Mass

Mass
A Theatre Piece For Singers, Players and Dancers
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Texts after the Roman Mass
Additional texts by Stephen Schwartz and Leonard Bernstein
Chamber Version (Orchestrations by Sid Ramin)
In englischer Originalsprache

Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” was premiered in 1971 in New York for the opening of the Kennedy Center, at a time of social upheaval and protests against war and political hypocrisy. The monumental work combines choral and mass elements with classical symphonic music, vocals and jazz, rock and blues sounds to create a multi-layered reflection on faith and doubt and is considered visionary today. Bernstein combines the Latin liturgy of the mass with often rebellious texts that express the inner conflict between spiritual longing and institutional mistrust. At the centre of the action is the celebrant, a priest experiencing a crisis of faith. “Mass” will be the festival’s fifth major music theatre production in the Johannes church, featuring three choirs, soloists, an orchestra and a rock band. The directing duo Hanna Werth and Philipp Heitmann promise “a moving spectacle with over 100 participants”.

Wolfgang Abendroth, Musikalische Leitung
Hanna Werth, Philipp Alfons Heitmann, Regie
Paulina Barreiro, Kostüm
Nora Pfahl, Takao Baba, Choreografie
Justine Wanat, Musikalische Leitung Akademie für Chor und Musiktheater an der Johanneskirche
Björn Bock, Lichtdesign
Hans-Jürgen Müller, Technische Leitung

Samuel Schürmann, Zelebrant
Neele Jacobsen, Sopran
Sarah Cassaro, Mezzosopran
Luzia Ostermann, Mezzosopran
Anna Magdalena Beetz, Alt
Lukas Baeskow, Tenor
Robert Reichinek, Tenor
Guido Schikore, Bariton
Ferdinand Krumbügel, Bariton
Kammerchor der Johanneskirche
Akademie für Chor und Musiktheater an der Johanneskirche
Jugendkompanie des tanzhaus nrw
Düsseldorf Festival Orchester