Claude-Michel Schönberg is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Born on July 6, 1944, in Vannes, France, Schönberg began his career as a record producer and singer, writing most of the music for the French musical and rock opera La Révolution Française in 1973.
Schönberg played the role of King Louis XVI in the show's production that year and went on to write the music and lyrics for the song "Le Premier Pas", which became a number one hit in France in 1974, selling over one million copies. He also wrote a French version of the ABBA song "Waterloo", which was recorded by the group that year.
In 1978, Schönberg dedicated his attention to musicals, and he and Boublil conceived the idea for a stage musical version of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. The original production was staged at the Palais de Sports in Paris in 1980, and the musical went on to open in London and on Broadway to acclaim in each instance.
The Broadway production of Les Misérables was nominated for twelve Tony Awards in 1987 and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. In 1989, Schönberg and Boublil produced the London showing of the musical Miss Saigon, which starred Lea Salonga and Jonathan Pryce.
The show broke advance-ticket sales, earning $24 million before its premiere on April 11, 1991, and was nominated for ten Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. In 1997, Schönberg and Boublil premiered a new musical, Martin Guerre, at the Prince Edward Theatre in London.
The musical won the 1997 Olivier Award and went on to tour the UK and the United States. In 2001, Schönberg composed his first ballet score, Wuthering Heights, which was performed by the United Kingdom's Northern Ballet Theatre Company in September 2002.
Schönberg's next project with Boublil was The Pirate Queen, a musical about the 16th-century Irish pirate, chieftain and adventuress Grace O'Malley. The musical underwent eight weeks of pre-Broadway tryouts at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in November 2006 and underwent further development in preparation for Broadway.
The Pirate Queen opened on Broadway at the Hilton Theater in March 2007, but following a critical savaging and poor ticket sales, the show closed on June 17, 2007, after 85 performances and 32 previews, resulting in a loss of almost $18 million, ranking it among the largest commercial flops in Broadway history.
