Although Puccini and several other nineteenth century composers considered turning Les Misérables into an opera, it was not until 120 years later that Alain Boublil saw Oliver!, the British musical based on the novel by Charles Dickens, in London, where the character of the Artful Dodger brought to mind a singing Gavroche.

Boublil and his long time partner Claude-Michel Schönberg transformed Les Misérables into a musical theatre work that has become almost as famous as the epic novel from which it was adapted.

Concept Album

In adapting Les Misérables, Boublil and Schönberg returned to the book to unearth the elements of the story, characters, and action that would propel the drama. In order to begin a project like Les Misérables, based on a well-known and beloved novel, says Schönberg, "You must love the book. It's like a big river, that book - you have the feeling of the river rolling and rolling until the sea. When I read the book, I was already listening to the music."

After two years of give-and-take between composer and lyricist, a two-hour demonstration was recorded. Released in 1980, the recording sold 260,000 copies. It became the French concept album with the added collaboration of Jean Marc Natel as co-French lyricist.

The first stage version of the work was produced at the Palais des Sports and seen by 500,000 people.