Stephen Sondheim's Passion [Import]

Stephen Sondheim's Passion [Import]

Stephen Sondheim's Passion [Import]

Track Listings
 
1. Happiness (Trio)
2. Transition 1
3. Loving You
4. Transition 2
5. I Wish I Could Forget You
6. No One Has Ever Loved Me
7. Transition 3
8. Love Like Ours
9. Transition 4
10. Fourth Letter
11. Happiness (Solo)

Stephen Sondheim's Passion,Trotter Trio,Uni,Jazz,Mainstream Jazz
Passion (1994 Original Broadway Cast)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • didn't play
  • Love Without Reason
  • I have got two defective Passion CD!!
  • Goregous Operetta
  • Original and Powerful Stuff
 Passion (1994 Original Broadway Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Donna Murphy , and Marin Mazzie
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. A Little Night Music (1973 Original Broadway Cast)
  2. Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast)
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  4. Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)
  5. Company - A Musical Comedy (1970 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B000002SLC
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

  1. Happiness
  2. First Letter
  3. Second Letter
  4. Third Letter
  5. Fourth Letter
  6. I Read
  7. Transition
  8. Garden Sequence
  9. Transition
  10. Trio
  11. Transition
  12. I Wish I Could Forget You
  13. Soldiers' Gossip
  14. Flashback
  15. Sunrise Letter
  16. Is This What You Call Love?
  17. Soldiers' Gossip
  18. Transition
  19. Forty Days
  20. Loving You
  21. Transition
  22. Soldiers' Gossip
  23. Farewell Letter
  24. No One Has Ever Loved Me
  25. Finale

Amazon.com

Based on the Italian movie Passione d'amore, Stephen Sondheim's Passion is a story of obsessive love. Giorgio (Jere Shea), a soldier, and Clara (Marin Mazzie), a woman with a husband and child, are deeply in love, but their idyllic happiness is disrupted when Giorgio is transferred to another post. Here, he meets Signora Fosca (Donna Murphy), a homely and ill woman who is the cousin of the regiment's commanding officer. Fosca soon falls in love with Giorgio and pursues him relentlessly, saying "Loving you is not a choice / It's who I am." He is repulsed and resists her advances, but eventually, he succumbs to the power of her love.

Rather than a succession of individual songs strung together by dialogue, Sondheim's score is a constant flow of gorgeous music. (The original theater program listed no individual songs.) The plot is conveyed by song, some dialogue, letters between the characters, and a group of soldiers that serves as a Greek chorus. The result is more of a chamber opera than a conventional musical. Passion won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book of 1994, and Murphy also won a Tony for her powerful performance as Fosca. Mazzie is in glorious voice as Clara, and Shea brings a pretty voice and a wooden personality to Giorgio. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars didn't play.......2007-02-21

received the cd in a cracked case which is always irritating. But when the cd didn't play, it was time to start shopping locally again.

5 out of 5 stars Love Without Reason.......2006-12-16

This is my favorite Sondheim musical. For me that's a big statement, but this musical is beyond brilliant. Based on a 19th century Italian novel that was later made into a film, the dark nature of this story might alienate some listeners at first. We open on a scene where Giorgio, a handsome young soldier is bidding farewell to his beautiful mistress, Clara- he has been sent to a remote outpost. They are young and in love but Clara is married. Still they are hopeful for their future. When Giorgio arrives at his new location he finds a remote, provincial town where his Colonel lives with his cousin Fosca, a repulsive, terminally ill woman. Fosca falls hopelessly in love with Giorgio and the love triange makes up the crux of the plot.

Many listeners may have a hard time understanding why Giorgio's affections turn from the beautiful young (albeit married) Clara to the sickly Fosca, but the lyrics and the score weave such a spell that you are caught up in it. Love here is not necessarily a happy thing. Yes, the opening song, a duet sung by Giorgio and Clara, is an ode to the joy of being in love, but Giorgio's idea of love progresses to something darker and deeper as he comes to know Fosca more and more. As Clara attempts to schedule her affair with Giorgio around her husband, Giorgio arrives at a conclusion that his feelings were something else:

Love isn't something scheduled in advance
Not something guarenteed
You need
For for fear it may pass you by
You have to take a chance
You can't just try it out
What's love unless it's unconditional?
Love doesn't give a damn about tomorrow and neither do I!

He comes to know his feelings for Clara as "Love within reason/ that isn't love". At the same time Fosca is literally staking him, which at first he resents and later relents to an idea of:

Love without reason
Love without mercy
Love without pride or shame
Love unconcerned with being returned
No wisedom, no judgement, no caution no blame

It is Fosca that loves him with this completeness, and he can't help but return it.

