Hélène Ségara as Esméralda singing Vivre
Luc Plamondon and Riccardo Cocciante wrote the song "Vivre" for the role of Esméralda in the musical Notre Dame de Paris that debuted in Paris in September 1998. It is not a song that actually appears in Hugo's novel, but it expresses sentiments characteristic of Esméralda throughout the book. In an unusual train of circumstances, the song was performed and released in rapid succession by several noted singers.
Plamondon originally envisaged fellow Canadian Céline Dion filling the role of Esméralda as well as placing other members of his Quebecois “équipe” in other roles. However, Israeli singer Achinoam Nini (Noa) got the casting nod and recorded the song in 1997 on the studio “concept album” (highlights) produced before the stage show and subsequently on the Notre-Dame de Paris cast album (1998). After recording the cast album, however, Noa decided that her schedule would not accommodate touring with the stage version of the musical. Faced with the unexpected need for an immediate replacement, Plamondon and Cocciante cast Hélène Ségara who had auditioned for the role. Ségara also included "Vivre" on the 1998 re-release of her 1996 album, Coeur de verre (“Heart of glass”).
An English language version of the song was not long in coming since plans were afoot to launch the show in Las Vegas and London in 2000 and elsewhere in future years. The American lyricist Will Jennings wrote the English version under the title "Live (for the One I Love)." Céline Dion did not perform Esméralda in the play, but she recorded "Vivre" first in her greatest hits compilation “All the Way…A Decade of Song” released on November 12, 1999. It became the album's second single release in selected European countries in March 2000. With the London opening of the Notre Dame de Paris musical in May 2000, when Australian singer Tina Arena took the Esméralda role, Dion’s version was included on the English language version of the London studio album along with the version that Tina Arena released as a single that year.
Appreciation for this song’s meaning requires consideration of the context in which Esméralda sings. The song occurs towards the end of the play as she awakens from sleep before her execution and walks along the upper gallery of the cathedral reflecting upon her past and her destiny.
Esméralda is a girl mistakenly identified as Romani (gypsy) and only 16 years old according to Victor Hugo. She is admired and coveted by many male figures in the play, each of whom harbors different motivations. As a presumed Romani, she is generally subject to discrimination and scorn as a member of an alien tribe. She develops an infatuation for Phoebus who views her merely as an occasional, after-hours fling alongside his future wife Fleur-de-Lys, yet she loves him all the same. She longs for an authentic existence of freedom from the suffocating social constraints of her time (15th century) and true love from someone who values her as a human being and not merely for her beauty and sexuality. Tellingly, she overlooks that such love for her already exists in the figure of the deformed cathedral bellringer Quasimodo who was raised by Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Poor Quasimodo lived even lower on the social ladder than did Romani.
Esméralda has been convicted and sentenced to death for an attempt to kill Phoebus who she actually loves. Frollo had orchestrated the episode out of jealousy at Phoebus but Esmeralda was arrested, tortured, and falsely confessed under duress. She is faced with imminent death from execution for a crime she did not commit. The poignancy of the song is accentuated by many layers of pathos arising from the facts in the story. Although she is not Romani by birth, she is treated as such. She marries a stranger (Gringoire), solely to save his life. She loves a man who does not love her. She longs for a kind of love that already exists but that she is unable to acknowledge. She is about to die for a crime she did not commit. Her love for life is ironic given the hand of cards that destiny and society have dealt her. Such circumstances combine to elicit a high level of emotional intensity that Hélène Ségara delivers convincingly.
The 3 Verses and the Bridge in the song describe the situation, while the thrice-repeated Chorus and Outro express the emotion. As usual, you can scroll the lyrics below while enjoying the YouTube recording. The column on the left is the original French lyric. The middle column is my translation into English. The rightmost column is Will Jennings' adaptation. Note that Jennings' adaptation flies further from the original French than the translation.
