Passion is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. The story is adapted from Ettore Scola's 1981 film Passione d'Amore, and its source material, Iginio Ugo Tarchetti's 1869 novel Fosca. Central themes include love, sex, obsession, illness, passion, and the nature of beauty and power. Passion is notable as one of the few projects that Sondheim himself conceived, along with Sweeney Todd and Road Show.
Set in Risorgimento-era Italy, the plot concerns a young soldier and the changes in him brought about by the obsessive love of Fosca, his Colonel's homely, ailing cousin.
Background and history The story originally came from a 19th-century novel by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti, an experimental Italian writer prominently associated with the Scapigliatura movement. His book Fosca was a fictionalized recounting of an affair he had had with an epileptic woman when he was a soldier.Secrest, Meryl. Stephen Sondheim: A Life. Delta; new edition (1999), 337
Sondheim first came up with the idea of writing a musical adaptation when he saw the film in 1983:
As Fosca started to speak and the camera cut back to her, I had my epiphany. I realized that the story was not about how she is going to fall in love with him, but about how he is going to fall in love with her . . . at the same time thinking, "They're never going to convince me of that, they're never going to pull that off," all the while knowing they would, that Scola wouldn't have taken on such a ripely melodramatic story unless he was convinced that he could make it plausible. By the end of the movie, the unwritten songs in my head were brimming and I was certain of two things. First, I wanted to make it into a musical, the problem being that it couldn't be a musical, not even in my nontraditional style, because the characters were so outsized. Second, I wanted James Lapine to write it; he was a romantic, he had a feel for different centuries and different cultures, and he was enthusiastically attracted to weirdness.Sondheim, Stephen. Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011). Knopf (2011), 177
As it turned out, Lapine was already exploring the idea of adapting Muscle, a memoir by Sam Fussell, for the musical stage. Together, they came up with the idea of a pair of double-billing one acts. Lapine wrote a couple of scenes and Sondheim had just started working on the opening number when he began to feel that his musical style was unsuitable for Muscle. The piece was more contemporary and in his opinion required a score reflecting pop sensibilities. He called Lapine and suggested that he find another songwriter, perhaps William Finn, and include it as a companion piece. Meanwhile, they continued to work on Passion and as the piece grew, they found that it was enough for an entire evening of theatre, and Sondheim's involvement with Muscle ended.Secrest, Meryl. Stephen Sondheim: A Life. Delta; new edition (1999), 379 Lapine later completed the piece separately as a full-length musical, Muscle, with Finn and lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh; it received an invitation-only workshop in New York in 1995 and was premiered by Chicago's Pegasus Players in 2001.Marks, Peter. "On Stage, and Off." The New York Times, November 24, 1995.Dietz, Dan. The Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, pp. 94–96.
Productions Original Broadway production 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 show 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, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, and music direction by Paul Gemignani. This production was filmed shortly after closing and televised on the Public Broadcasting Service series 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 role of Fosca was originally offered to Patti LuPone, but she turned it down to star in Sunset Boulevard in the West End. LuPone was then famously fired from Sunset Boulevard in favor of Glenn Close, who took the show to Broadway.
On October 20, 2004, there was a tenth-anniversary concert at the Ambassador Theatre. It starred Marin Mazzie, Michael Cerveris, John McMartin and Donna Murphy.PASSION 10th Anniversary Concert to Benefit Friends in Deed
Original London production The show opened in the West End, with significant musical and script revisions, at the Queen's Theatre in 1996. Directed by Jeremy Sams, the cast featured Michael Ball as Giorgio, Helen Hobson as Clara, and Maria Friedman as Fosca. The production ran for 232 performances. 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.
2010 London revival A production was mounted at the Donmar Warehouse in London to coincide with Sondheim's 80th birthday celebrations in 2010. It began previews on September 10, opened on September 21, and then continued a sold-out limited engagement until closing on November 27. It was directed by Jamie Lloyd, who was the Donmar associate director at the time, and the cast included Argentine actress Elena Roger, Scarlett Strallen, and David Thaxton.Listing donmarwarehouse.comShenton, Mark."Sondheim's 'Passion' Opens at London's Donmar Warehouse Sept. 21" playbill.com, September 21, 2010 This production won the Evening Standard Awards, Best Musical Award.Shenton, Mark."'Passion' and Clybourne Park Win Evening Standard Awards; Sir Peter Hall, Michael Gambon Honored" playbill.com, November 28, 2010 Thaxton won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical."David Thaxton Wins Best Actor in a Musical" , Olivier Awards, 13 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-14. During the matinee performance on October 2, actor David Birrell was injured on stage by a faulty firearm, resulting in hospitalization and the cancellation of several performances. Whatsonstage.com
2011 premiere in Germany Passion received its German-language premiere (translated by Roman Hinze) on January 28, 2011, at the Dresden State Operetta. Directed by Holger Hauer, the lead roles were filled by Marcus Günzel (Giorgio), Maike Switzer (Clara) and Vasiliki Roussi (Fosca). The choir and orchestra of the Dresden State Operetta performed under the musical direction of Peter Christian Feigel. A special feature of this production was its orchestral arrangement for a symphonic orchestra, including a great string ensemble, harpsichord and harp, with no electronic instruments being used and modifications to the musical score being made in cooperation with the composer. Passion ran at the Dresden State Operetta in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. The work was performed for the CD label “bobbymusic” from August 22 to 25, 2012 using the same performers. It is the first recording in German, and the first recording of the entire work with all of the musical numbers and spoken texts. Since December 2, 2013 the double CD has been on sale at the Dresden State Operetta (www.staatsoperette-dresden.de) as well as online (www.soundofmusic-shop.de or www.bobbymusic.de ).
2013 Off-Broadway revival The show was mounted by the East Village-based Classic Stage Company, starring Judy Kuhn as Fosca, Melissa Errico as Clara and Ryan Silverman as Giorgio. Known primarily for their stagings of classical plays, Passion was the first musical that the company had ever produced., The New York Times. Patricia Cohen. "Classic Stage Season to Begin with Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Allegro'." March 6, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2015. The production was helmed by John Doyle and took a minimalist approach to the piece. Unlike other Doyle productions of Sondheim works, there were no instruments onstage. The run was extended through April 2013, and a two-disc cast recording was released on July 2 from PS Classics. Rebecca Luker, who played the role of Clara in the Kennedy Center's 2002 Sondheim Celebration production, replaced the ill Errico on this recording., Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2013-4-11.Culwell-Block, Logan. "9 Original Cast Albums Featuring Replacement Performers", Playbill, November 17, 2022
2016 Scandinavian premiere in Sweden Passion received its Swedish-language premiere (translated by Ulricha Johnson) on September 17, 2016, at the Kulturhuset Spira. Directed by Victoria Brattström, the lead roles were portrayed by Kalle Malmberg (Giorgio), Mari Lerberg Fossum (Clara) and Annica Edstam (Fosca). The Jönköping Sinfonietta performed under the musical direction of Johan Siberg who also wrote the musical arrangements. The production had a second run at NorrlandsOperan in 2017.
Other productions The musical made its regional premiere at New Line Theatre in St. Louis in 1996, and was later part of the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, running from July 19 to August 23, 2002, directed by Eric Schaeffer. Judy Kuhn and Michael Cerveris played Fosca and Giorgio, with Rebecca Luker as Clara.The Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center sondheimguide.com, retrieved December 15, 2009
The work was presented by the Minnesota Opera in 2004, staged by Tim Albery and starring Patricia Racette as Fosca, William Burden as Giorgio, and Evelyn Pollock as Clara.Anthony, Michael. "Classical:Sondheim's 'Passion'", Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), p. 11F, February 22, 2004
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 Vera Mann as Fosca, Stanley Burleson as Giorgio, and Pia Douwes as Clara."Pia Douwes, Vera Mann Stanley Burleson and rehearsing for Passion" nieuwsbank.nl (translation), June 7, 2004Passion recording in Dutch discogs.com, retrieved December 14, 2009
A semi-staged concert, starring Patti LuPone as Fosca, Michael Cerveris as Giorgio and Audra McDonald as Clara, was held at Lincoln Center in New York for three performances, March 30 – April 1, 2005. Directed by Lonny Price, this production was broadcast on the PBS television show Live from Lincoln Center on March 31, 2005. It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program. The score in this production preserved the musical revisions from the London version. This same cast performed the revised London version at the Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, Illinois, on August 22–23, 2003.
The show was done 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.Jones, Kenneth., playbill.com, October 2, 2007
The work was presented by Life Like Company at the Arts Centre Melbourne from November 5 to 8, 2014, starring Theresa Borg as Fosca, Kane Alexander as Giorgio, and Silvie Paladino as Clara.
The musical had its Italian premiere at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte of Montepulciano on July 12, 2019, directed by Keith Warner. The musical direction was by Roland Boer, and Janie Dee played Fosca."Passion: Italian premiere with Janie Dee and Philip Smith, sondheimsociety.com, July 12, 2019
A production was staged in 2018 at Signature Theatre directed by Matthew Gardiner and starring Claybourne Elder as Giorgio, Natascia Diaz as Fosca and Steffanie Leigh as Clara. It was Signature's second production of the work.
The show was set to open in Pasadena, California, on March 15, 2020, directed by Michael Michetti at Boston Court Pasadena, but was postponed, and later canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.