he goes flying across the stage and she looks so surprised!
FLOMG I also love the crazy way Jonathan Kerr busts through that curtain as Joseph Lange. He's like BACK AWAYYYYYY FROM THE WOMAN IF YOU PLEASE. It works so well.
AND HERE IT IS. The moment you were all waiting for.
Nunozart - Je dors sur des roses
IF ONLY I HAD BEEN CLOSER. I think I might have cried, though. It was really emotional in there. GAH as a human I really like Tamara in spite of how much I want to push her off a cliff--she was always SO SWEET at the PDS with fans and that time Pushy Fan refused to take a decent picture of us she was adorrrrable--but when Nuno is Mozart her arrival distracts and annoys me.
AND THEN THE RIFFS. YESSSS NUNOZART YES. I LOVVVVVVVVVE the way he does the oh's at the end. In fact, while I was typing the word "love" I scrunched up my face and just BANGED out all those v's in an effort to express the FORCE of my emotion.
ALSOOO. When Nuno fell, he actually looked like he might have died. That time I was in the fourth row at the PDS and Mikele fell... he just sort of blinked blankly up at the sky until the curtains closed. Hmmm.
INTERMISSION!
At this point I jumped to my feet and went to the front of the room so I could hunt for an empty seat somewhere closer. I saw one empty seat that was RIGHT ON THE AISLE. Right on the Victime de ma victoire aisle. RIGHT WHERE I COULD GET MY LONGED-FOR HIGH FIVE. And guess who happened to be sitting right behind that seat! The Bruxelles fans I'd been hanging with before the show. I ran up and asked, and they said there was no one in the seat.
ONE EMPTY SEAT AND IT WAS RIGHT ON THE AISLE EXACTLY WHERE I WANTED. I didn't count how close it was to the stage, but I think my videos will prove that is was REALLY CLOSE and REALLY AWESOME. I love how things just seem to work out for me on these Mozart trips even though really the karma of lying to my parents and spending all my food money on watching the same musical over and over should probably be biting me in the butt... obviously the good Lord approves of what I'm doing with my time and resources.
Anyway, so I plopped into my aisle seat and chatted with the Bruxelles fans. They were more worked up about the fact that Mikele had been in the audience than they were about the show itself. Since his presence had caused quite a fuss before the show, he had apparently somehow managed to slip out before Je dors sur des roses in order to avoid making a scene all through intermission. Apparently the absence of Mikele had something to do with my empty seat, because I was on the very same row he had previously been inhabiting? I didn't really understand what they were telling me.
And then act two!
Aaaand just as the show started some lady came up to me and asked if anyone was sitting next to me. I said I didn't know, so she elected to SQUAT IN THE AISLE next to the woman who was sitting in front of me. And they started talking. DURING THE SHOW. Also talking during the show? The Bruxelles fans who were sitting right behind me. Oyyyy.
Nunozart - Comédie je passe
Yeah, at the beginning I hear me saying "Je sais pas... y'a des manteaux?"
Then when Nuno gets closer to Solal (Une chance? Une chance?) you see that woman's head, crouching in the aisle. What really?
I also had a heck of a time getting around that giant head in front of me. I didn't want my glowy camera to annoy the Bruxelles fans behind me... later on when I realised they were going to talk through the whole show I got less worried about that.
ALSO ALL HAIL THE RETURN OF PATRICE MAKTAV AS THE GUY IN THE BIG WIG AT THE END OF COMÉDIE-TRAGÉDIE! Usually it's Jonathan Kerr now, but it's Patrice on the DVD.
Two things: Matthias's face when Nuno quits is HILARIOUS. Also, I'm not a hundred percent crazy about the fact that Nuno says Je suis libre ten hundred thousand times, but I appreciate how happy he's being. At this point Mikele is usually just being FIERCE whereas here you can really see more relief than anything else. I like that aspect of it.
HIS SHRIEK BEFORE THE SECOND REFRAIN. I LOVE NUNO'S RIFFS MORE THAN HIS ACTING I THINK. You hear me go "Oooh!" on the video.
And then Flo arrived. I am a little depressed I couldn't video his actions, because like I mentioned in my other Bruxelles entry he was really on that night. He was reacting cutely to everything Jonathan Kerr (en Stephanie) and Yamin said and I really enjoyed watching him. More than usual, that is. Imagine if Mikele remembered to react to things other people onstage did and said... he would be fun to watch too.
Yamin said "Elle a fini"... maybe it was Barbra Streisand or something? It wasn't La Castrafiore or Lady GaGa, so idk. And he didn't sing the little Bad Romance bit.
For the first time I tore my eyes off of how much I love Diane and watched Marjolaine and Laurie during Si je défaille. It's true, they were very cute! I don't actually remember any specifics, though, except that Marjo ended up with a blanket over her head, and I only remember that much because I caught it on video.
But I also noticed that Diane had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. I, uh, saw more Diane than I really needed to, basically. I hope no one else noticed. I wonder if she's losing weight or something? She needs to stop it, if she is, because she's absolutely beautiful right now and if she became a little Claire-ish wraith I would be so disappointed.