|
Luc Plamondon
Verse 1 La nuit est si belle Et je suis si seule Je n'ai pas envie de mourir Je veux encore chanter Danser et rire Je ne veux pas mourir Mourir Avant d'avoir aimé Chorus Vivre Pour celui qu'on aime Aimer Plus que l'amour même Donner Sans rien attendre en retour Verse 2 Libre De choisir sa vie Sans un anathème Sans interdit Verse 3 Libre Sans dieu ni patrie Avec pour seul baptême Celui de l'eau de pluie Chorus Vivre Pour celui qu'on aime Aimer Plus que l'amour même Donner Sans rien attendre en retour Bridge Ces deux mondes qui nous séparent Un jour seront-ils réunis Oh! je voudrais tellement y croire Même s'il me faut donner ma vie Donner ma vie Pour changer l'histoire Chorus Vivre Pour celui qu'on aime Aimer Plus que l'amour même Donner Sans rien attendre en retour Outro Aimer Comme la nuit aime le jour Aimer Jusqu'à en mourir d'amour Jusqu'à en mourir d'amour |
Translation (Pendergast)
Verse 1 The night is so pretty And I am alone I don’t want to die I want to sing Dance and laugh I don’t want to die Dying Before having loved Chorus Living For someone we love Loving More than love itself Giving Expecting nothing in return Verse 2 Free To choose one’s life Without a curse Without prohibition Verse 3 Free With neither god nor country With a baptism Only of rain water Chorus Living For someone we love Loving More than love itself Giving Expecting nothing in return Bridge These two worlds that separate us One day they will be united Oh! I would like so much to believe Even if I must give my life Give my life To change the story Chorus Living For someone we love Loving More than love itself Giving Expecting nothing in return Outro Living Like night loves day Loving Until dying of love Until dying of love |
Will Jennings Adaptation
(Live, for the One I Love) Verse 1 A million stars' light This beautiful night This is not a night to die Let me sing And dance beneath the sky I have such love to give, To give I want a chance to live Chorus Live, For the one I love Love, As no one has loved Give, Asking nothing in return Verse 2 Free, free to find my way Free to have my say Free to see the day Verse 3 Be Like I used to be Like a wild bird free With all of life in me Chorus Live, For the one I love Love, As no one has loved Give, Asking nothing in return Bridge Though this world tears us apart We're still together in my heart I want the world to hear my cry And even if I have to die Love will not die Love will change the world Chorus Live, For the one I love Love, As no one has loved Give, Asking nothing in return Outro I'll love until love wears me away I'll die and I know my love will stay And I know, I know my love will stay |
NB:
Jusqu'à en mourir d'amour: this is an interesting construction and a classy way to say “to die of love” with a flourish. Other more straightforward possibilities include “mourir d’aimer” which was the name of a famous 1971 song by Charles Aznavour relating to the tragic story of Gabrielle Russier. Another is “aimer à mourir” (“love to death”) in the Francis Cabrel signature song “Je l’aime à mourir” (1987). The insertion of “en” in the phrase gives it a memorable verbal “panache.”
Jusqu'à en mourir d'amour: this is an interesting construction and a classy way to say “to die of love” with a flourish. Other more straightforward possibilities include “mourir d’aimer” which was the name of a famous 1971 song by Charles Aznavour relating to the tragic story of Gabrielle Russier. Another is “aimer à mourir” (“love to death”) in the Francis Cabrel signature song “Je l’aime à mourir” (1987). The insertion of “en” in the phrase gives it a memorable verbal “panache.”
Will Jennings Adaptation
Will Jennings’ adaptation of “Vivre” from French to English for the play’s London debut in May 2000 began with a change in the title of the song from only “Vivre” in the original French version to “Live (for the One I Love).” This slight modification in wording narrowed the focus of the song. It shifted Esméralda’s purpose of living to apply only to “the one I love.” The original French version had also included the idea of living for the sake of freedom from the rigid societal constraints of the medieval era (e.g. god, country, class, race, curses, baptism, prohibitions) as well as for the freedom to love another person. Consequently, in his lyrics Jennings neglects the role of societal constraints entirely and downplays the fact that Esméralda is about to die. Overall, however, the Jennings version tracks the original song structure faithfully, includes clear rhymes, and captures the core meaning of the song.
Céline Dion was the first artist to record a version based on Jennings’ English language adaptation. She had a long-time creative partnership with her Canadian compatriot Luc Plamondon who had early envisaged her for the role of Esméralda. In November 1999, she included a rendition on her greatest hits album “All the Way…” Her release of the song as a single in February 2000 coincided with the London stage show soundtrack release with Tina Arena playing the Esméralda role. Dion's English language music video of "Vivre (for the One I Love) can be seen below.