Big, Bold and Bernstein: MASS to feature in Adelaide Festival Line Up

Adelaide, hold on to your hats! Leonard Bernstein’s magnificent MASS will feature in the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 programs.

There’s big – and then there’s Bernstein. From West Side Story to Candide, the most celebrated Broadway and classical composer, Leonard Bernstein really knew how to make a big song and dance.

Just minutes ago, it was announced that Adelaide audiences will witness the sheer scale of a this legend’s work when a new production Bernstein’s Mass is presented as a part of the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 programs.  Due to it’s magnitude, Bernstein’s Mass is seldom performed.

Not only does the production demand a cast of more than 200, the score embraces a range of genres from musical theatre and opera to rock ballads and blues, with a libretto that mixes Latin and Hebrew texts. It’s no wonder the original title for the show was the lengthy (yet appropriate) MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. Commissioned by Bernstein’s close friend Jacqueline Kennedy to honour John F. Kennedy, America’s first and only Catholic president, the work was performed for the opening of the world renowned Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1971. The 1971 production cast included a Celebrant, three choirs (Formal Choir, Boys Choir and Street Singers), and altar servers, full classical orchestra (in the pit), and onstage musicians – including a rock band and a marching band.

The production which is set to entrall Adelaide features acclaimed conductor Kristjan Järvi (USA), American baritone and gospel singer Jubilant Sykes (pictured) in the central role of Celebrant, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, The Absolute Trio (US), the Adelaide Festival Chorus and Children’s Choir directed by Carl Crossin, as well as Australian dancers and soloists (yet to be confirmed).

Adelaide Festival Artistic Director Paul Grabowsky said Mass explores the crisis in faith and cultural breakdown of the post-Kennedy era – and continues to be relevant today.

“Mass is a kind of religious work for the 21st century in that it traverses many belief systems. The music is typically Bernstein – melodic, energetic and brash. It’s the kind of work which will only appear in a festival because it is so big,” he said.

“Along with all the colour of the hundreds of musicians, singers and dancers, the Jubilant Sykes factor is particularly important to this production… more than anyone, he has made the role of the Celebrant his own.”

Under the direction of Adelaide’s Andy Packer, Mass will be a fully staged theatrical production, designed by Geoff Cobham, with lighting by Mark Pennington.

“Mass is a glorious time machine. It contains details that tell us about the time in which it was made but more importantly by experiencing it now we discover that the concerns and issues raised in it are eternal. By building this musical masterwork on the catholic liturgy Bernstein created something that stretches from 1971 back 400 years and forward to the present day”, says director, Andy Packer.

This production promises to be at once explosive, cathartic and uplifting. It is a theatrical event which places the 400-year-old religious rite squarely into a tense, dramatic dialogue with music and lyrics of the 20th century, but is underpinned by a profound statement of human faith. Presented by Adelaide Festival, State Opera of South Australia in association with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

To book tickets for this event, visit www.adelaidefestival.com.au or call 131 246 Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival CentreFri 9 Mar – Sat 10 Mar 8pm

Ticket Breakdown:
Premium adult $139, Friends $118A Reserve adult $118, Friends $99B Reserve adult $99, Friends $84, Conc $69Fringe Benefits $30