Nunozart - Nous allons prendre soin de vous
Actually I think Mikele usually handles this scene just fine, too. But I like the look on Nuno's face when Cécilia tells him about Aloysia being pregnant. And I like the way Nuno looks down when Diane takes his hand.
Nunozart - Répétitions
WELL I missed the beginning of this scene wherein Yamin had to pull off all his Mozzarella stuff with NO STEPHANIE because I guess Jonathan Kerr got lost on his way to the stage. He just kind of absently said it to himself and then seemed to reconsider and kind of geared it toward Salieri. It was a little bumpy, but only because I'm way too familiar with how it's supposed to be. I'm guessing the first-timers didn't notice a thing. When Stephanie does show up I muttered "Ohhh le voilà!" because I'd been speaking French all day and I was starting to get confused.
I like the way Nuno looks down his nose at Yamin during the "Trop de notes!" bit. It's great because he's Nuno, so I expect him to react like Stephanie and be all "Huhhh?" but he was playing Mozart, you see, and that isn't a Mozart reaction. Acting!
Bahhh is it just me or does Nuno do a teeny Italian accent when he says "Maestro Salieri"? OMG BECAUSE SALIERI IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ITALIAN ONE. You guys things like that could make this show even more legit than it already is.
MIKELE IS BETTER AT THAT AMADEUS BOW. There you go, Mikele, I still love you. Because Mikele stomps his foot when he does it to call attention to it, and his little over-the-shoulder smirk is really cute. I think Nuno might be too mature to convincingly pull it off the way Mikele does, maybe.
AND THEN. LE BIEN QUI FAIT MAL. Flo made so many sex faces and was doing his sexy growl-y voice so much and I was just like BWUHHHHHHHHHH and got so totally caught up in it that 1. I might now be pregnant and 2. I forgot to start taping again afterward and missed "Eh bien, Maestro?" which is a shame because the way Nuno said it was strikingly different than Mikele but I completely don't remember in what way.
Nunozart - Promesse de mariage
And so you know why you hear me exhale like that at the beginning of this video. Hahaha just. Just believe me. It was SO HOT and I really wish I could have taped it and shared because... YEEOOOWWWwwwWWWWwww.
Nuno didn't quite pull off the Maman-Madame joke, but whatevs. I like that he spins around when she slaps him. Also he asked "Mais qui êtes vous, m'sieur?" in a way that implied that it was a QUESTION and not an outraged... line delivery! Go Nuno go.
Actually I think this is overall the clearest example of Nuno doing ACTING in this role. I like it a lot.
Nunozart - Les Solos sous les draps
NUNO OH NUNO. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
I WILL JUST HAVE TO MAKE A LIST.
1. When she asks if he recognises the document and he points at it like Heyyy that thing!
2. THE PROPOSAL flomg so good. HE IS SO DANG PROUD of her for ripping that thing up and so happy to ask her to marry him and she is so excited to say yes and THEY ARE SO SWEET TOGETHER LOOK AT THEM.
3. HIS GIANT SMILE after they kiss.
4. He pitched that Promesse de mariage out into the audience and a dude a few rows in front of me jumped up and caught it like a foul ball.
5. THE WHOLE REST OF THE SCENE.
Seriously, Nunozart is SO EXCITED to get married. He's like YEAHHH PUT THAT WHITE VEST ON ME and GO ON MERWAN BRUSH MY NUNONYTAIL whereas Mikele spends the whole scene being all pissy and disgruntled. Once again, I never knew Mikele was doing it wrong until Sunday.
DEAR NUNO PLEASE TEACH MIKELE TO DO THIS SCENE THIS WAY.
I take back what I said a few minutes ago. THIS is my favourite example of why Nunozart > the Mikele kind.
And of course, it is against fan law to not video the next scene.
Nunozart - Rosenbeeerg
When will I stop laughing at the same same jokes? That was a cute one from Flo (yep, that was me going D'awwwww in the video) but I don't know if anything will ever be as epic as the one I saw in Lille. Unless I someday see it get super adlibby again.
ONCE AGAIN FLO'S FACE WHEN YAMIN SAYS Et je coupe le son = adorrrrable. He was really doing fantastic that day.
AND NOW. IT IS. DA PONTE TIME.
Nunozart - Da Ponte
OH INFINITE FLOLZ I sang "Da Ponteee!" at the beginning. What can I say. I get pumped.
Did you hear my tiny noise of despair when "J'ai mieux" was not preceeded by "POOF"?
ALSO ALSO.
THESE TWO. Made me want to ship Mozart/Da Ponte in a SERIOUS way. Like a burningly serious way. Like I have been constructing fic for it in my head. I love that Nuno grabs at him and Maktav goes "Vous êtes fou!"
Usually when I see this scene with Mikele I get the idea that he's trying so hard to deliver his lines properly that he forgets to, like, pay attention to the scene. But with Nuno, who has a much better grasp of French, there was room for acting AND ADLIBBING! And chemistry!
A LOT OF CHEMISTRY. Just you wait. These two. I can't even.