Many of the songs are letters written from one character to another and that stucture takes some getting used to. In fact it's hard to isolate individual songs here. Each one flows into the next to create the effect of a unified whole. At the end all the characters sing bits of each song in the show as Giorgio reads Fosca's final letter to him they come together in a musical climax before fading out, leaving only Giorgio and Fosca softly singing "your love will live in me"

Marin Mazzie is a gorgeous Clara who's voice shimmers in a luminious way. As Giorgio Jere Shea sounds fine but falls rather short emotionally. He hits all the notes but with little feeling (Michael Ball of the London cast is far better, I think). However as the doomed, dark Fosca Donna Murphy gives one of the most stunning performances I've ever heard. Her understated performance is devistating. Her voice is perfectly suited to the scare and we have one of those all too rare perfect combinations of actor and material.


4 out of 5 stars I have got two defective Passion CD!!.......2006-07-10

I ordered a Passion CD but when I tried to play on all my players (Computer, Bose) it would "screw-up" on the first 8 or 9 tracks. I returned and Amazon quickly replaced. But when I the second CD it also did the same thing. I returned the CD and Amazon would not send a replacement due the fact that all may be defective. They did refund my money. Hopefully the manufacturer will get this fixed.

5 out of 5 stars Goregous Operetta.......2006-03-26

If you're a fan of regular book musicals, this one is not for you!!! Passion is an operetta style love triangle that is complex, poignant, and beautiful. Stephen Sondheim's brillaint score ties the entrie musical together, which again helps him keep his genius status. The clever weaving of songs, scenes, and, most interestingly, letters, make for a great cast album.

As for performances, it's the females who own this show. Marin Mazzie is as glorious as ever as Clara (she's even better in Ragtime), and Tony-winner Donna Murphy brings all of the emotion forward in her portrayal of Fosca.

For those who are used to the usual Sondheim, this one may dissapoint. Others, however, will love this opera of love.

5 out of 5 stars Original and Powerful Stuff.......2005-11-20

I saw "Passion" on Broadway and was angry and at the time disappointed. There aren't any set pieces. It's one act and told with a seeming simplicity that is deeper than the deep, blue sea.
As a collector of Broadway Cast recordings, I made myself buy the OBC of "Passion" and only by listening to the score did I finally get what Sondheim was striving to accomplish. Every time he takes on a new show Sondheim goes where other composers fear to tread. And, because he is the foremost world-class composer of this generation, everything he writes causes quite a stir. And "Passion" is no exception. There is nothing like it, just like there is nothing like "Follies," "Company," "Pacific Overtures," "Merrily We Roll Along," "A Little Night Music," "Assassins," "The Frogs," and "Bounce." And there never will be because as long as he continues to write Sondheim will always expand the envelope of the American Musical form.

Thank God he does.
Renee and Bryn: Under the Stars
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Delightful
  • A Master Class in Singing
  • Bryn is swell, but the bombast is annoying
  • Surprisingly Fine Crossover from Fleming and Terfel
  • BREATHTAKING VOCAL MAGNIFICENCE~BRAVO!!!
 Renee and Bryn: Under the Stars
John Harold Kander , Andrew Lloyd Webber , Claude-Michel Schoenberg , Richard Rodgers , Gerard Presgurvic , Jason Robert Brown , Meredith Willson , Lucy Simon , Cole Porter , Stephen Flaherty , Ralph Salmins , and David Hartley
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Bryn Terfel - Something Wonderful (Bryn Terfel sings Rodgers & Hammerstein)
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ASIN: B000088E7D
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

  1. "Not While I'm Around" (from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim)
  2. "Moonfall" (from The Mystery of Edwin Drood by R. Holmes)
  3. "I Don't Remember You The Happy Tim" and "Sometimes a Day Goes By" (from Woman of the Year by Kander & Ebb)
  4. "All the Love I Have" (from The Beautiful Game by Ben Elton & Andrew Lloyd Webber)
  5. "I Wish I Could Forget You / Loving You" (from Passion by Stephen Sondheim)
  6. "Stars" (from Les Misirables by Boublil & Schvnberg)
  7. "All I Ask of You" (from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber)
  8. "Hello, Young Lovers" (from The King and I by Rodgers & Hammerstein)
  9. "Pretty Women" (from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim)
  10. "Aimer" (from Romio et Juliette by Presgurvic)
  11. "All the Wasted Time" (from Parade by J. Brown)
  12. "Seventy-Six Trombones" (from The Music Man by Willson)
  13. "How Could I Ever Know" (from The Secret Garden by Simon and Norman)
  14. "So In Love" (from Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter)
  15. "Wheels Of a Dream" (from Ragtime by Ahrens & Flaherty)

