Aspects of Love review: A slick and sumptuous meditation on passion

Jonathan Kent’s slick and sumptuous production boasts a few elements not seen in previous versions. There are new orchestrations but much more exciting still is that Lloyd Webber has commissioned opera professionals for a show which has always tilted to the form.

Designer John Macfarlane has produced stunning impressionist backdrops for what is his first West End show, and opera star Danielle de Niese is a mesmerising presence who has to sing well within herself, it seems, to avoid inadvertently upstaging her co-stars, good as they are.

However, given she was head-hunted from a Glyndebourne production to appear here, you do wonder why she chose to be Giulietta, a role that is almost on the periphery of the main action.

The main action being the story of Rose and Alex, who spends years feeling aggrieved for being jilted.

Plus, given that she’s the only proper opera star to be performing in the West End, you might think De Niese would have chosen a genuine classic before jumping ships. Bridge Theatre’s production of Guys and Dolls, perhaps.

Still, she has chosen what is arguably the best production of this musical for quite some time. With sliding video screens neatly establishing changes in location and Macfarlane’s gorgeous paintings, the evening is a visual feast.

And even though this is not the best score in the composer’s canon, the poignancy the show generates as it conveys the passage of time and passing regrets steals up on you, a little like one of the more subtle aspects of love.