Passion

Passion
Original Broadway Cast Album Cover
Music	Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim
Book	James Lapine
Basis	Ettore Scola film Passione d'Amore
Productions	1994 Broadway 1996 West End
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award Best Book of a Musical Tony Award Best Original Score

Passion is a musical adapted from Ettore Scola's film Passione d'Amore (which was, in its turn, based on Iginio Ugo Tarchetti's novel Fosca). The book is by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Central subjects include obsession, beauty, power, manipulation, passion, illness, and love. It is also a partially epistolary play, parts of the story being told through letters.

Set in 19th century Italy, Sondheim's musical revolves around a handsome soldier, Giorgio, who is shattered and ultimately changed by the unconditional and obsessive love of Fosca, his Colonel's ugly and sickly cousin. Throughout the play, Giorgio corresponds with his beautiful (but married) mistress Clara through letters. Passion is also notable for being the only other show, apart from Sweeney Todd, that Stephen Sondheim himself conceived.

Productions

After 52 previews Passion opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on May 9, 1994 and closed on January 7, 1995. Directed by James Lapine, the cast starred Jere Shea as Giorgio, Donna Murphy as Fosca and Marin Mazzie as Clara. Scenic Design was by Adrianne Lobel, Costume Design by Jane Greenwood, Lighting Design by Beverly Emmons, and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. This production was filmed shortly after closing and televised on the Public Broadcasting Service "American Playhouse" on September 8, 1996. (It was released on DVD in 2003 by Image Entertainment.) The musical ran a total of 280 performances, making it the shortest-running musical ever to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.

The show was mounted, with minor revisions, in the West End in 1996. Directed by Jeremy Sams,the cast starred Michael Ball as Giorgio, Helen Hobson as Clara, and Maria Friedman as Fosca (Friedman had previously appeared in several Sondheim musicals in the UK). It opened on March 26, 1996 at the Queen's Theatre and closed on September 28, 1996 after 232 performances. The London cast was not officially recorded during the production run, but a recording was later made of the show performed in concert, with nearly all of the original London cast recreating their roles and preserving the musical changes from the earlier production.

The musical was part of the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, running from July 19, 2002 through August 23, 2002, with direction by Eric Schaeffer and the cast starring Michael Cerveris, Rebecca Luker, and Judy Kuhn.^[1]

The work was performed by the Minnesota Opera in February 2004, staged by Tim Albery and starring Patricia Racette as Fosca, William Burden as Giorgio, and Evelyn Pollock as Clara.^[2]

In 2004 the show was performed in the Netherlands, and a Dutch language recording was released—one of the few translations of a Sondheim score. This production had Pia Douwes starring as Clara, Stanley Burleson as Giorgio and Vera Mann as Fosca.^[3][4]

A semi-staged production, starring Michael Cerveris as Giorgio, Patti LuPone as Fosca, and Audra McDonald as Clara, was performed at Lincoln Center in New York for three performances, March 30 - April 1, 2005. This production was broadcast on the PBS television show "Live From Lincoln Center" on March 31, 2005. The score in this production preserved the musical revisions from the London version. This same cast had performed at the Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, Illinois, in August 22-23, 2003.

The show was mounted at Chicago Shakespeare Theater from October 2, 2007 to November 11, 2007, starring Ana Gasteyer as Fosca, Adam Brazier as Giorgio and Kathy Voytko as Clara.^[5]

A new production has been announced for the Donmar Warehouse in London in Spring 2010 as part of Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday celebrations. It is expected to star Argentine actress Elena Roger.^[6]

Synopsis

In Milan in 1863, two lovers are in bed, singing of their ardor ("Happiness"). The handsome soldier Giorgio breaks their reverie by telling his beautiful mistress Clara that he is being transferred to a provincial army outpost.

In the mess hall at the outpost, Giorgio meets Colonel Ricci, the regiment's commanding officer, and Dr. Tambourri, its attending physician. He thinks longingly of Clara (“First Letter”), and Clara thinks longingly of him ("Second Letter"). Giorgio's thoughts are interrupted by a frightening scream. The Colonel tells him not to worry; it's his sickly cousin, Fosca. He tells Giorgio that Fosca loves to read. Giorgio offers to lend her some of his books.

At this army post so far from the city, the sensitive Giorgio feels increasingly out of place ("Third Letter"). He starts to form a friendship with the Doctor, who describes Fosca as "a kind of medical phenomenon, a collection of many ills. One might say that her nerves are exposed, where ours are protected by a firm layer of skin." However, Fosca is in no danger of succumbing to her illness; her body is too weak to produce a mortal disease. She frequently dissolves into seizures, exposing her suffering and need for connection. Giorgio asks whether Fosca is pretty. The Doctor doesn't respond.

