The founding general director of the Utah Festival Opera & Theatre, originally scheduled to perform the role of Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” has stepped aside citing his responsibilities in running the festival. “Les Mis” fans need not worry as the lead role will now be played by Grammy Award winner Patrick Miller.
“We found someone extraordinary,” Ballam said. “And he is going to be amazing.”
With posters and brochures already printed announcing him in the role of Valjean, Ballam turned to his connections in New York to find his replacement.
“I have friends who are agents in New York and when we determined it was best for me to manage the company rather than be an absentee person for the run of ‘Les Mis,’ I called some of my friends who have Jean Valjeans on Broadway and said, ‘Do you have anyone in your stable of artists that we ought to look at?’"
Ballam said he had several to choose from but Miller was the obvious choice.
“He went into a practice room and sang through most of Jean Valjean, live, into the computer,” Ballam said. “It’s not like going into a recording studio where they can adjust the knobs and you’re not really sure what you are hearing. If you go in with a cheap video camera you know exactly what somebody sounds like. We had a number of possibilities but Patrick was far and above the frontrunner.”
According to Gary Griffin, the managing director of the festival, Ballam will be missed, but Miller will not disappoint.
“Some people will be disappointed,” Griffin said. “But once they hear Mr. Miller, they’ll be pleased.”
Ballam agreed with Griffin and said that he will be back.
“I’ll be back next year to do ‘The Man of La Mancha,’" Ballam said. "Yeah, I’m not quitting.”
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