Leonard Bernstein Mass at the Vatican City

Product Description The work is a staggering example of musical eclecticism, mixing aspects of classical, pop, jazz, rock and blues. Amazon.com 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