Leonard Bernstein Mass at the Vatican City

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Timeless traditions and contemporary anxieties clash musically and theatrically in Leonard Bernstein’s powerful but rather neglected “Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers,” The dancers are omitted in this semi-staged performance, produced for the Vatican’s Jubilee 2000 celebration, but the show’s eclectic musical brilliance, its adept mingling and clash of musical styles, its contrasts of hope and anxiety, faith and unbelief, ancient serenity and modern dissatisfaction are all brilliantly conveyed. More than 30 years after its premiere, for the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Mass still has the impact of this morning’s newspaper headlines.
Only Bernstein, a crossover genius, could have produced this score, which mingles folk and ecclesiastical styles, choral and solo vocals, spoken dialogue and dramatic gestures, classical, rock, blues, Broadway-style tunes, gospel, electronic effects, Hebrew prayer, a symphony orchestra, and a kazoo ensemble, and made it all work together with shattering impact. The enormous cast of this production is equal to all its stylistic and musical demands, and the cameras and microphones capture it all effectively. –Joe McLellan

Product Description

Originally commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to commemorate the memory of John K. Kennedy, Leonard Bernstein’s Mass is an exhilarating religious and musical masterpiece. The work is a staggering example of musical eclecticism, mixing aspects of classical, pop, jazz, rock, and blues. Rarely performed due to the enormity of the production, Mass features more than two hundred performers among the large orchestra, a rock band, a blues band, 18 soloists, 80 chorus singers, and a company of 45 dancer-singers. This performance was staged at the Vatican as part of the Jubilee 2000 celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church.