Russell Watson to play Jean Valjean?

Updated 30th October: in an interview in the Manchester Evening News Russell has revealed that last month he met with Sir Cameron Mackintosh about taking over taking on the part of John Valjean for a six-month run in the West End.

He is now considering the offer, but if he does take on the role it wouldn’t be until the end of 2014 at the earliest saying “The next plan is that I do a workshop where I have to sing some of the songs and try acting. A lot of fantastic artists have played that role including the first Valjean Colm Wilkinson who was sensational.I think it is a role I would do justice to".
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According to an article in today's Standard,  Salford tenor Russell Watson is set to make his West End debut as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

He is currently working with Les Miserables writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg on a new album Only One Man which will be released in November and features songs from their musicals plus some new numbers which they have written especially for him.  It is being produced by Schonberg and will be accompanied by a stage show which will tour the UK.

Watson has now disclosed he has held secret meetings with producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh saying: “I went to see Cameron Mackintosh about doing Les Misérables. We’ve had a good chat about that. It’s something I’d like to do. It would give me a huge amount of satisfaction to play a role like Valjean. I would do it in the West End, towards the end of 2014. Claude-Michel keeps saying, ‘When are you going to do Valjean? I’d be perfect because I now have the life experience to draw on. Valjean is a tortured soul.”

Russell Watson New Album Collaboration with Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg

Classical singer Russell Watson is working with Les Miserables writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg on a new album Only One Man featuring songs from their musicals.

The album is due to be released on 11th November and will include a song written for Miss Saigon that was never used in the production, as well as new music written especially for Watson.

Watson said that he wanted to work with Boublil and Schonberg because he felt that his career had begun to “stagnate” and that he had been “performing the same stuff and doing the same shows with the same types of songs for a very long time”.

His new manager came up with the idea of creating a Boublil and Schonberg album, and the songwriters agreed after meeting him.

“There are two, maybe three, brand new compositions on the record, one called Tell Me and another called I Am Only One Man. Claude-Michel has also taken a section from one of his ballets – Wuthering Heights – and [English] lyrics have been put to it by Charles Hart, who was the lyricist on The Phantom of the Opera. So the pedigree of this record is immense. There will be probably 95% of this album that people have not heard in the UK, and certainly not in the way this has been done” he said.

The album will also feature songs from Schonberg’s time as a recording artist in France 30 years ago.

It is being produced by Schonberg and will be accompanied by a stage show which will tour the UK.