Passion

Last friday, I had the opportunity of seeing one of the best, as well as one of the least known, shows playing in the West End.  My friend and I are theatre fanatics, so when we heard that one of Stephen Sondheim's musicals was playing in Covent Garden, we jumped at the chance. Neither of us had heard of the musical called Passion, nor had we done any previous research, so we went in with a completely open mind.  It was good that we did, because then neither of us could have been able to feel such strong empathy towards both characters as we did as well as have such a pure artistic experience.
   A story of the true foundation of love, Stephen Sondheim's Passion, evoked a multitude of emotions in me during the short hour and a half it played.  It tells the tale of Giorgio, a soldier in 19th century Italy who is in a relationship with a married woman named Clara.  The audience is first introduced them while they sing to each other of true happiness, and how they are whole now they have met.  However, after he is relocated, he meets his Colonel's cousin, an older and sickly woman who has no one to be with named Fosca. She becomes infatuated with him, and tries to manipulate him into loving her, mainly because she wants to feel love before she dies. Though through most of the play he resists and continues to write to his beloved Clara, there is a pivotal scene where Fosca says she loves him so much that she would die for him. There, he realizes his love for Fosca and they share one night of passion together before she dies days after.

This musical addresses many concepts of love that are not often focused on. For one, the audience sees several forms of passion in each of the different characters: Fosca's needful passion for Giorgio, Clara's superficial passion for Giorgio, and Giorgio's passion to be loved by someone.  The audience is also aware that Giorgio and Clara have a silly relationship that is doomed to fail because of her marriage.  Thus, Sondheim sets up a definition of the singular word with several meanings, revealing to the audience how complex love is. The saddest part of the story is that Giorgio does not really love Fosca for herself, but he loves the fact that she loves him so much.  Watching the characters together in their one night of passion gave me no satisfaction because they did not share a real bond, only Fosca's ideal of love that she wanted to experience before death, and Giorgio's selfish love.  Yet, the depth of show made this unfortunate tale beautiful to observe.
The actors and singers were, of course, wonderful. The play took place at the Donmar Warehouse near the Seven Dials, so the space was limited.  However, the stage was set up beautiful, and the lighting was simply gorgeous. It was able to display many emotions that the lack of props and set could not do.  I found the warehouse venue thrilling and more appropriate for such a simple and intimate show, where the songs do most of the work.
In short, Passion was beautiful.  A must see for those in the area, especially Sondheim fans, this musical was a fabulous production that gives a whole new depth to such a simple word.
Colleen Bromberger
University California Irvine