Nunozart - Glitter coat
BWUHHHH FLO'S VOICE IT IS SO LOW AND AMAZING
I mean... Nuno! He delivers lines differently than Mikele. And I like it.
OKAY AND THEN WAS L'ASSASYMPHONIE which was also fantastic but you know.
I already mentioned this once but I'm going to tell it again. FLO LAUGHED AT ME DURING THIS SONG.
I mean, I've since considered it from his point of view and I've decided to construct an artistic representation of what happened.
When Flo looks out over the audience and says "Et pourtant... sa musique... est sublime!" THIS is what he usually sees:
But that day I was there and I was REALLY REALLY EXCITED that he was about to sing the best song and I was sitting close and I love him and stuff, so that day when Flo looked out at the audience, what he actually saw was this:
And that is why, after we made eye contact and then Flo had to start singing, he was trying not to grin when he said "Cette nuit". Of course, once he got over my stupid face he really threw himself into the song and it was amazing. I was quite literally staring open-mouthed.
Florent Mothe is a talented, talented man.
I already mentioned it in my other Bruxelles entry, but he was tearing at his hair and jacket and flopping all over the stage and it was SO GOOD. This song is SO GOOD. If the other stick figures in the audience had known how good it was going to be they would have been making stupid faces too.
Nunozart - Don Juan
Oh how I love this scene's existence. I love that Da Ponte and Mozart are on a first-name basis at this point. I love that I am pretty convinced they are in love thanks to Nuno.
OH FLOL in the video when Nuno grabs Maktav's hand I go "I ship it." I SURE DO.
Hahaha "They're in love."
WELL THEY ARE.
Nunozart - L'inconnu
ACTING ACTING EVERYBODY ACTING.
I really love all the eerie noises in this scene. That's right, add sound design to the ever-growing list of random aspects of this show with which I am obsessed.
I also love the way Da Ponte doesn't know what to do to comfort Mozart, so he just kind of takes off.
AND HERE IT IS.
Nunozart - Victime de ma victoire
OH YES.
LE NORD VAUT MIEUX QUE ST-TROPEZ.
PRINCE INCONGRU BOOGIE
HE PUNCHED OFF THAT GIRL'S WIG AND SHE HAD TO GO BACKSTAGE TO GET IT REAFFIXED
ALL THE OTHER GIRLS FIGHTING WITH FLO WHILE HE TRIES TO SMACK THEIR WIGS
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
MY HIGH FIVE
AND THEN TWO OF THE DANCERS HIGH FIVED ME
AND THEN FLO PIRHOUETTED
SERIOUSLY I WOULD TAKE THE TRAIN TO BRUXELLES JUST TO SEE THIS SONG PERFORMED AND NOTHING ELSE
IT WOULD BE WORTH IT
I was so worked up over my high five that my hands were shaking pretty badly at the beginning of the next video.
Nunozart - Vivre à en crever
Is Süssmayr a girl? It looks just like the girl who played Rosenberg in Mozart Est Là. Honestly? They don't have enough dancers and stuff to have a guy play Süssmayr when Nuno is Mozart? At the PDS it was Bravo Mozart Guy, which is amazing.
ALSO GOD BLESS NUNO RESENDE for not doing that stupid pant-y breathing during this death scene. And even more for not going "AAAH!" after "pour tout immoler" because that annoys the crap out of me. When Nuno riffs, he does it because it's a good moment in the song for some emotion to be expressed. When Mikele riffs, it seems like he just does it because he likes the sound of his voice.
NUNO'S HARMONY NUNO'S HARMONY NUNO'S HARMONY OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS
So basically, Nuno is amazing.
Here's curtain call!
Nunozart - Curtain call
FLO WAS SO WIRED. There's a bit where you hear me laugh because he had just stuck out his tongue and made a face for some fan's camera. Unfortunately I managed to not have his head in the shot at that moment. Plus he was making up his own harmony during his "woahhhh" part of C'est bientôt la fin while everyone else says "Encore encore encore encore..." and it was great. He was jumping and being really stoked. Maybe because he loves Nuno. Maybe because he loves me. Maybe because he was excited to get out of Bruxelles. I pick the second one. :D
And then I thought I was done taking videos, but these fans passed up some giant flowers and Merwan put one on his head. And during the "pleurent les violons de ma vie" bit Nuno was standing a little bit too far away from Flo, so Flo looked over his shoulder like wtf? and then looked pointedly at the spot where Nuno was supposed to be standing. That was when my camera ran out of memory space and cut out, but what you miss is that Nuno obeyed by backing obediently into Flo. And then when they came back to the front of the stage Flo was playing the guitar, singing, AND jumping up and down. What a multi-tasker.
You also see someone trying to give Flo that cardboard cutout of himself by balancing it on his guitar and Flo being like GET THAT THING OFF ME. As you may recall from my previous entry, for some reason Laurie ended up with it and played with it all the way home on the train.
And when I saw them again in the metro, Merwan was still holding one of those giant flowers.
This cast is so cute. I love them all.
And yes, I promise I do love Mikele.
