Who Am I? (Les Misérables)
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"Who Am I? / The Trial" is a song from the first act of the musical Les Misérables. It comes after "The Runaway Cart" and is followed by "Come to Me / Fantine's Death". It is a solo sung by the main character Jean Valjean. It is rather slow-paced, the melody is divided in two parts: The first ressembles a recitative, the second and better known is soft but full of tension and can later be found in "One Day More" and "Valjean's Confession". In the original French version of the musical, this piece is known as Le Proces: Comment Faire?
[edit] Overview
Valjean/Madeleine has just been informed by Javert, that "Jean Valjean" has been arrested. Valjean must decide, what to do: stay silent or denounce himself. He first sees no reason to do anything, thinking of the workers, who'd fall back to misery without him, and of course not wanting to go back to prison. But then, he remembers the bishop and the promise he made, to become an honest man. He realises, that his final aim wasn't escaping the justice but to find a way back to God. He decides to denounce himself, showing the court, about to condemn the false Valjean, the brand "24601" (his prison number) on his chest and escaping before being arrested.
