Uncovered Herbert Kretzmer Letter Reveals He Felt His Work on LES MISERABLES Was Undervalued

Letters from the late Herbert Kretzmer, recently donated to Cambridge University Library, reveal that the writer, who famously wrote the English-language lyrics for Les Miserables, felt he didn't receive enough credit for his work on the musical masterpiece.

According to the BBC, a letter written to producer Cameron Mackintosh in 1987 reads: 

"Not many people have had the opportunity to compare my English version, page for page, with the original Paris libretto. So let me, as briefly as I can, point out the evidence for declaring that, in terms of the actual lyrics now being sung nightly in New York and London, there is very little indeed that can be called translation. Les Miserables in English is virtually a new, rewritten show.

"I regret that this letter has to be written at all, but in view of the unpleasant actions taken by others to downgrade my credit and contribution, I must emphasise that Les Miserables is not a show translated or re-written, but a show reborn."

Kretzmer was born in South Africa, where he began a career in journalism writing the commentary for a weekly cinema newsreel. He came to live in London in 1954, and has since pursued twin careers as newspaperman and songwriter. He was feature writer on The Daily Sketch and a profile writer on The Sunday Despatch. He joined The Daily Express in 1960 and later became its drama critic, a post he held for 18 years, covering about 3,000 first nights. From 1979 to 1987, he wrote television criticism for The Daily Mail, winning, in this capacity, two national press awards.

As a lyric writer he wrote weekly songs for That Was The Week That Was and the later Ned Sherrin television shows. He won an Ivor Novello Award for the Peter Sellers/Sophia Loren comedy song ‘Goodness Gracious Me’. Other award-winning songs include two written with, and for, Charles Aznavour: ‘Yesterday When I Was Young’ and the chart-topping ‘She’.

Kretzmer wrote the book and lyrics for the West End musical Our Man Crichton, which starred Kenneth More and Millicent Martin, and the lyrics for The Four Musketeers, which ran for over a year at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, starring Harry Secombe as D’Artagnan. He also supplied the lyrics for the Anthony Newley musical film Can Heironymous Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? He was the co-lyricist for Kristina which he wrote with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (ABBA), premiered at Carnegie Hall, New York, in September 2009.e passed away in 2020.