A Look Back on the History of NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

Following its New York City debut last year, the international musical and dance sensation Notre Dame de Paris returns to New York this summer to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. 

Notre Dame de Paris celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, having premiered in Paris in 1998. The show has been performed over 5000 times in 24 countries and 10 languages and has been seen by over 15 million people worldwide. We're taking a look back on the show's history ahead of its return to New York!

A History of Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris, based on the novel by the same name by Victor Hugo, debuted in September of 1998 in Paris. The music is composed by Riccardo Cocciante (also known as Richard Cocciante) and the lyrics are by Luc Plamondon.

The musical has since been played professionally all over the world, in countries including Belgium, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. It has been translated into eight languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Korean, Flemish, Polish, and Kazakh.

In addition to the full-length production, a shorter English version was performed in 2000 in Las Vegas. A full-length English version also played in London. In 2010-2014 several concert versions of the musical which reunited the original cast were presented in Kyiv, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Paris and Beirut.

By the Numbers

• Notre Dame de Paris has released 15 different cast recordings, including a concept album, the original Paris cast, London studio album, France studio album, original Spanish cast, original Italian cast, original Russian cast, original Korean cast, and original Flemish cast, among many others.
• Four instrumental albums have also been released, including the Orchestral French and English versions by I Fiamminghi, a piano version by Alan Lapointe, instrumental version of the Italian cast, and instrumental version of the Russian cast.
• There have been four video recordings of Notre Dame de Paris, including Live At The Palais des Congrès (1999), Live At The Arena di Verona (2001), Live At The Channel One Russia (2002), and Live At The Sejong Center (2008).
• According to the Guinness Book of Records, Notre Dame de Paris had the most successful first year of any musical ever, based on ticket sales.

Mainstream Impact of Notre Dame de Paris

Following the success of the musical, several songs from the show, including "Vivre", "Belle" and "Le temps des cathédrales" were released as singles, garnering success in French-speaking countries. An English version of "Vivre" (Live for the One I Love) was released by both Celine Dion and Australian chanteuse Tina Arena. This version can also be heard on the original London cast recording, even though Dion did not participate in the musical.

About the New York Production of Notre Dame de Paris

The production, featuring an international 30-member cast, will run June 22-July 9, 2023, at the David H. Koch Theater (20 Lincoln Plaza) at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The original French production will be performed with English supertitles and a live orchestra.

The cast of Notre Dame de Paris included Angelo Del Vecchio as Quasimodo, Elhaida Dani as Esmeralda, Daniel Lavoie as Frollo, Gian Marco Schiaretti as Gringoire, Jay as Clopin, Jérémy Amelin as Phoebus and Alyzée Lalande as Fleur-de-Lys.

Alternates for the performers are Robert Marien for Frollo, Jaime Bono for Esmeralda/Fleur-de-Lys, Eric Jetner for Phoebus/Gringoire, Philippe Tremblay for Quasimodo and Mike Lee for Clopin.

The production also featured acrobats Jonathan Gajdane, Nathan Jones, Andrea Neyroz, Arek Szynal and Ivan Urbano. The production’s breakers are Alex Besnier and Tiger. The dance ensemble features Lorenzo Arnouts, Antonio Balsamo, Giulia Barbone, Marina Barbone, Wilfried Bernard, Alessandra Berti, Rodolphe Duquesne, Giuseppe Marino, Gabriel Nabo, Alessia Papale, Sonia Picone, Valentin Piers, Anaïs Replumaz, Ivan Trimarchi, Vaia Venetis and Roberta Zegretti.