Aspects of Love
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| Aspects of Love | ||
| Original West End Production | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Music | Andrew Lloyd Webber | |
| Lyrics | Don Black and Charles Hart | |
| Book | Andrew Lloyd Webber | |
| Theatre | Prince of Wales Theatre | |
| Opened | April 17, 1989 | |
| Closed | June 20, 1992 | |
| Producer(s) | The Really Useful Theatre Company Ltd. | |
| Director | Trevor Nunn | |
| Choreographer | Gillian Lynne | |
| Scenic designer | Maria Björnson | |
| Costume designer | Maria Björnson | |
Aspects of Love is a chamber opera with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart.
Based on the novella of the same name by David Garnett, it focuses on the romantic entanglements of actress Rose Vibert, her admiring fan Alex Dillingham, his uncle George, and the older man's mistress, sculptress Giulietta Trapani, over a period of seventeen years. The aspects of love they experience include promiscuity, lesbianism, and incest.
Lloyd Webber was introduced to Aspects of Love in 1979, when he and Tim Rice were approached to write a few songs for a proposed film version. When nothing came of it, he suggested to Trevor Nunn they collaborate on a stage adaptation. In 1983, they presented a cabaret of numbers they had written, but it wasn't until five years later they tackled the project with earnest [1].
The West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne, opened on April 17, 1989 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, where it ran for 1325 performances. The original cast included Ann Crumb, Michael Ball, Kevin Colson, and Kathleen Rowe McAllen. Sarah Brightman, Barrie Ingham, and Michael Praed were among the replacements later in the run.
After twenty-two previews, the Broadway production, with the same creative team and original London cast, opened on April 8, 1990 at the Broadhurst Theatre where, hampered by lackluster reviews and a devastating pan by Frank Rich in the New York Times, it ran for only 377 performances. Brightman and John Cullum joined the cast later in the run.
In 1991, a "chamber" version of the show with Keith Michell was mounted in Canada. It subsequently toured in America and a similar production was staged in Australia. Aspects of Love was produced in Japan, Hungary, Finland, and Denmark as well.
Starting on 31st August 2007, Aspects begins a brand new UK tour, the first production in 15 years. Starring David Essex as George Dillingham, the all new production, directed by Nikolai Foster will open at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, and tour for 36 weeks.
The two-disc original cast recording of the London production preserved the bulk of the score with some edits made for reasons of length. A 2005 remastered edition restored all the material cut from the original release.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Act One
At a train station in Pau in 1964, a man (who will later be identified as the 34 year-old Alex) reflects on his love life over the past 17 years.
The play then flashes back to 1947, where 25 year-old starving actress, Rose Vibert, rants at her producer, Marcel, because the last show was a flop. Marcel bails out by introducing her to an avid young fan, the 17-year-old Alex. Alex convinces her to come with him to a villa at Pau belonging to his uncle, George. George hears that Rose and Alex have broken into his villa and returns to Pau. Rose is attracted to George despite his age. George advises Alex to be wary of love. George amuses Rose with tidbits about his life while a grumpy Alex listens. George leaves, and the next day, Rose tells Alex that Marcel needs her. After she leaves, Alex realizes that Rose had never taken him seriously.
Two years later, Alex, now a soldier, goes to visit his uncle in Paris. The old housekeeper, Elizabeth, tells Alex that George is fixing up the villa in the country, but that the mistress is at home. Alex is shocked to find that Rose is George's mistress and accuses her of chasing his uncle's money. Rose protests that she really loves George. She admits that she did love Alex once, and, succumbing to their old attraction to one another, the two head for the bedroom. The next morning, an agitated Rose tells Alex to leave before George returns to find them together, and Alex, enraged, pulls out his gun. Rose throws a candlestick at Alex, and the gun goes off, shooting Rose in the arm. George comes in, but is surprisingly calm. Rose faints, and Elizabeth takes her away. George and Alex each tries to convince the other that he is the right man for Rose. George wins the debate, then heads to Venice to see his former mistress, Giullietta. Alex leaves without a fuss. Rose and Marcel then follow George to Venice.
In Venice, Rose has run up bills everywhere. George is exasperated but admits that he'd be lost without Rose. Later, Giullietta and Rose bond while discussing George's foibles. George returns and says that he has lost most of his money. Rose then asks George to marry her, and he agrees. At the wedding, Giullietta shocks everyone by claiming her best man's rights and kissing Rose on the mouth. George, however, is delighted.
At a military encampment in Malaya some months later, Alex hears of the wedding, and that George will be a father soon.
