Leonard Bernstein Mass at the Vatican City

List Price: $29.99 Buy For: $26.99
Usually ships in 24 hours


Add to Cart


Compare New & Used Prices From All Available Merchants:

Starring: Enrico Castiglione
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: Kultur Video
Release Date: 2004-08-31
Running Time: 118 minutes
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.

A Censored Celebrant?
If you want to see stunning night vistas of Italian architecture and hear talented voices performing well, you might want to watch the first 10 minutes of this DVD and then just listen to the rest. If you want to view an enactment of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, however, this presentation will disappoint you.

The Celebrant and the leading boy soprano are superb, but they work against daunting limitations. I don't know if the director decided to reinterpret the story or if the Vatican censored it, but Bernstein's central point vanishes in this production.

Disillusionment begins with the stage. About 1/3 the size it needs to be, and 2/3 occupied by an overly large chorus, it is dominated by a sculpture which represents Jesus as neither man nor God (one of the central questions of the congregation). He looks demonic, from whichever of the 57 angles the camera pans in. Even more crucial, this Mass lacks an altar. Unless one has read the original libretto, the critical "Agnus Dei" actions make very little sense. One grasps that the Celebrant experiences a nervous breakdown, but viewers may not understand that the "things [which] get broken" are the chalice and the altar. (Okay, technically, the altar only gets danced upon, but such desecration is a type of breaking.)

Not only does the Celebrant lack both altar and chalice, he also lacks convincing liturgical robes. Instead, he dons a cheap-looking garment from the local Robes-R-Us, as do the choir and the children. The altar boy completes the "priestly" garment with a slim yellow strip of cloth, which the Celebrant can only toss to the floor at the story's crisis. Our protagonist does enter strumming a real guitar, but that is the only prop in this performance, and he loses that early on.

If the stage and costuming are bad, the stage directions are worse. The director uses only five: wander aimlessly, sit frozen, play pat-a-cake, touch someone on the shoulder, or move slowly with expressions of anguish on the face.

Because of all these limitations, the conflict between the Celebrant and his skeptical congregation does not build in intensity. Not until the "Agnus Dei" does the congregational rebellion manifest, and then, the Celebrant can only wander up and down two small sets of steps, looking more and more unhappy. To his merit, he does manage to achieve emotional intensity.

It is sad that someone decided to prune this opera of perceived blasphemy, for in the original story, the wine of the shattered chalice has turned to blood, the miracle of the Mass, despite all doubts and questions, has occurred. I guess the story will have to wait for a more enlightened director and venue. Or perhaps PBS will one day put the performance from their old archives on DVD.

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT
For anyone who had a chance to see the original production or televised version of the same, this is absolutely horrific! It was as though this production was thrown together quickly and haphazardly. It had seemingly no direction. What was forgotten in this production is that this glorious, brave, daring work is not merely a genius piece of music but it is also a brilliant piece of "theatre" of drama. In this, the performers seemed to have no idea of who their characters were or why they were singing (except for Anika Noni Rose). The director didn't seem to know that this was a piece about faith and doubt and worldliness and choice. It questions who is God, what is the Church, how does it all fit into our daily lives as we struggle here on earth. What it means to believe in ones religion and be a part of the world. In fact there was no direction. What a complete disservice to Mr. Bernstein and to JFK in whose honor it was originally written.

Fair introduction to Bernstein's Mass
I was in the first college orchestra to ever play Bernstein's Mass. I love the piece and know it intimately. I was so excited when this came out, because the video of the original performance is being held for some reason. This video has some good points and some weak points, but to date it is the only full version available on video. It is amazing to see it performed in front of the House of Cardinals, and amazing to see the response. On the other hand, many of the sections are sung to recorded music and the performers are mostly young students. Their energy and enthusiasm are outstanding, but their abilities vary. Some parts are great, others are weak. It is not the best performance, but it does let you see the piece in its entirety. If you are a fan, it is a must buy, but you will love parts and hate parts.

Toned-Down Version, But Pleasing
Those who may have seen MASS live at the Kennedy Center,
or who remember PBS's 1981 broadcast of that lavish production, will be in for a surprise with this production performed at the Paul VI Hall of Audiences at Vatican City. The set is minimal, there are no marching bands, no lavish banners, and yet this production of Leonard Bernstein's MASS is still quite a pleasure to watch and listen to. The singers are more than competent, and what the show lacks in scenery and props, it more than makes up for in "heart." This is a nice MASS.

Mass, Leonhard Bersntein
The original recording, that was conduced by Bersntein is bettter than this .