"In his dramatized retelling of this well-known story, English playwright and director John Caird depicts the arc of the Schumanns' relationship by placing their extensive correspondence (read by Sting and his wife, actress Trudie Styler) in counterpoint with their own compositions and their favorite contemporary works, resulting in a breathtakingly intimate portrait of the profound emotions that tied the two together. In a particularly adventurous move, Caird extends Clara and Robert's epistolary dialogue into the realm of musical performance by creating two ensembles to represent their respective musical correspondence: Robert is portrayed musically by baritone Simon Keenlyside, pianist Iain Burnside, and violinist Sergej Krylov, while Clara's thoughts are given voice by soprano Rebecca Evans, pianist Natasha Paremski, and cellist Natalie Clein."—Notes