In the mess hall, Giorgio opens another letter from Clara ("Fourth Letter"). As he does so, a shadowy figure behind him descends a long spectral staircase. Clothed in a stiff dress and approaching with an uncertain gait, the thoroughly unbeautiful Fosca introduces herself to Giorgio and thanks him for the books. When he suggests she keep a novel longer to meditate over it, she explains that she does not read to think or search for truth, but to live vicariously through the characters. She then goes off into a musing of her life ("I Read"). When Giorgio observes that a hearse is pulling up to pick up flowers for a funeral, Fosca is seized by a hysterical convulsion. Giorgio is stunned and appalled ("Transition").

The next day, Giorgio accompanies Fosca, the Colonel and the Doctor to the neglected garden of a nearby ruined castle, where the Colonel asks Giorgio to lend Fosca his arm. While Giorgio and Fosca stroll, he narrates in a letter to Clara that the presence of a woman caused him to think of her. Giorgio sings about the powers of love that is "the only happiness we can be certain of in life", echoed by Clara. Fosca, however, is hurt, and accuses him of insensitivity. She recognizes that Giorgio, like herself, is different from everyone else, and asks him to be her friend ("Garden Sequence").

As the days pass, Giorgio and Clara exchange letters about Fosca. Clara warns him to keep his distance. In fact, Fosca has already developed a dangerous obsession. At dinner that night, she gives Giorgio a letter declaring her feelings, but he chooses not to read it. Giorgio immediately asks the Colonel if he can have a five-day leave to go to Milan. With some hesitation, the Colonel agrees ("Transition").

The following morning, as Giorgio prepares to go, Fosca ambushes him and throws herself at his feet, avowing her love. He calms her, but not before agreeing to write her as soon as he arrives in the city. The next day, Giorgio's letter arrives. Fosca sings despairingly from the letter Giorgio has sent her politely rejecting her love while he and Clara, back in their little room, sing of their love for one another ("Trio").

Upon Giorgio's return to the camp, Fosca coldly reproaches him. She questions him about his affair with Clara and learns that her "rival" is married. In a sharp exchange, they both agree to sever all ties.

Three weeks pass with no contact between them ("Transition"). But just as Giorgio is beginning to think that he is finally free of Fosca, the Doctor approaches him and informs him that Fosca is dying, and it is all because of Giorgio. His rejection of her love has increased the gravity of her disease. Giorgio, whose job as a soldier is to save people's lives, must go see her and offer a few words of hope. Giorgio reluctantly agrees.

He enters Fosca's bed chamber, and she implores him to lie beside her on the bed while she sleeps. At daybreak, Fosca asks him for a favor before he leaves: "Write a letter for me." He agrees, but the letter she dictates is a fantasy one from Giorgio to herself (“I Wish I Could Forget You”). She then encourages him to give her a kiss, which she uses as an opportunity to foist herself upon him. He hastens from the room.

The other soldiers gossip about Giorgio and Fosca while playing pool ("Soldiers' Gossip").

Colonel Ricci reminisces about his cousin to Giorgio, as Fosca writes a letter to him explaining her past. From the cousins' contrasting viewpoints it is seen that Fosca still had illusions about her looks and expectations about her prospects. One day, the Colonel brought the Austrian Count Ludovic home for dinner and introduced him. Fosca was delighted by him, though she had her suspicions. They were soon married, and the libertine Count swindled her parent's fortune. Fosca was one day confronted in the street by her husband's mistress, and is told that he is not only a gigolo, but a fraud and a bigamist as well. When confronted, Ludovic smoothly admits to his deception and disappears, leaving her penniless. It was then that Fosca became ill. After her parents died, the Colonel, feeling responsible, took her in. ("Flashback").

Clara, meanwhile, has written Giorgio another letter ("Sunrise Letter") addressing her approaching age, in which she confesses that she is afraid that Giorgio will not love her anymore when she is old and no longer beautiful. He makes his way to a desolate mountain heath, sits down to write her back, and Fosca appears. He lashes out at her in anger ("Is This What You Call Love?"). She collapses, and he carries her back in the rain.

The other soldiers gossip about Giorgio and Fosca coming back to camp soaked to the skin ("Soldiers' Gossip").

