Passion. I found this wonderful score completely by chance on iTunes, and wow was I floored. Donna's impeccable performance, bringing the appropriate nuance and depth to the role while still making it hard and scathing, the always wonderful Marin bringing warmth to every note she touches. The completely compelling love story that has you on the edge of your seat, and the notion that not one noise is to come from the audience until the 100 minutes is over. I believe that Fosca is one of the great roles in theatre, to be coveted with the likes of Dolly, Fanny, or Rose.
Passion is certainly a difficult show to connect with, as the audience must go through the same repulsion and horror as Giorgio. It may never compel certain people the way I have been transfixed by it.
That gorgeous score: the only word I can describe it with is warm. Like the love saga quartet from Sunday, it absolutely drips with warmth, as Sondheim himself said was brought out by James Lapine. On a first listen, I was crying by the end, and Fosca's death felt personal. I am so thankful it was recorded, so I could see the fantastic performances. The concert version also showed Miss LuPone can play quiet and vulnerable quite well, something glimpsed at in Sunset Boulevard, but with good material, she shone.
Like the score, the only feeling i get when I hear the first military drum beat is warmth that continues until the final, heartbreaking chord. Bravo, Bravo, an Operatic Musical, that thrills and brings warmth, what more can you ask for?
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir