Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love

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Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love was a 1993 West End musical production that is considered one of the biggest disasters in the history of London theatre.

The project, a highly fictionalized account of Leonardo da Vinci's creation of the Mona Lisa, was the brainchild of Duke Minks, an advisor to the Republic of Nauru and former road manager for the 1960s pop group, Unit 4 + 2, best known for their UK #1 hit, "Concrete And Clay." He convinced government officials to invest £2 million - derived from profits earned from their major export, bird droppings rich in phosphates - in the production, a fact later gleefully exploited by the critics in their scathing reviews.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The rambling plot - which started and ended with its protagonist on his deathbed, his completed masterpiece at his side - centered on the struggling artist da Vinci's commission to paint a young woman named Lisa, betrothed to nobleman Francesco Del Giocondo. The artist and his model engage in a passionate affair resulting in her pregnancy, and she returns to her fiancé, pretending the child is his to avoid public scandal and his private wrath. Eventually she returns to beg for forgiveness from the now successful da Vinci, who accidentally is murdered by her husband when he confronts the two in a jealous rage. A subplot hinting at da Vinci's homosexuality involved his close friendship with his young assistant, a painter named Melzi.

Spoilers end here.

Tommy Moeller, who had written "Concrete and Clay," composed the score, with his brother Greg and Russell Dunlop sharing credit for the book. The production - plagued by problems with sets, costumes, and - most significantly - the script throughout its development, opened at the Strand Theatre on June 3, 1993. By the time the performance ended, nearly four hours after the curtain first rose, most of the audience had departed. A victim of critical disdain and audience indifference, the show closed five weeks later on July 10.

[edit] Opening night cast

  • Paul Collis . . . . . Leonardo da Vinci
  • Jane Arden . . . . . Lisa
  • James Barron . . . . . Francesco Del Giocondo
  • Hal Fowler . . . . . Melzi

[edit] Partial song list

  • "Who The Hell Are You?"
  • "Firenza Mia"
  • "Part Of Your Life"
  • "Just A Dream Away"
  • "Her Heart Beats"
  • "Endless As My Love"
  • "Just One More Time"
  • "Goodbye And No One Said A Word"
  • "Forever Child"
  • "Portrait Of Love"
  • "She Lives With Me"

[edit] Reference

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin, published by Grove's Dictionaries, November 1998 [1]

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