The rain, the ordeal of getting Fosca back to camp and perhaps the exposure to Fosca's contagious emotions have conspired to give Giorgio a fever ("Nightmare"). The Doctor attends to him and informs him that he is being sent home to Milan to recuperate ("Transition").

The others soldiers gossip about Giorgio's 40-day sick leave ("Soldiers' Gossip"). Clara happily anticipates his sick leave ("Forty Days").

Giorgio, still in poor health, boards the train for Milan, only to be followed once again by Fosca. They have an angry exchange. Furious at her nerve, he tells her that he is ill and it is all because of her. She apologizes for her behavior and tells him that nothing could have been further from what she wished for him; she will move to another compartment so that Giorgio can be free from her affections. Giorgio informs her that he will never love her. He pleads with her to give up. She explains that this cannot happen. Her love is not a choice, it is who she is. She proclaims that she loves him so much, she would die for him ("Loving You"). "Die for me? What kind of love is that?" Giorgio asks. She says that it is the truest love there is, and that in the end, he will see what is beautiful about her. Giorgio is finally moved by the force of her emotions. He wraps her in a blanket and takes her back ("Transition").

Startled to see Giorgio back so soon, the Doctor warns him that he must stop seeing Fosca, that she poses a threat to his mental and physical health. Giorgio asks that his sick leave be shortened; he feels it his duty to stay and help Fosca as much as he can. The Doctor stiffly informs him that no one can help Fosca, and he will have him permanently transferred if he doesn't take his leave.

The others soldiers gossip about Giorgio's 40-day sick leave ("Soldiers' Gossip").

Giorgio goes to Milan and tells Clara he will not take his full leave – a decision that provokes Clara to question him jealously about Fosca. Giorgio responds by asking Clara to leave her husband and run away with him, but as she has a child, she cannot.

Giorgio returns to the post and attends a Christmas party with Fosca and the soldiers. The festive mood is broken by the Colonel's reporting Giorgio to military headquarters. To everyone's embarrassment, the news sends Fosca flying into Giorgio's arms, begging him not to leave. She rushes from the room in tears.

The Colonel, outraged, orders Giorgio to wait for him as he leaves the room to attend to his cousin. In the meantime, Giorgio reads Clara's latest letter, in which she asks him to wait until her child is of age before asking her to make a more serious commitment to him ("Farewell Letter"). Giorgio then realizes that what he had with Clara was little more than infatuation. He no longer desires the carefully planned, convenient relationship that they shared ("Just Another Love Story"). He puts her letter away.

The Colonel returns from Fosca's bedroom, having discovered the letter Fosca dictated to Giorgio. He accuses Giorgio of leading on his cousin and challenges him to a duel. The Doctor attempts to mediate the two, but Giorgio demands that he to arrange for him to see Fosca one last time. Finally, Giorgio has seen the depth of Fosca's love; he realizes that he loves Fosca, for no one has ever truly loved him but her.

That evening, Giorgio returns to Fosca's bedroom and, knowing the physical act of love might very well kill her, surrenders to what she has awakened in his heart (“No One Has Ever Loved Me”). They embrace, their passion consummated at last.

The duel takes place the following morning. Giorgio wounds Colonel Ricci, then responds with a shrill howl eerily reminiscent of Fosca's earlier outbursts.

Several months pass, and Giorgio is in a hospital, recovering from his nervous condition. A nurse enters with news from the Doctor, and hands him a letter and a box. Fosca died three days after their night together; Colonel Ricci recovered from the wound. She has left Giorgio a letter and a box containing some of her possessions, which the Doctor has enclosed. Dreamlike, the other characters in the story appear, as Giorgio begins reading from Fosca's final letter. He hears her voice, and together they sing of their revelations ("Finale").

The company slowly walks off, followed by Fosca, leaving Giorgio alone at his table.

