This "Duelling Divas" seemed a timely one considering a feature film of the stage show, from which the song sprung, is currently winning awards and putting bums on seats in cinemas around the world. What could I possibly be talking about? I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Misérables, of course! (I'm sure the post title and it's accompanying image didn't give that away...)
Let's see what Wiki has to tell us about this iconic number;
"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the musical Les Misérables.[1] It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyrics are by Herbert Kretzmer, based on the original French libretto by Alain Boublil from the original French production.
The song is a lament, sung by the anguished, dying Fantine, who has just been fired from her job at the factory and thrown onto the streets. She thinks back to happier days and wonders at all that has gone wrong in her life.
In the original Musical, the song occurs after Fantine has been fired, and before Lovely Ladies. In the film adaptation, these two musical numbers were swapped around, to place dramatic emphasis on Fantine's depressing descent into prostitution.
Being from such a famous musical, it's unsurprising that I Dreamed A Dream has been covered by a number of Divas. But what makes this a change to other Duelling Diva posts is that this one contains singers that many won't be familiar with. But that shouldn't stop you getting involved; it's always good to try new things and discover new singers!
So let's get to it and watch some Divas sing!