Amazon.com

In these days of the crossover, it is hardly surprising to find two great opera singers making a foray into numbers from Broadway musicals by such composers as Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. What's remarkable is that they seem completely at home in this music. Both say they grew up listening to it, and indeed they approach these songs with no less care and seriousness than they'd give the most demanding operatic arias, and without a trace of condescension. However, their vocal, expressive, and interpretive styles are very different, both in the solos and the duets. Terfel projects assertive manliness, tender, intimate affection, and rollicking humor without external effects, using only his incomparably sonorous voice and powerful personality. His diction is impeccably clear, and though he has sometimes let his theatrical flair spill over into Schubert songs, he is the soul of simplicity here. This is in stark contrast to Fleming's tendency to exaggerate colors and dynamics and to turn sentiment into sentimentality. Moreover, though she claims a background as a jazz singer, her "crooning" sounds artificial and unnatural. However, her top notes, culminating in a triumphant high C at the end of the final number, ring gloriously. Her voice glows and shimmers with irresistible luster, soaring from seductive whispers to thrilling climaxes. The program features a great variety of love songs, and includes an antiwar protest (from Beautiful Game), a celebration of the American dream (from Ragtime), and a rousing fun piece (from The Music Man). Unfortunately, even the best songs are marred by thoroughly corny arrangements. Listeners will find their own favorites, but the real "stars" on this record are the two singers. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Delightful .......2006-07-24

I truly enjoy Terfel's vocal talent and found it to be well suited for this genre. Fleming's impeccable soprano voice is a bit overpowering for this style of music. (I own this CD)

5 out of 5 stars A Master Class in Singing.......2006-06-20

This CD is a must-have for any person interested in the singing art. Ms. Fleming and Mr. Terfel gives new light to these Musical Theatre classics. Their fine vocalism in the musical theatre genre coupled with the depth of musicality and dramatic phrasing in each of the selections is truly a breath of fresh air. This recording is indeed a Master Class!

4 out of 5 stars Bryn is swell, but the bombast is annoying.......2006-05-03

Love Bryn Terfel, the finest bass-baritone in Opera. Love Renee Fleming's luscious soprano. But the arrangements! Kettle drums and bombast and bang, bang, bang! Once Renee starts swooping, things go downhill, with little redemption.

It starts out beautifully. "Not While I'm Around" has never sounded more intimate to me than Terfel's caressing pianissimo. Fleming's "Moonglow" is stunningly good. Terfel makes a medley out of "I Don't Remember You and Sometimes a Day Goes By" that makes you want to cheer, and Fleming does a lovely Sondheim medley as well. Bryn sings "Stars" and makes me long for him in Les Mis. And then...things tend to go downhill. The bombast takes over and gets to you - it overwhelms two of the biggest voices now recording. Then Fleming begins to swoop and scoop, over-coloring and often coming off as simply self-indulgent, reminding one of a kid who makes a point of putting his face in a camera shot.

I don't mind Bryn as Prof. Harold Hill - I frankly think the Welsh accent is kinda cute - and it doesn't bother me on "Wheels of Dream," either, but Fleming seems to have lost her mind on that great song, and rather than indulging her, it would have simply been better left off the album. Ditto "All that Wasted Time" which is pretty much unlistenable. Ms. Fleming needs to stop thinking she is a jazz singer.

The four stars are because this album does contain some truly GLORIOUS moments, particularly in the duets, and in Terfel's solo's which are warm and memorable. Without him, the kettle drums and Fleming's self-indulgence would have made the whole endeavor unbearable.

5 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Fine Crossover from Fleming and Terfel.......2006-04-18

Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming are two of the most acclaimed opera singers of our day. But the musical theatre fan who puts on their Broadway CD, RENEE AND BRYN: UNDER THE STARS, expecting to hear a carelessly compiled hodgepodge of songs sung by voices ill-suited to them is in for a big surprise, beginning with the first phrases of the duo's warmly sung "Not While I'm Around" from SWEENEY TODD. True, these singers' beautiful voices have greater power and range than even the best of the Broadway stars', but this is an asset in these songs, most of which are either semi-operatic in nature or call (like THE MUSIC MAN's "Seventy-Six Trombones") for such an outsize personality as Terfel's. Fleming's sensuous and tonally gorgeous rendition of "Moonfall" from THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD can be placed among her very finest recordings, operatic and otherwise. And Terfel is ideally suited to both "Pretty Women" from SWEENEY TODD and "Stars" from LES MISERABLES; few if any Broadway Javerts could match the impact of his "This I swear by the stars!" Kander and Ebb's "I Don't Remember You" and "Sometimes a Day Goes By" make a perfect medley here, as do Sondheim's "I Wish I Could Forget You" and "Loving You" from PASSION. And though I don't care for the Andrew Lloyd Webber selections (ersatz Puccini) or the Jason Robert Brown one (which sounds too much like a pop song), Terfel and Fleming's singing of them is beyond reproach. The program ends with a bang: a rendition of "Wheels of a Dream" worthy to stand beside the now-classic one by Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald on the original cast album of RAGTIME. Welshman Terfel's natural accent is noticeable here; but if one imagines him as, say, an Irish immigrant married to an African-American woman (as Fleming here sounds uncannily like McDonald or like Leontyne Price) his accent is appropriate and his voicing of the "bridge" section ("Oh Sarah, it's more than promises/Sarah, it must be true...") especially moving. Fleming's ecstatic final high note makes one want to applaud and cheer, both for the song and for the successful "crossover" effort.








