FIRST OFF . . .

Roger Moore, who as James Bond could handle any assignment, walked out of the leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new stage musical in London on Monday -- a month before the premiere. Six weeks into rehearsals for “Aspects of Love,” the 61-year-old British actor decided he was not up to the task. “I now do not think the musical stage is for me. After many hours of rehearsal and much soul-searching, I have come to a most difficult decision,” said Moore, a baritone, who would have been making his London stage singing debut in the production. The musical, already sold out for months, is a love story between a young Englishman and a penniless French actress. Moore agreed to play a romantic aristocrat after Lloyd Webber heard him sing at a private party. “I think perhaps that I underestimated the vocal demands of the role because I so much wanted Roger to play it. But I have to accept his judgment and recognize his right to protect his own high standards,” said the composer.