Notre Dame has got it taped

In one of the oddest compromises in the history of West End musicals, the only live musicians playing for the spectacular new French show Notre-Dame de Paris are not in the pit but in the foyer.

At the Dominion Theatre, where the show is now having its previews, the 50-strong cast led by Australian pop star Tina Arena sing to the taped backing track recorded for the original French version of the show.

As the dedicated guardian of live music, which has fought and won many battles in the past with those who would replace the real thing with electronic substitutes, the Musicians' Union was not likely to let that pass unchallenged.

Hence audiences will be greeted in the foyer before the show and during the interval with six fully paid-up members of the union determined to prove the validity of their case.

As a consequence, the producer of the £4 million show, Michael White, finds himself not only paying royalties to the French band which recorded the original score but £528 a week to each member of his live foyer ensemble as well.

Not that he is complaining. "I like musicians and employ lots of them," he said. "I did it before with Pirates Of Penzance. I had musicians in the foyer then. It's quite nice." He maintains there is no question of setting a precedent with the use of a taped score for Notre-Dame de Paris. "We are not trying to change anything. This is just a one-off," he said.

His assurance is accepted by the union. "I have no reason to believe this is the start of an alarming new trend," said the union's Horace Trowbridge.

"The technology to do a Notre-Dame has been around for 20 years and the big players have not said, 'Let's stop using live musicians'.

"In this case our feeling was that the score for the show could have been done with four or five musicians so we asked for six to be employed on full Society of London Theatre rates.

"I shall be quite interested to see the audience's reaction, comparing the the taped music in the auditorium to the live music in the foyer."