Act Two
Thirteen years later at a theater in Paris, Rose has risen to stardom. Marcel and the rest of the cast celebrate the latest hit, but Rose insists that she must return to the villa at Pau and to her husband George and their 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. Marcel then praises her, calling her the perfect leading lady, before reintroducing her to the 32-year-old Alex. Rose is delighted and insists that he come with her to Pau. At the villa at Pau, Jenny is excited by the prospect of her mother's return. George expresses his love for his little girl, saying that he would trade all the other pleasures of the world for her. George is delighted to see Alex, returning with Rose, and Jenny, who has heard much about him, meets him for the first time. Rose and George insist that Alex should stay with them.
Two years later, Alex suggests that Jenny needs a Paris education, which upsets Rose, who suspects that her daughter has developed an unhealthy crush on Alex. That evening at dinner, Jenny appears wearing the gown of George's first wife. George is delighted and dances with his daughter. Jenny tries to draw Alex into the dance, but Alex politely refuses. Later, Jenny and Alex are left alone, and Jenny finally convinces Alex to give her the last dance. Rose catches Jenny clasping Alex in a very adult fashion, and Alex leaves. Jenny tells her mother that Alex is the first to make her feel like a woman. Rose confronts Alex, who admits to having feelings for Jenny, but insists that he would never harm her. Later, Jenny tells Alex that she loves him. She begs him to be honest, then kisses him on the mouth.
Meanwhile, George plans his wake, insisting that there should be dancing and fun. Rose tells him that he's being ridiculous, and that he was bound to outlive them all. At a circus in Paris, George, Rose, Alex, and Jenny are celebrating Jenny's fifteenth birthday. George is increasingly agitated as he watches Jenny talking with Alex, finally breaking in impatiently. At night, Alex puts Jenny to bed, as he had promised earlier. Jenny tries to convince him that she's really in love with him, but Alex insists that they're just cousins. Jenny falls asleep, and Alex stays in her bedroom, reflecting that he knows he must not love her, but cannot help loving her. George overhears Alex in Jenny's room and is enraged, suspecting the worst. However, he collapses before he can burst in on them, and Alex comes out of Jenny's room to find him dead on the floor.
At George's wake, Giullietta gives a eulogy celebrating George's unconventionality and his belief in living life to the fullest. Giullietta and Alex join in the dancng. The two are immediately attracted to each other as they wander away from the party. Jenny follows the couple, spying on them. Meanwhile, Marcel tries to comfort Rose, who is still distraught by George's death. Giullietta and Alex in awaken in a hayloft. Alex wonders how to end his relationship kindly with Jenny. Later, Jenny begs Alex not to leave her as he tries to explain that their relationship was unnatural. She reminds him that he was only seventeen when he met Rose, and that she is no younger than Shakespeare's Juliet. She tells him that three years is not a lifetime and asks why he cannot wait for her to grow up. Rose bids Alex farewell, but then she breaks down and begs Alex not to leave her. Alex, unsure of how to reply, leaves.
At the train station at Pau, as Alex and Giullietta wait for the train, Giullietta wonders what will happen in a few years, when Jenny becomes a woman. Alex, unable to reply, reflects once more on how love changes everything.
[edit] Song list
Act I
- Love Changes Everything
- Parlez-vous Français?
- Seeing is Believing
- A Memory of a Happy Moment
- Chanson d'Enfance
- Everybody Loves A Hero
- She'd Be Far Better Off with You
- Stop. Wait. Please.
Act II
- Leading Lady
- Other Pleasures
- There is More to Love
- Mermaid Song
- The First Man You Remember
- Journey of a Lifetime
- Falling
- Hand Me the Wine and the Dice
- Anything But Lonely
[edit] Roles and original cast
- Alex Dillingham - Michael Ball
- Rose Vibert - Ann Crumb
- George Dillingham - Kevin Colson
- Jenny Dillingham - Diana Morrison
- Giulietta Trapani - Kathleen Rowe McAllen
- Marcel Richard - Paul Bentley
- Hugo - David Greer
- Elizabeth - Laurel Ford
- Young Jenny - Zoe Hart, Natalie Wright
- Ensemble - Geoffrey Abbott, John Barr, Carol Duffy, Susie Fenwick, Trillby Harris, Tim Nilsson-Page, David Oakley, Michael Sadler, Sandy Strallen
- Swings - Patrick Clancy, Linda Jarvis
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Colson, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (McAllen, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Danielle Du Clos, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestration (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)
- Theatre World Award (McAllen, winner)
[edit] External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- The Official Andrew Lloyd Webber Site
- Anything But Lonely - Aspects of Love
- New York Times review
