Stars - Philip Quast - Les Misérables - 10th Anniversary Concert

Philip Quast as Javert performing "Stars" for the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, 8th October 1995.
Music : Claude-Michel Schönberg . Lyrics : Herbert Kretzmer. Libretto by Alain Boublil based on the novel by Victor Hugo

[DougBushMusic]

Perfect execution. No other Javert I’ve heard comes close. The enunciation. The pitch. The tone. The pacing. The way he tells a story and doesn’t just sing the words. Perfect.

[davidmenke]

Man can you imagine being him after hitting that last note and thousands cheer for you like that? That's gotta be an incredible feeling.

[sepnyte]

It's not just how he sings it. It's how he stands and how he holds his baton. How he looks up and removes his hat as he adresses the stars in such a submissive and respectful way. It's how he delivers the entire song with such conviction. It's why I keep coming back to this performance again and again. No one could top this performance. Quast didn't just set the bar, he airlifted it into space with that baton.

And to top it off, he was having a serious case of the stage fright from what I heard, and he still pulled it off.

[him]

How long can you sustain the final note, Mr Quast?
Philip: Yes

[dr]

Quast was born to play this role. Actually unbelievable how good he is

[Yo-Me]

Let's take this moment to appreciate the greatest Javerts in history: Phillip Quast, Phillip Quast, Phillip Quast, Norm Lewis, and last but not the least Phillip Quast

[finaltouchstudio_]

You know how good a villain song is when you watch it out of context, you would think he was the hero

[kalebwick]

I’m just blown away by how good he is wearing that many layers. He has on a shirt, then a cotton coat, then an over coat on top of that, Cotton trousers, heavy leather boats, side burns, long hair, and a top hat. How’d this man not pass out?

[paulclemens]

My wife saw this amazing performance in person -- and I mean this EXACT performance -- and I am still SO jealous!!

[bradleyelsken]

This is probably the best performance of this song I've ever heard

[glamhausslevin]

I was lucky enough to be working backstage when Philip was in Les Mis London. I was able to slip out and stand at the back of the stalls for this performance. I did it as often as possible. I was just a humble dresser but I realised I was in the presence of greatness. Goose bumps every single time. Plus, he was stunningly handsome and in his prime 😍

[camerontremblay-adams]

The final evolution of Les Mis fandom: if Stars hasn’t become your favorite song, you still know deep down, it’s the best song.

[Howlingburd]

Nobody gives the orchestra enough credit. It’s so powerful and beautiful!

And it’s still beautiful in 2024 :)

[farmersjt]

I'm a grown man and I've watched this stellar performance many times. I'm still wiping tears from my face. This is the standard for all music entertainment.

[layla]

I love that the actors stay in character during the applause. It’s all well and good with Lea and Michael looking sad after their solos, but then we have Philip looking arrogantly at the cheering crowd in true Javert fashion, and it makes me giggle.

[TheAngie]

No one has ever even come close to the perfection that is Philip Quast as Javert. I've seen Les Mis live three times and even been in a production of the show, and I have yet to see talent that comes close to his. He is what I imagine Javert would actually look like, sound like, walk like, everything. I would give up my eyeballs just to hear him sing in person.

[OllihuAkbar]

I would love to see Philip Quast perform "Hellfire" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

[JackGiblenSinger]

Sometimes a song doesn’t have to be sad to make you cry. It can be performed so well that it’s overwhelming. Quast is the man.

[Karaokuma]

I love that Quast was so brilliant here that even the cast and conductor couldn't hold their applause. Flawless victory.

[AlysLandale]

The man gave a performance so good even Valjean was clapping.