5 out of 5 stars BREATHTAKING VOCAL MAGNIFICENCE~BRAVO!!!.......2004-10-11

So captivating are these incredible singers in the glorious live concert "Under The Stars" creating an unforgettable musical masterpiece of epic proportions that is so moving and great to watch that I ran out and purchased this studio recorded Compact Disc the next day!! The brilliance of the live broadcast carried over into the recording studio capturing Renee and Bryn at the peak of their incredible powers emotionally and vocally making them the most effective crossover artists since the great Barbara Cook who like Miss Cook sing with emotion that is accurate for this type of material which is usually not the case with classical voices. Renee Fleming sings with genuine passion and stirring emotions and her timing is absolutely flawless and this lady has alot of soul and the Torrie Zito arranged "Moonfall" is a stunning masterpiece that clearly illustrates this. A dazzling medley each show both singers in glorious peak form with Bryn splendid in the enchanting "I Don't Remember You/Sometimes A Day Goes By" and Renee spellbinding and haunting in the gorgeous "I Wish I Could Forget You/Loving You" which will make anyone who loves a great voice fall in love with this amazingly gifted singer. "Stars" features a commanding performance from Bryn that raises the roof and this is so refreshing and inspired in these musically tired times!!! This superb showcase is full of wonderfully exciting performances which are capable of making people feel again and this is what is sorely needed in music today and BRAVO to Bryn Terfel and the gorgeous Renee Fleming for achieving this with complete artistic brilliance. Captivating duets fill this wonderous collection and never have classics such as "Not While I'm Around" or "All I Ask Of You" been sung more brilliantly than here. Renee is magical with "Hello, Young Lovers" while Bryn is commanding and winning with "Pretty Women". Renee's stunning "All The Wasted Time" is a vocal and emotional tour-de-force that is like a wild roller-coaster ride that you won't want to end as this is one of the most riveting songs that I have ever heard from a Broadway score and this certainly must be the definitive performance of this great song. This lady can really really sing and this is some deeply serious singing~WOW!!! Gorgeous together again in the beautiful "How Could I Ever Know" which is hair-raising and wonderfully soulful and sophisicated together in Cole Porter's "So In Love". A grand finale by these two awesome vocal wonders lives up to expectations being a complete blowout vocal festival and they definitely do not disappoint here!!! "Wheels Of A Dream" is mesmerizing and soars to magnificent heights with Bryn and Renee in peak form singing to the skies and hitting notes that I swear I have never heard before~BRAVO!!!!!!! You are both magically inspired and simply put as good as it gets!!!! Highly recommended if you love two awesome vocal wonders at their absolute peak in a magnificent beautifully orchestrated setting!!! Thank you Bryn & Renee...
The Musicality of Sondheim
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Worth having because of Honey...
  • One of the best Sondheim compilation CD availiable
  • Honestly, Why Bother?
 The Musicality of Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim , Carolee Carmillo , Sean McDermott , Judy Kaye , Julia Migenes , Susan Egan , Emily Loesser , Stephen Bogardus , Elisabeth Welch , Caroline O'Connor , and Don Stephenson
Manufacturer: Jay Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000640NQ
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Tracks:

  1. Broadway Baby (Follies) - Carolee Carmello
  2. Anyone Can Whistle (Anyone Can Whistle) - John Barrowman
  3. Lovely (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) - Emily Loesser and Don Stephenson
  4. Being Alive (Company) - Stephen Bogardus
  5. Liasons (A Little Night Music) - Elisabeth Welch
  6. Wait (Sweeney Todd) - Judy Kaye
  7. Loving You (Passion) - Sean McDermott
  8. Honey (Cut: Merrily We Roll Along) - Jacqueline Dankworth, Maria Friedman, and Michael Cantwell
  9. Lion Dance (Pacific Overtures) - ENO Orchestra
  10. I Remember (Evening Primrose) - Julia Migenes
  11. Stay with Me (Into the Woods) - Caroline O'Connor
  12. Sooner or Later (Dick Tracy) - Susan Egan

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Worth having because of Honey..........2006-09-20

... the Lion Dance and the fact that some of these arrangements work well out of context. Some of these songs in their original arrangements are diffiicult to listen to on their own. Regretfully, some of these arrangements are a little cheesy (for example the saxophone solo in this version of Loving You).

