🔗 Share this article The famous musical songwriter felt a insufficient acknowledgment, collection of documents discloses The lyricist died in 2020 and his archive has been donated to Cambridge University The late Herbert Kretzmer, who created the English libretto for Les Misérables, felt he was not given enough credit for transforming the initial French production into the hugely popular English-language version, letters have shown. They were uncovered in the records of Kretzmer, who died in 2020 aged 95, after it was donated to Cambridge University Library. A message that Kretzmer penned to theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh in 1987 referenced "negative measures taken by others to reduce my credit and contribution". "I believe it will explain the situation if I detail, for the initial and I hope only time, the clear and verifiable truth about the creation of the English adaptation of Les Miserables," he stated. The consistently successful show has been performed globally over the last four decades "Not many people have had the chance to contrast my English version, page for page with the initial French lyrics. "So let me, as succinctly as I can, highlight the evidence for asserting that, in terms of the real words now being delivered nightly in both cities, there is minimal indeed that can be considered literal conversion. "Les Miserables in English is essentially a original, revised production." He described it as "a substantial collection of content that is so completely rethought and rewritten that there is not any any substantial similarity between my lyrics and the initial production." "I regret that this message has to be written at all, but in light of the negative measures taken by others to downgrade my acknowledgment and contribution, I must highlight that Les Miserables is not a show converted or revised, but a production reborn," he stated. Word changes found Dr Liz Savage, archive specialist at the university, worked on documenting the Les Misérables sections of the collection. She discovered many changes in Kretzmer's revised version of the musical, including changing "ordinary" to "angry" in the number Do You Hear The People Sing? The number, which has been chanted in protests internationally, starts: "Do you hear the people sing?/ Singing the song of angry men." The collection also reveals how Kretzmer tested multiple different terms first, including "courageous" and "bold", before choosing "furious". Papers also indicate that the tune Stars was in danger of being eliminated, before urging from Kretzmer and others to preserve it, expressing: "We need to altogether separate ourselves from the decision to cut Stars. We do not agree that the show is compromised by the inclusion of this song." Kretzmer's widow, Sybil, said: "The standing of Cambridge University reflects the influence and significance of Herbert's contributions, and we believe the archive will be maintained by the institution and endure for posterity, just like Les Miserables itself." More Revelations The collection also contains a note about auditions, which shows Brian Blessed was among those discussed for parts in the initial production, indicating he "had been practicing diligently on his voice, and has made considerable advancements". It also notes Fiddler On The Roof actor Chaim Topol and the horror film star Max von Sydow "will, hopefully, be able to travel to London... to discuss the characters of Jean Valjean and the inspector". The collection also features letters from prominent figures including actors Frank Sinatra and Peter Sellers, and images captured by director Stanley Kubrick, as well as Kretzmer's articles from his newspaper work and his theatre career. The originally from South Africa British lyricist also penned the words to the 1960 song Goodness Gracious Me, brought to prominence by Sellers and Sophia Loren. He also partnered with French singer Charles Aznavour on his 1974 hit She.