Songs

Note: No song titles were listed in the program

• Happiness - Clara and Giorgio
• First Letter - Clara and Giorgio
• Second Letter - Clara and Giorgio
• Third Letter - Clara, Giorgio, Soldiers
• Fourth Letter - Clara
• I Read - Fosca
• Transition (#1) - Giorgio, Men
• Garden Sequence - Giorgio, Clara, Fosca
• Transition (#2) - Soldiers
• Trio - Fosca, Giorgio, Clara
• Transition (#3) - Attendants
• "This is hell..." - Soldiers & Attendants +
• "God, you are so beautiful..." - Fosca +
• I Wish I Could Forget You - Fosca
• "How can I describe her..." - Soldiers +
• Soldier's Gossip (#1) - Soldiers
• Flashback - Colonel Ricci, Fosca, Mother, Father, Ludovic, Mistress
• Sunrise Letter - Clara and Giorgio
• Is This What You Call Love? - Giorgio
• Soldiers' Gossip (#2) - Soldiers
• Nightmare - Group #1 and #2 +
• Transition (#4) - Rizzolli
• Forty Days - Clara
• Loving You - Fosca
• Transition (#5) - Woman, Man
• Soldiers' Gossip (#3) - Soldiers
• "Giorgio, I didn't tell you in my letter..." - Clara +
• Christmas Carol - Torasso +
• Farewell Letter - Clara
• Just Another Love Story - Giorgio and Clara
• No One Has Ever Loved Me - Giorgio
• "All this happiness..." - Fosca
• The Duel +
• Finale - Company

+ Not included on recording

Response and Analysis

In analyzing the musical, The New York Times wrote that Passion has "a lush, romantic score that mirrors the heightened, operatic nature of the story... Jonathan Tunick's orchestration plays an especially important role in lending the music a richness of texture and bringing out its sweeping melodic lines. The sets...and lighting...are warm and glowy and fervent, reminiscent of the colors of Italian frescoes and evocative of the story's intense, highly dramatic mood. Less a series of individual songs than a hypnotic net of music, the show's score traces the shifting, kaleidoscopic emotions of the characters, even as it draws the audience into the dreamlike world of their fevered passions."^[7]

The New York Times review of the 1994 Broadway production called the musical an "unalloyed love story" but also Sondheim's "most somber" since Sweeney Todd. The review praised Donna Murphy, saying "her face wan, her eyes feverish, is spellbinding as the wretched Fosca. Indeed, her performance is so painfully honest in its depiction of a desperate and lonely woman that there are moments when you simply have to look away. She is also more than a little scary in the role..." "The score contains some insinuating melodies (no titles are listed in the program) that appear to have been forged out of cries and whispers. You can hear madness in the ecstatic lilt. The sharp drum rolls that mark the soldiers' days also could be summoning distressed souls to order." But, the reviewer sums up, the "...boldness of the enterprise never quite pays off. The musical leads an audience right up to the moment of transcendence but is unable in the end to provide the lift that would elevate the material above the disturbing."^[8]

In reviewing the 2005 concert, The New York Times wrote: "This pared-down production of one of Mr. Sondheim's most challenging works, a gothic romance about a young military officer drawn into an intense relationship with a sick, ugly woman, illuminates the shapely beauty and emotional vibrancy of Mr. Sondheim's score with unsettling, ultimately shattering force. More than a decade after its Broadway premiere, "Passion" may have found its purest, most persuasive and most powerful form."^[9]

Awards and nominations

Broadway

Tony Awards

• Tony Award for Best Musical (Winner)
• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (James Lapine) (Winner)
• Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) (Winner)
• Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Donna Murphy) (Winner)
• Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Jere Shea) (Nomination)
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Tom Aldredge) (Nomination)
• Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Marin Mazzie) (Nomination)
• Tony Award for Best Costume Design (Jane Greenwood) (Nomination)
• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (Beverly Emmons) (Nomination)
• Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (James Lapine) (Nomination)

Drama Desk Awards

• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book (James Lapine) (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Donna Murphy) (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations (Jonathan Tunick) (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (Stephen Sondheim) (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (Stephen Sondheim) (Winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Jere Shea) (Nomination)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (James Lapine) (Nomination)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (Jane Greenwood) (Nomination)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design (Beverly Emmons) (Nomination)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (Adrianne Lobel) (Nomination)

Theatre World Awards

Jere Shea

London Awards

Evening Standard Awards

• Evening Standard Award for Best New Musical

Olivier Awards^[10]

• Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Maria Friedman) (Winner)
• Olivier Award for Best New Musical (Nomination)
• Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance (Hugh Ross) (Nomination)
• Olivier Award for Best Set Designer (Paul Farnsworth) (Nomination)

Reader's Choice Awards

• Reader's Choice Award for Best Director (Jeremy Sams)
• Reader's Choice Award for Best Actor (Michael Ball)
• Reader's Choice Award for Best Actress (Maria Friedman)

Reader's Choice Nominations

• Reader's Choice Award for Best New Musical

References

• Original Broadway Cast Album booklet

External links

• Passion at the Internet Broadway Database
• Passion on the Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide
• Passion synopsis and production information at MTI Shows
• Passion - A musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
• How Passion changed during its difficult previews, a 1994 article from The Sondheim Review.