All in all, this is an okay compilation of some Sondheim songs, but definately one to get after having bought all the original Broadway cast recordings.

5 out of 5 stars One of the best Sondheim compilation CD availiable.......2002-08-25

I love this CD, every track is a winner. Get it.

3 out of 5 stars Honestly, Why Bother?.......2002-07-31

All in all, this is a pleasant enough compilation. There are no embarassing moments. The performers all acquit themselves nicely. But in the long run, there's really little to recommend this above the rest of the many tributes and reviews recorded of Sondheim's music. No new interpretations. No amazing performances. No inspired song choices. Nothing special here, folks.
Passion (1997 London Cast)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • No Passion Here
  • Excellent, and more complete, interpretation
  • For musical lovers everywhere
  • Passion tends to be either loved or hated by its audience (p
  • London cast recording sucks !
 Passion (1997 London Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Michael Ball , Maria Friedman , and Helen Hobson
Manufacturer: First Night
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000026A17
Release Date: 1997-01-01

Tracks:

  1. Happiness
  2. First Letter
  3. Second Letter
  4. Third Letter
  5. Fourth Letter
  6. Fosca's Entrance
  7. Garden Sequence
  8. Transition
  9. Fifth Letter
  10. Scene Seven, Part One
  11. Scene Seven, Part Two (Clara's Letter)
  12. I Wish I Could Forget You
  13. Soldiers' Gossip
  14. Flashback
  15. Sunrise Letter
  16. Is This What You Call Love?
  17. Soldiers' Gossip (reprise)
  18. Nightmare
  19. Forty Days
  20. Loving You
  21. Scene Twelve
  22. Scene Thirteen (Farewell Letter)
  23. Just Another Love Story
  24. No One Has Ever Loved Me
  25. Scene Fourteen
  26. The Duel
  27. Finale

Amazon.com

Based on the 1981 Italian film Passione d'amore, Stephen Sondheim's multiple Tony Award-winning musical/chamber opera Passion follows a self-centered soldier, Giorgio (Michael Ball), whose idyllic happiness with a married woman, Clara (Helen Hobson), is interrupted by his transfer to another post. There, he meets Signora Fosca (Maria Friedman, best known these days for the video production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), a homely and ill woman who soon falls in love with Giorgio and pursues him relentlessly. Giorgio believes he would never leave the beautiful Clara, but he underestimates the power of Fosca's passion. "Loving you is not a choice, it's who I am," she tells him, in Sondheim's rich tapestry of a score that is less individual numbers than a constant flow of gorgeous melodies, dialogue, letters between the characters, and a group of soldiers that serves as a Greek chorus.

After a 1996 London revival, the same cast recorded the score live in concert at the BBC Hippodrome in 1997. Ball is perfectly cast as Giorgio, and Friedman and Hobson excel, even if they can't quite match Tony-winner Donna Murphy and Marin Mazzie of the original Broadway cast. It's almost a moot point, though, because the original Broadway cast recording is currently out of print (although a video version is available). So if you want Passion, this is your only option, and it's a good one. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars No Passion Here.......2007-01-27

No, No, No, Absolutely AWFUL. I am a huge fan of Passion and it is my favourite Sondheim score. Please do not waste your money on this garbage. Maria Friedman is terrible and after listening to her ridiculous over acting I am happy to throw this CD in the bin. NO feeling, NO Passion. I would give this no stars if I could.

5 out of 5 stars Excellent, and more complete, interpretation.......2007-01-04

I own the DVD and CD of the original Broadway cast performance. Jere Shea, Marin Mazzie and Donna Murphy are al great. I bought this recording to see what new actors could bring to the musical. The performances are as good as the original cast and, more importantly, there's more dialogue on the CD (this is a concert version, I believe). The additional material adds depth to the recording and the CD is a must for any Sondheim fan. As an aside, the extended version of "No One Has Ever Loved Me" that was cut from the U.S. production (the audio is available on the DVD) is included in the London recording. It doesn't sound as awful as it does on the CD.

5 out of 5 stars For musical lovers everywhere.......2005-08-22

I have not seen either the broadway or London version of this show. There is not a song that really stands out but it has moved up to my second favourite musical of all time. As I said there are no catchy numbers but it is addictive. It was like reading a book and not wanting to put it down. Michael Ball, Helen Hobson and Maria Friedman are excellent. I wish with all my heart that I could have seen this on the London stage. If you like musicals you will love this.

5 out of 5 stars Passion tends to be either loved or hated by its audience (p.......2004-10-30



I found the American orchestra slightly synthesized where as the London recording has a wonderfully classical orchestration that fits the piece to the tea. The numbers flow from one to the other without any detectable breaks. As others before have said, I find the whole piece more operatic than musical theatre. I imagine that opera companies will take to performing Passion like they've done with Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music. His composing ability is at its top form comparable to any modern classical composer.
I do challenge the people who say the musical contains no songs to look deeper than the surface. There is the Love that Flies duet, I Read solo, I wish I could forget you, and Happiness. Everything, the song, the dialogue, and the music, is about the scene. The craft of construction is more Wagnerian than pop like your Stephen Schwartzes (who I like by the way). Each is crafted with beautiful melodies that twist the subtle changes in lyrics. As an example "just another love story that's what they would claim" to "Just a simple love story needn't end the same" (probably misquoting, but you get the idea). Georgio with the same theme makes an about face in his concept of love. Sondheim has used his lyrics extremely well in revisiting the same melodies with new shading completely changing the meaning. The desperation and pain in Fosca with the first statement of the melody is restated by Georgio as his desperation and pain toward the end of the musical. The king of lyricists, he remains strong and firm with scepter in hand.
I found that the London cast tends to act more and read lines less. Some of the scenes on the Broadway recording sounded read as opposed to really acting the musical. Maria Friedman's voice is rough and dispirit while singing and husky while speaking. I believe it works well for the tragic Fosca. Michael Ball, clearly the star of this recording whether you are listening or just looking at the cover, dominates the recording with vocal power. Jere Shea's Georgio is a wilting flower compared to Ball and his force of will. He is no victim in this recording. Helen Hobson has a nice soprano voice, a good contrast to Friedman's, but sinks into the background in this recording. I read once, as said by the director of the Kennedy Center's production of Passion in 2003, that the musical requires a balance between the three leads. He said Donna Murphy so wonderful in her performance destroyed the Broadway production because she overshadowed the other performers. That is why I don't find the dueling divas in this production distressing. It is the conflict between Georgio and his choice of Clara or Fosca. I am not sure what Hobson could have done to be more prominent, but she does a good job in the recording.
The first time I listened to this musical I hated it. I didn't get it. It wasn't until the third time I listened to it; I actually began to enjoy the skill and craftsmanship. Passion is not a passive musical it requires active listening. Now I think it is wonderful and endearing.

2 out of 5 stars London cast recording sucks !.......2003-12-01

Vastly inferior to the wonderful Broadway cast recording. Both of the female leads in the London cast are not up to par as vocalists or as actors. Michael Ball gives a rather one-note performance with nowhere near the "passion" of Jere Shea. A travesty of a brilliant score.
Loving You
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Loving You

    Manufacturer: Jay Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    Vocal & SongVocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
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    1. Curtains (2007 Original Broadway Cast)

    ASIN: B00005YNGQ
    Release Date: 2002-03-05

    Tracks:

    1. Loving You - Sean McDermott
    2. All I Ask of You - Gary Mauer and Laurie Gayle Stephenson
    3. Hopelessly Devoted to You - Shona Lindsay
    4. The Way You Look Tonight - George Dvorsky
    5. Till There Was You - Alice Ripley
    6. With You - Ethan Freeman
    7. Can You Feel the Love Tonight - John Barrowman
    8. I Will Always Love You - Salena Jones
    9. Only You - Grania Renihan
    10. They Were You - Catherine Porter and Alexander Hanson
    11. I'll Never Say No to You - Ron Raines
    12. I Love You - Valerie Masterson
    Stephen Sondheim's Passion... in Jazz
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Strange Marriage Produces Beautiful Offspring
    		 Stephen Sondheim's Passion... in Jazz
    Trotter Trio , and Stephen Sondheim
    Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
    Movie SoundtracksMovie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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    1. Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in Jazz
    2. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum ... In Jazz
    3. Company ... In Jazz
    4. Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music
    5. Color and Light: Jazz Sketches on Sondheim

    ASIN: B0000014VE
    Release Date: 1994-11-08

    Tracks:

    1. Happiness (Trio)
    2. Transition
    3. Loving You
    4. Transition 2
    5. I Wish I Could Forget You
    6. No One Has Ever Loved Me
    7. Transition 3
    8. Love Like Ours
    9. Transition 4
    10. Fourth Letter
    11. Happiness

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Strange Marriage Produces Beautiful Offspring.......2000-06-16

    Passion in Jazz is the first in what has become a series of Sondheim in Jazz albums from the Terry Trotter Trio. When the album first came out, I was high on the cast recording of the original musical, so high, in fact, that I felt the need to get this CD, even though I doubted it would be worth more than a single hearing. It also seemed like such a strange score to give a jazz treatment to; even within just Sondheim's ouvre, there were others that had that jazzy sound - Company and Merrily We Roll Along, to name a few. And the score to Passion was full of dissonant melodies, with nary a toe tapper in the whole thing. Now, several years later, I find this is one of the few CD's I own that still gets regular play. Somehow, the almost chamber-opera-like score to Passion has translated into a very beautifuly melancholy jazz CD. Whether taking a sweeping but muted love song and turning it into a swinging opener (Happiness) or by letting solo piano barely change the basic structure of a beautiful song of hopeless love (Loving You), the piano, drums and bass of the Trotter Trio has made this score their own. I have used this CD as background music for dinners and for working, and it's gotten many compliments. Somewhat puzzingly, the subsequent Trotter Sondheim in Jazz CD's don't work nearly as well as this one does, especially the aforementioned, already-jazzy Company. For a surprising and beautiful change of pace, one can't go wromg with Passion in Jazz.
    Stephen Sondheim's Passion
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Stephen Sondheim's Passion
      Trotter Trio
      Manufacturer: Uni
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Blues | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
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      1. Company ... In Jazz

      ASIN: B0000082UY
      Release Date: 1999-12-31

      Tracks:

      1. Happiness (Trio)
      2. Transition 1
      3. Loving You
      4. Transition 2
      5. I Wish I Could Forget You
      6. No One Has Ever Loved Me
      7. Transition 3
      8. Love Like Ours
      9. Transition 4
      10. Fourth Letter
      11. Happiness (Solo)
      Take Me To The World -- Marc Heller Sings Stephen Sondheim
      Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
      • Oversung
      • Wonderful Sondheim Recital
      		 Take Me To The World -- Marc Heller Sings Stephen Sondheim

      Manufacturer: Et'Cetera
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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      1. Sunday in the Park With George (2006 London Revival Cast)
      2. Company (2006 Broadway Revival Cast)
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      5. Sondheim Sings, Vol. 2: 1946-1960

      ASIN: B0000000QY
      Release Date: 2004-03-22

      Tracks:

      1. The Hills Of Tomorrow
      2. Take Me To The World
      3. Another 100 People
      4. Not While I'm Around
      5. You Must Meet My Wife
      6. Send In The Clowns
      7. Comedy Tonight
      8. Love I Hear
      9. Later
      10. Anyone Can Whistle
      11. Pretty Women
      12. Losing My Mind
      13. Johanna
      14. Good Thing Going
      15. Silly People
      16. Ev'rybody Say Don't
      17. Loving You
      18. Green Finch And Linnet Bird
      19. Being Alive
      20. One More Kiss
      21. Sunday

      Customer Reviews:

      1 out of 5 stars Oversung.......2007-07-07

      The CD is actually by Marc Heller, an operatic tenor, accompanied by Alfred Heller on piano. The singer ruins most of the varied material by feeling it necessary to swell and show off his volume during every song. He seems incapable of subtlety or reading a lyric. Virtually all the material is spoilt by this vulgar display and unfeeling delivery.

      4 out of 5 stars Wonderful Sondheim Recital.......2000-07-09

      This is a wonderful CD to introduce the music of Stephen Sondheim to those people who usually only listen to classical music. Most of Sondheim's music is only accompanied by piano, except for the song "later" which is accompanied by cello like it is in the original production of "A little night music". Taking away the usual orchestrations and tackling these songs in a classical way has an interesting effect. It proves that it is possible to place Sondheim's music and lyrics out of their original context without losing it's strength and impact. What we get as a result is an interesting recital of songs, which does justice to both the composer and the performer. Marc Heller gives us fine interpretations of Sondheim's music and with his classical trained voice he is a joy to listen to. It's obvious that Heller has actually performed in several Sondheim shows because he's very aware of what he is singing about and he knows how to handle this music. We also get a varied program of Sondheim's music. With the exception of "Assassins" we get music from all the musicals for which Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics an on top of that there is the song "Take me to the world" from "Evening Primrose" and the song "Silly people" which was originally discarded and later used in "Marry me a little". I would recommend this album to all those people who would like to be introduced to Sondheim's music and to those who'd like to hear his music performed in a different style.
      Passion
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Passion

        Manufacturer: First Night Records
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
        ASIN: B00004SGRR
        Release Date: 1998-03-03

        Tracks:

        1. Happiness
        2. First Letter
        3. Second Letter
        4. Third Letter
        5. Fourth Letter
        6. Fosca's Entrance
        7. Garden's Sequence
        8. Transition
        9. Fifth Letter
        10. Scene Seven, Part One
        11. Scene Seven, Part Two (Clara's Letter)
        12. I Wish I Could Forget You
        13. Soldier's Gossip
        14. Flashback
        15. Sunrise Letter
        16. Is This What You Call Love?
        17. Soldier's Gossip (Reprise)
        18. Nightmare
        19. Forty Days
        20. Loving You
        21. Scene Twelve
        22. Scene Thirteen (Farewell Letter)
        23. Just Another Love Story
        24. No One Has Ever Loved Me
        25. Scene Fourteen
        26. The Duel
        27. Finale
        Simply Sondheim
        Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
        • Great Concept. Poor Delivery.
        • Cult Classic
        		 Simply Sondheim

        Manufacturer: Gay Men Chorus L.a.
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Pop | Styles | Music
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        5. Barbara Cook at the Met with Special Guests

        ASIN: B00005V5XZ
        Release Date: 2001-12-01

        Tracks:

        1. Our Time
        2. Good Thing Going
        3. Merrily We Roll Along
        4. Pleasant Little Kingdom
        5. The Little Things You Do Together
        6. Send In The Clowns
        7. Sweeney Todd Rhapsody
        8. No One Is Alone
        9. Loving You
        10. Could I Leave You?
        11. I Remember
        12. Sunday
        13. Goodbye For Now
        14. Old Friends

        Album Description

        GMCLA's final performance with Dr. Jon Bailey as Artistic Director was dazzling, for it confirmed Dr. Jon's extraordinary legacy, building GMCLA into a nationally-heralded musical ensemble. Fortunately, that special show was captured on this live CD. Entitled Simply Sondheim, and featuring guest star Joanna Gleason, all material was written by Broadway's reigning genius Stephen Sondheim, whose gay sensibility puts an extra spin on his acclaimed lyrics. In fact, lyrics from songs unsung by GMCLA can be heard as clever narrative links throughout the performance.

        Hear some of your favorite Broadway classics, like Send In The Clowns and No One Is Alone, performed as only GMCLA can, along with rarities like Pleasant Little Kingdom (cut from the score of Follies) sung by Joanna Gleason, as well as new arrangements created especially for the occasion, like the Sweeney Todd Rhapsody. Join the ecstatic audience as GMCLA performs with humor, depth, and emotion, while closing a chapter with Dr. Bailey and preparing to welcome its new Artistic Director.

        Customer Reviews:

        2 out of 5 stars Great Concept. Poor Delivery........2002-08-30

        Having been a long-time fan of GMCLA, I have to say I'm severely disappointed in the quality of this recording.

        Problems start with the selection of material. With such a heavy focus on Merrily We Roll Along and Sweeney Todd, you get a feeling a concert version of these shows was their true interest. Sweeney in particular takes up a full fourth of this performance with selections (Wait and These Are My Friends???) that aren't particularly suited to choral arrangement.

        Problems continue with the quality of the chorus as a whole. I was surprised to hear the group's tone drifting noticeably flat repeatedly. Arrangements that seem to favor disonance over harmony don't seem to help matters.

        Then there's the odd and out-of-place bits of lyrics spoken instead of sung as a seque between the numbers. The rhyming structure makes them sound forced and unnatural when spoken.

        On a whole, a big disappointment from a chorus I've often lept to my feet after hearing.

        5 out of 5 stars Cult Classic.......2002-02-12

        Those remarkable men within the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles have done it again! After delivering that powerful classical CD With A Mighty Voice, they pivot-turn and deliver this show-stopping performance of music composed for Broadway by Stephen Sondheim. The diversity of these singers is magnificently realized in an event that could possibly only succeed in L.A. Part of the fun of Simply Sondheim is imagining yourself among that theater-savvy audience 3000 miles away from Broadway as it devours every nuance of these modern show-biz classics arranged for 150 male voices. It's apparent right from the start that Stephen Sondheim's gay wit is ideal material for these talented men, whose memorable performances are captured live on this terrific recording.

        And what a sound! Fans who think they know Sondheim's Sweeney Todd for example, will revel upon hearing the 15-minute Sweeney Todd Rhapsody where 150 voices bring new depth to some of Sondheim's greatest work. Familiar tunes like Send In The Clowns sound fresh when delivered by these gents, thanks to their unique and ingenious arrangements. Equally great are the Sondheim rarities, like Goodbye For Now (composed for the film Reds,) or Pleasant Little Kingdom (cut from Follies, performed here by guest star Joanna Gleason), or Loving You from Passion, all charged with the humor, bite, and aching tenderness that keeps the live audience in a whirl.

        Sure wish I could have been in that audience! Owning this CD is the next best thing. To Sondheim fans, this is a cult classic; to theater fans, this CD makes a terrific gift. Perhaps the real gift is knowing that the Gay Men's Chorus thrives so well in Los Angeles. What can they possibly record next? Can't wait!

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