Notre Dame de Paris
The sung-through musical play Notre Dame de Paris debuted in Paris at the Palais des Congrès on 16 September 1998. The play was written by French-Canadian lyricist and music executive Luc Plamondon with music by his close collaborator Richard Cocciante. It was based on the dark, tragic novel of the same name that Victor Hugo published in 1831 (English translation as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”).
The idea for the play (and its lead song) came to Plamondon while watching the 1956 film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” starring Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida. In that movie, Esméralda offers Quasimodo water and he calls out “Belle...belle….” Plamondon had written lyrics many years before for the successful French rock opera Starmania with Michel Berger in the late 1970s and drew additional inspiration from the subsequent success of Les Misérables in Paris (1980) and London (1985). He was attracted by the strong story and timeless themes enshrined in the venerable Hugo novel. Many players in Plamondon’s original Paris cast came from his native Quebec and included Garou (as Quasimodo), Daniel Lavoie (Frollo) and Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire.
The 6-month Paris debut of Notre Dame de Paris was followed by a trip to Quebec in March 1999 that was followed by a run of 7 months in Las Vegas in 2000 (January-July) and 17 months in London (May 2000-October 2001). The show was eventually adapted into at least 9 languages and performed thousands of times in 23 countries and seen by millions of people, with diverse staging, casting, translation and choreography. Critical and popular reception seldom reached the same level of success it achieved in Paris but it keeps on going and going. It returned for a reprise in Paris at the Palais des Congrès between December 19, 2025 and January 4, 2026.
Story Summary
Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris
Victor Hugo published his novel Notre Dame de Paris in 1831 partly to highlight the cathedral’s neglected state of preservation, as seen in the fact that he gave pride of place in the title to the church itself. In the play, the church immediately takes center stage as the subject of the opening song “Le temps des cathédrals.” In this endeavor, Hugo achieved success, leading to creation of the French Commission on Historical Monuments in 1837 and restoration projects on the cathedral between 1845-65 by architect Viollet-le-Duc. The story that plays out in and around the cathedral incorporates themes of love, lust, jealousy, hypocrisy, social injustice and fate--themes of obvious applicability to every era.
Ironically, Hugo's objective was undermined by the English language translation of the book in 1833 by Frederic Shoberl which changed the title to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Shoberl and his publishers felt that the new title had more commercial promise than simply the name of the cathedral. They may have been correct, but the new name overstated the role of Quasimodo in the narrative.
Set in 1482, the Notre Dame Cathedral archdeacon Claude Frollo was guardian of Quasimodo, a deformed but compassionate hunchback bell-ringer and the ugliest man in town. Despite his priestly commitments, Frollo obsessively lusted after Esméralda, a beautiful young gypsy dancer, and he ordered Quasimodo to kidnap her. Quasimodo was caught and publicly humiliated but Esméralda earned his love by offering him water as he was tortured.
Esméralda became smitten with the handsome Captain Phoebus who was betrothed to Fleur-de-Lys but he was nevertheless open to the sport of pre-marital promiscuity. This incited Frollo’s insane jealousy so he tried to kill Phoebus and framed Esméralda for that crime leaving her subject to blackmail for his incestuous designs. She declined Frollo’s many offers and was tried and condemned to hang.
Esméralda became smitten with the handsome Captain Phoebus who was betrothed to Fleur-de-Lys but he was nevertheless open to the sport of pre-marital promiscuity. This incited Frollo’s insane jealousy so he tried to kill Phoebus and framed Esméralda for that crime leaving her subject to blackmail for his incestuous designs. She declined Frollo’s many offers and was tried and condemned to hang.
Quasimodo rescued her and carried her to the cathedral tower in sanctuary. A crowd of vagabonds attacked the tower to liberate her while Frollo graciously offered to save her in return for sexual favors. She refused again and as she hung from the gallows Quasimodo defenestrated Frollo from the tower to his death. Quasimodo then vanished, never seen again, until years later a gravedigger stumbled on Esmeralda’s grave revealing two entwined skeletons, one of them deformed.
Quasimodo rescued her and carried her to the cathedral tower in sanctuary. A crowd of vagabonds attacked the tower to liberate her while Frollo graciously offered to save her in return for sexual favors. She refused again and as she hung from the gallows Quasimodo defenestrated Frollo from the tower to his death. Quasimodo then vanished, never seen again, until years later a gravedigger stumbled on Esmeralda’s grave revealing two entwined skeletons, one of them deformed.
Music Releases
In a distinctive French approach to promotion, four songs were released as singles in a publicity rollout prior to the Paris opening of the play in September 1998: “Vivre,” “Le temps des cathédrales,” “Belle” and “Dieu que le monde est injuste.” "Belle" became a huge hit, topped the French chart for 18 successive weeks, was named the 1999 Song of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique in France and became the third most successful song in French history. This early rollout primed the pump of public interest in the show.
In the next promotional stage, the original French concept album (highlights) was released in 1997, 8 months before the show. It included 16 songs and featured Israeli singer Achinoam Nini (aka Noa) as Esméralda. She later withdrew from the project due to other demands and was replaced by Hélène Ségara as Esmeralda when the show opened in Paris on September 16, 1998.
The concept album was followed in 1998 by a live, complete 2-disc (53 tracks) cast recording (“version intégral”) of the original Paris cast. The subsequent London performance in 2000-01 lasted 17 months. It featured several original Paris stars, but preserved only a fraction of the score in English. Tina Arena took the role of Esmeralda followed by Dannii Minogue in 2001.
American lyricist Will Jennings made the English-language adaptation of the French lyrics. Jennings was a noted lyricist and well-known for several very successful original songs. These included the 1997 Oscar-winning Best Original Song “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” that he co-authored with composer James Horner. Jennings also received awards for “Up Where We Belong” (An Officer and a Gentleman, 1983) and the 1991 piece “Tears in Heaven” that he wrote with Eric Clapton. His work on Notre Dame de Paris, on the other hand, was widely criticized for prioritizing “singability” over meaning, revealing the challenging differences between songwriting and the niche of adaptation to another language to fit an existing melody while preserving meaning. The songs featured in this post are among Jennings best contributions to the play and are among the most successful songs from the play’s original repertoire of some 50+ pieces.
Notre Dame de Paris Songs