New PASSION recording

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:03pm

Anyone else have it? It's lovely, and the packaging is gorgeous... But they've dressed Luker up in costume and it's all a bit strange. Rather upsetting to see Errico erased like that. Her Clara was exquisite.

But it is always nice to have a new Sondheim recording!

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:05pm

Oh my. That does sound a bit strange.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:06pm

I got my shipping confirmation, but it usually takes a few days for me to get the CD. I'm pretty excited to hear it.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:09pm

It's a wonderful recording. And they certainly did a gorgeous job with the packaging. But seeing Luker in the costumes, and posing with Silverman and Kuhn is unnerving. And to see the words "Cast Recording" all over it, as if she were part of the cast, bothers me a bit.

Despite all of the mixed emotions regarding Errico's blog, she gave one helluva performance. Her Clara was thrilling and extraordinary. I can't help but feel strange about this.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:11pm

Are you suggesting they could have handled it like they did with Norm Lewis for A NEW BRAIN? I totally get your feelings but I'm not sure what they were supposed to do...

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:22pm

I don't actually know the Norm Lewis/New Brain story. Was he not in the original production? Sadly, I was not living in NYC then and never got to see it. (I really love that score, though...)

[theatreguy]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:34pm

I can't remember if he ever actually played Roger on stage in A New Brain, but Norm Lewis replaced Christopher Innvar for the recording because Innvar was ill.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:34pm

Ah, okay. WikiPedia says Norm played Roger, but the NYTimes review lists Innvar. I wonder if Norm understudied?

[thommg]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:46pm

I don't think it bothers me that Luker is in costume. I saw her do the role at the Kennedy Center with Judy Kuhn so it might seem fine. I'll have to see what my reaction is once I see the photos.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 12:50pm

There IS a small disclaimer in the booklet about Rebecca. And I just discovered one photo of Rebecca in the back of the book. It's a beautiful CD. No gripes here. Just curious how others feel about it.

It's certainly a tricky situation. I'm not sure how else they would've handled it. All a bit strange seeing this unfold while Errico blogs...

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:02pm

No. A little bit different than that. I am almost positive Norm was hired to just sing on the cast recording as they did not have an understudy for Roger. So, I guess it's not a completely comparable situation.

In the booklet for that, there were no pictures of Norm and they put an asterisk next to the character name with a disclaimer at the bottom to the extent of "*For this recording, the part of Roger was sung by Norm Lewis" But since Rebecca was an actual replacement in the production, that's a much tougher spot to be in.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:11pm

Rebecca wasn't an actual replacement in the production. The run was completed by Amy Justman.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:12pm

Oh! Then I'm with you. THAT IS REALLY WEIRD

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:21pm

Yeah... I didn't see Justman, so I can't comment on her performance.

Regardless, this wasn't meant to be a bashing thread. Just wanted to see what others' opinions of it were. It's a lovely recording, and I'll definitely enjoy listening to it again and again. But a strange situation, for sure!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 7:06pm

I received my copy today! The packaging is absolutely gorgeous! I'm still miffed that they didn't use the CSC artwork, but all the beautiful pictures make up for it. There is heavy use of the black and gold flooring in the scenic design that makes its way onto a lot of the pages of the booklet and inserts.

There are several pictures of Rebecca Luker in costume and on the set photographed by Joan Marcus, as well as a single production photo of Melissa Errico and Ryan Silverman in the very back of the booklet. A disclaimer below the cast list states that Errico was simply unable to appear on the recording and that Luker graciously stepped in.

There are liner notes written by Patrick Pacheco which talks a bit about the history of Passion and this production. He also goes into detail about the major plot points, yet his article is followed by another disclaimer dismissing the inclusion of a synopsis since the recording is purported to be so expansive.

While I agree with that assessment, they have left out a few scenes that I would consider rather important including the scene in which Fosca kisses, or attempts to kiss, Giorgio causing him to abandon her as she cries out. The omission of this scene may cause confusion for some listeners as the second disc begins with the soldiers discussing the screams from the previous night. A brief description of the scene is provided within the included lyrics as a consolation prize.

Other than that and one or two other irritating, yet minor, omissions the cast recording is beautiful. It's a worthy companion piece to both the Broadway and London cast recordings and with such beautiful packaging and performances, well worth the price.

[wewdie]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 7:11pm

So now the question is, what is the definitive recording of this show?

[PianoMann]

Posted: 6/22/13 at 11:49pm

I just finished the first disc and have to agree this recording is absolutely beautiful! PS Classics yet again wows with a phenomenal Sondheim recording.

The inclusion of Luker pictures, etc. doesn't really bother me. I understand why it can be insensitive and distasteful, but was there another option? Either they included no pictures of Clara, which wouldn't make sense she is one of the three main characters, or they included the pictures of Melissa, which would be misleading too because she does not sing on the album. They were between a rock and a hard place.

The quandary does not take away from the quality of this recording; the orchestrations and vocals are exquisite.

[jackieoh]

Posted: 6/23/13 at 1:11am

This is my favorite Sondheim piece and this recording is absolutely beautiful.

Judy Kuhn's laugh following "If you have no expectations, Captain, you can never have a disappointment" during I Read is haunting and I replayed it a few times during my first listen-through.

I am very surprised how much Luker sounds like Marin Mazzie at certain points of this set. On the Garden Sequence track, when Luker sings the 'fragrance of a woman' bit her voice sounds identical to Mazzie's. Not a bad thing of course, just surprising.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 1:42am

Luker actually looks really lovely in the new pictures, but it was a little jarring seeing her given such prominent placing on the back cover of the sleeve and front cover of the jewel case. But there really was no easy solution for this situation.

