Red and Black

Before every great battle there is a rallying of the troops, a rousing speech. In Les Misérables that speech is “Red and Black,” sung by the students-turned-revolutionaries on the eve of the Paris Uprising of 1832. The musical number centers on the revolutionaries’ leader, Enjolras, as he reminds his friends what they are fighting for. In the film adaptation of the beloved musical.  Les Miserables is an 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo. In 1980 it became a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. The musical is sung all the way through, and condenses the plot of the novel into roughly three hours.  Music and lyrics by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. The musical is sung all the way through, and condenses the plot of the novel into roughly three hours. Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career takes him into the heart of glamorous Parisian society, along the way conquering the gentle, married Madame de Rênal, and the haughty Mathilde. But then Julien commits an unexpected, devastating crime – and brings about his own downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui, and Julien – the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions – is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature