ASPECTS OF LOVE

Aspects of Love logo

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Book & Lyrics by Charles Hart & Don Black adapted from Aspects of Love by David Garnett

Prince of Wales Theatre 17 April, 1989 (1325 perfs)
Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway - 8 April, 1990 (377 perfs)

Synopsis

Alex Dillingham, a young soldier, is smitten by Rose Vibart, a young actress whom he meets after a performance of The Master Builder being performed at a Montpelier theatre. Alex invites Rose to spend some time with him at his wealthy uncle's mansion in Pau. Uncle George is away but the gardener informs him of Alex's plans and George Dillingham decides to investigate things for himself. George has been in Paris with a young mistress, Giulietta, an Italian sculptor but he leaves her to travel to Pau and meet Rose who, on his arrival at Pau, shocks him: she is wearing a dress that used to belong to his late wife.

Two years pass, and, visiting his uncle in Paris, Alex finds that Rose has moved in with George. Alex is incensed and attempts to shoot George. There is a struggle but it is Rose who is injured. George leaves and rejoins Giulietta. It is here that Rose arrives and is immediately attracted to Giulietta. It doesn't stop her asking George to marry her, however, and he does so.

Twelve years later Rose is performing in Paris when the 30-year old Alex appears on the scene. Rose takes Alex down to Pau where George is living with their daughter, Jenny. Young Jenny falls in love with Alex who tries to hide his affection for her. George sees the situation developing and decides to spy on the couple. In so doing he suffers a heart attack. Rose asks Alex to stay on after the funeral but this is impossible - he is torn between Rose and Jenny - the two women he loves and who, in turn love him.

There is another option, the simple, uncomplicated love of Giulietta. And as for Rose, she ensures that she is anything but lonely.

STORY 

Act One

At a train station in Pau, France in 1964, 34-year-old Alex Dillingham reflects on his love life over the past 17 years ("Love Changes Everything"). A woman (Giulietta Trapani) replies to him that "it's all in the past."

Flashing to 1947, Rose Vibert, a 25-year-old actress, complains that their production of The Master Builder is a flop. The producer, Marcel, tries to placate Rose by introducing her to a fan, 17-year-old Alex ("A Small Theatre in Montpellier"). Alex and Rose have a brief tryst at his uncle George's villa in Pau ("Seeing is Believing", "The House in Pau"). George Dillingham, in Paris with his mistress, Giulietta Trapani, an Italian sculptor, returns to his villa to see for himself what Alex and Rose are doing ("An Art Exhibition in Paris", "A Memory of a Happy Moment"). Rose is attracted to George, who is overcome when he sees Rose dressed in a gown belonging to his beloved late wife, Delia, also an actress, and remarks how much Rose resembles Delia ("In Many Rooms in the House at Pau").

He advises Alex that all good things have to end, and that his interlude with Rose will be a memory. Alex insists that his relationship with Rose is real love ("On the Terrace"). George leaves, and Rose leaves to rejoin Marcel. Alex realizes that Rose had never taken him seriously ("At the House at Pau").

Two years later, Alex, now a soldier, visits his uncle in Paris, and is shocked to find that Rose is now George's mistress. He accuses her of chasing his uncle's money, but Rose protests that she really loves George. She admits that she did love Alex once, and the two, drawn to each other again, fall into bed ("George's Flat in Paris").

The next morning, an agitated Rose tells Alex to leave before George returns. Alex, enraged, pulls out his gun. Rose throws a candlestick at Alex, and the gun goes off, shooting Rose in the arm, and she faints ("First Orchestral Interlude"). After George arrives, he and Alex each try to convince the other that the other is the right man for Rose. George wins the debate, insisting that Alex should begin a new life with Rose, and Alex finally agrees ("She'd Be Far Better Off With You"). George then heads to Venice to see his former mistress, Giulietta. However, Rose orders Alex to leave, having chosen to stay with George. Alex leaves, and Rose and Marcel follow George to Venice. Rose intends to confront Giulietta and reclaim George. In Venice, Giulietta and Rose bond while discussing George's foibles. They both express surprise that the other woman is not at all what they'd imagined. George returns and says that he has lost most of his money ("Stop. Wait. Please").

Rose then asks George to marry her and he agrees. At the wedding, Giulietta shocks everyone by claiming her best man's rights and kissing Rose on the mouth. George, however, is delighted ("A Registry Office"). At "A Military Camp in Malaya", Alex receives a letter from Rose telling him that she married George, and they are expecting a child.

Act Two

Twelve years later at a theatre in Paris, Rose has risen to stardom and has a young lover, Hugo. Marcel and the rest of the cast celebrate the latest hit (A Month in the Country) ("Leading Lady"), 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 reintroduces her to the 32-year-old Alex ("At the Stage Door"). Rose is delighted and insists that he come with her to Pau. At the villa, Jenny is excited by the prospect of her mother's return. George is happy 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 ("Other Pleasures"). Meanwhile, in Venice, George's former mistress, Giulietta, ponders the meaning of stable, long-lasting love versus romantic infatuation ("There Is More to Love").

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 ("The Garden at Pau (Version 2)"). That evening Jenny appears wearing Delia's gown, much as Rose did ("On the Terrace (Version 2)"); George happily dances with his daughter. Jenny tries to draw Alex into the dance, but Alex politely refuses ("The First Man You Remember"). 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 ("The Vineyard at Pau"). Later, Jenny tells Alex that she loves him. She begs him to be honest, then kisses him ("Up in the Pyrenees").

George plans his wake, insisting that there should be dancing and fun. Rose tells him that he's bound to outlive them all ("George's Study at Pau"). At a circus in Paris, George, Rose, Alex, and Jenny are celebrating Jenny's fifteenth birthday ("Journey of a Lifetime"). George becomes agitated as he watches Jenny talking with Alex ("Falling"). Later, Alex puts Jenny to bed. 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 reflects that he knows he must not love her, but cannot help loving her. George overhears Alex and is enraged, suspecting the worst. He collapses, and Alex comes out of Jenny's room to find him dead ("Jenny's Bedroom").

At George's wake, Giulietta gives a eulogy celebrating George's unconventionality and his belief in living life to the fullest ("Hand Me the Wine and Dice"). Giulietta and Alex join in the dancing and are attracted to each other, eventually trysting in a hayloft. Jenny spies on them, while Marcel tries to comfort the grieving Rose. Alex, alone with Giulietta, wonders how to end his relationship kindly with Jenny. He returns to the villa for one last confrontation. Alex tries to explain to Jenny 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 ("On the Terrace (Version 3)").

Rose bids Alex farewell, but then breaks down and begs Alex not to leave her. Alex, unsure of how to reply, leaves ("Anything But Lonely"). At the train station at Pau, as Alex and Giulietta wait for the train, Giulietta wonders what will happen when Jenny reaches legal majority in three years. Alex, unable to reply, reflects once more on how love changes everything ("It Won't be Long till Jenny's a Woman").

Musical Numbers 

  1. "Love Changes Everything" – Alex
  2. "A Small Theatre in Montphile" – Rose, Marcel, Actress and Alex
  3. "Parlez-vous Français?" – Crooner, Alex, Rose, Marcel, Waiter and Actors
  4. "The Railway Station" – Alex and Rose
  5. "Seeing is Believing" – Alex and Rose
  6. "The House in Pau" – Alex and Rose
  7. "An Art Exhibition in Paris" – George and Giulietta
  8. "A Memory of a Happy Moment" – Giulietta and George
  9. "In Many Rooms in the House at Pau" – Rose and Alex
  10. "On the Terrace" – George, Alex and Rose
  11. "Outside the Bedroom" – Rose and Alex
  12. "Chanson d'Enfance" – Rose and Alex
  13. "At the House at Pau" – Rose and Alex
  14. "Everybody Loves a Hero" – Harkers and Ensemble
  15. "George's Flat in Paris" – Elizabeth, Alex and Rose
  16. First Orchestral Interlude – Alex, Elizabeth, Rose and George
  17. "She'd Be Far Better Off with You" – George and Alex
  18. Second Orchestral Interlude – Orchestra
  19. "Stop. Wait. Please." – George, Giulietta and Rose
  20. "A Registry Office" – Priest, Friends, George, Rose and Giulietta
  21. "A Military Camp in Malaya" – Alex

Act II

  1. Orchestral introduction to Act II – Orchestra
  2. "A Theatre in Paris" – Marcel, Rose, Actress and Hugo
  3. "Leading Lady" – Marcel, Rose, Alex and Hugo
  4. "At the Stage Door" – Rose and Alex
  5. "George's House at Pau" – Jenny and George
  6. "Other Pleasures" – George, Jenny, Rose and Alex
  7. "A Cafe in Venice" – Giulietta
  8. "There is More to Love" – Giulietta
  9. "The Garden at Pau" – George, Jenny, Rose and Alex
  10. "Mermaid Song" – Jenny, Alex and George
  11. "The Countryside Around the House (Third Orchestral Interlude) – Orchestra
  12. "The Garden at Pau (Version 2)" – Jenny, Alex and Rose
  13. "On the Terrace (Version 2)" – George, Hugo, Alex, Rose and Jenny
  14. "The First Man You Remember" – George, Jenny and Alex
  15. "The Vineyard At Pau" – George, Rose, Alex, Jenny, Hugo and Workmen
  16. "Up in the Pyrenees" ("Chanson d'Enfance" (Reprise) / "Love Changes Everything" (Reprise)) – Jenny and Alex
  17. "George's Study at Pau" – George and Rose
  18. "Journey of a Lifetime" – Chanteuse, Ensemble, George, Rose, Alex and Jenny
  19. "Falling" – Alex, Jenny, Rose and George
  20. "Jenny's Bedroom in Paris" – Alex, Jenny, George, Rose and Hugo
  21. "Hand Me the Wine and the Dice" – Giulietta, Chorus, Alex, Jenny, Rose, Hugo and Marcel
  22. "A Hay Loft" – Giulietta and Alex
  23. "On the Terrace (Version 3)" – Alex, Jenny and Rose
  24. "Anything But Lonely" – Rose
  25. "It Won't be Long till Jenny's a Woman" – Giulietta and Alex

Musical Numbers (on the cast recording)

Anything But Lonely
Chanson d'Enfance
Everybody Loves a Hero
The First Man You Remember
Hand Me the Wine and the Dice
The Journey of a Lifetime
Leading Lady
Love Changes Everything
A Memory of a Happy Moment
Mermaid Song
Other Pleasures
Parlez-vous Français?
Seeing Is Believing
She'd Be Far Better Off With You
Stop. Wait Please
There Is More To Love

Original London Cast Recording