So far, it's a stunning recording. I've started listening tonight.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 12:10pm

I got my copy yesterday!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:03pm

I know Tommy Krasker is against recording full shows on cast albums as he wrote in the Follies liner notes, but there's so much great dialogue that I miss listening to this cast recording. It would not have bothered me to have a "radio show" version with the entire script and score being preserved like the Donmar Parade cast recording. There's not that much dialogue in Passion anyway and the stuff that's missing absolutely kills me.

It's great for what it is. I'm enjoying this recording, but the inclusion of some of the soldier's filler dialogue and jokes in favor of more important scenes between Fosca and Giorgio is particularly baffling. I feel like there wasn't as much thought put into which passages of dialogue would be recorded as he has done in the past.

Updated On: 6/25/13 at 04:03 PM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/27/13 at 2:16am

I like it, but Melissa Errico sounded much better than Rebecca Luker.

[Idiot]

Posted: 6/27/13 at 3:29am

Just got mine today. Still ingesting it. It's good -- but can anyone really top Ms. Donna's original Fosca?

[binau]

Posted: 6/27/13 at 6:17am

If they can it hasn't happened yet. Something I absolutely love about Donna Murphy's performance is the texture of her voice when she sings the various lower notes throughout the score. It is so distinctive - I get chills when she sings "They hear drums, we hear music, be my friend". There is nothing special about the way others sing this line, for example.

I usually can easily see what other people bring to a role - that's why for example I enjoyed both Mazzie and Ripley in NEXT TO NORMAL, so I hate to be one of *those* people but it is difficult for me to see what Judy Kuhn and Rebecca Luker, for example, bring to their roles here. Except perhaps Kuhn does a better job than Murphy sounding that she is sick and a tiny bit breathless. She does sound convincingly sick on the "I came to thank you for the books...I would have sooner but I've been so ill" lines, particularly. Sounding actually sick makes her character a little more sympathetic to me.

I think this recording has somewhat changed my mind about the show though in a negative way. There are a lot of really great things about it though. First, I can't think of a leading character in another musical that explores something quite as confronting as PASSION. I mean, even the struggles for the leading ladies in FOLLIES are quite tame in comparison to Fosca. It truly is awful to be ugly, dying and experiencing unrequited love. And the musical does not attempt to censor it at all - she is relentless and depressing. The kind of person you just don't want to be around at all.

Second, I think the score has some great moments, particularly with Fosca. In terms of scope, "I Read" is the EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES/LOT'S WIFE//AND I'M TELLING YOU/EVE WAS WEAK/EPIPHANY-style song in the musical in terms of expressing an extreme emotion. But instead of anger or deluded excitement it's hopelessness. Listen from 2:08 to 2:17 of the new recording's I READ...the lyrics and those dissonant strings..it just sounds so frightening. This is what I love about Sondheim's music, it often really fits the character and scene so well. But I totally understand why people would not 'like' it - it's not pleasant sounding and it's not fun or uplifting. But sometimes I really enjoy listening to how a hopeless character can be explored through music, which is often really done well in PASSION.

I also love some of the lyrics in the show:

For now I'm seeing love like none I've ever known.
A love as pure as breath, as permanent as death.
Implacable as stone
A love that, like a knife, has cut into a life
I wanted left alone.
A love I may regret, but one I can't forget.

---

But what listening to this recording (after not having listened to the show in a while) has really made clear to me is just how cringeworthy some of the writing is. Of course, this has nothing to do with the recording - you can pretty much trust PS Classics to make perfect recordings these days.

Anyway, in Happiness I really find the line - "unhappiness can be seductive" so cringeworthy and unbelievable….I mean really? I don't see how it can be seductive at ALL. People don't like unhappiness. I wonder if this is meant to be foreshadowing Giorgio falling for Fosca, but still. It just doesn't make sense to me. "We'll make love with our words" - lol cringeeee so corny. It is said so seriously and dramatically obviously, so it's not meant to be ironic or anything.

"I've begun to fear for my soul" - again I just find this cringeworthy. Who speaks like that? I realise that it isn't set in the 21st century, but still, it's just not something I can conceivably believe something someone would feel is the result of Fosca's actions.

And the absolute WORST thing for me is the damn 'soldiers'. "It smells to me like Captain blah has an admirer" - it actually makes this show seem so campy to me……all the "Soliders' gossips" are also so god damn camp. When you listen to "Third Letter", and Giorgio talks about how he is in "living hell" it is just so unbelievable. I don't know why Sondheim and/or Lapine didn't actually make his living conditions or his solider colleagues abhorrent so that there is a REAL contrast between what it must be like in bed with Clara's "breasts, [her] lips" and living in a remote village sausage fest.

Also, in the end I have decided at the moment that I just can't believe that Giorgio could ever like Fosca back. I don't believe a very good looking man who has tasted the flesh of good looking women could ever fall in love with Fosca. I mean, regardless of her dying, ugly body and face - what in her personality does he find attractive? Is there a single moment that Giorgio and Fosca have together where they have fun or a good time together?

Giorgio sings that "No One Has Ever Loved Me As Deeply As You" to Fosca. I absolutely believe this, but I don't see any suggestion why that would mean he could love her back.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 6/27/13 at 6:30am

Liza's Headband, there absolutely was an understudy/replacement for Christopher Innvar in the New Brain production. I know I saw the replacement and I believe it was Norm Lewis, though I can't swear to that as I found whoever it was to be pretty forgettable. Lewis lists the show, not just the recording, in his bio.