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ImageITHACA, NEW YORK -- In celebration of the 90th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth and the 20th anniversary season at the Cornell University Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, the Schwartz Center is pleased to present as its 2008-09 season finale the regional premiere of Bernstein's Mass.

This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see this rarely produced and enormous musical theatre piece fully staged. Mass is a collaboration between Cornell's Departments of Music and Theatre, Film and Dance. It will be performed one week only (April 21-26).

"Bernstein envisioned Mass as a bold theatrical enterprise as exciting visually as it is in its musical composition," said Mass Director David Feldshuh, Schwartz Center Artistic Director. "It's a creation that demands unique collaborations between theatre, music, dance, and film. We are working to capture Bernstein's exuberant imagination by combining talents from throughout Cornell and the wider Ithaca community."

"With over 110 singers and instrumentalists involved, Mass will showcase the talent of this diverse Cornell and Ithaca community. The music is rich and eclectic, moving from sophisticated concert music to Broadway show tunes while touching on rock and jazz idioms along the way.....like Mahler meets West Side Story," said Music Director Scott Tucker, Cornell's Director of Choral Music.

Mass is Bernstein's most flamboyant and controversial work. Described as a theatre piece for singers, players and dancers, Mass tells the story of a young man undergoing a crisis of faith but with an overarching message of hope and healing. The work features a 20-member street chorus comprised of students and community members, a 100-plus member liturgical choir made up of student members of the Cornell Chorus and Glee Club, a 10-member choir from the Ithaca Children's Choir, Cornell dance students, and an intimate orchestra that will replicate the eclectic mix of rock, Broadway, and classical styles inherent in the piece.

Guest opera singer Dominic Inferrera from New York City will play the central role of the Celebrant. Visual media will also be an important component of Feldshuh's vision for the show, with three projection screens filled with visual narrative created by Senior Film Lecturer Marilyn Rivchin.

Mass was written for the 1971 opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Its first director was Gordon Davidson '56. In October 2008 Mass was the centerpiece of a Carnegie Hall's concert celebration of Bernstein's 90th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as the music director of the New York Philharmonic. The Schwartz Center's production is one of the few fully staged productions of Bernstein's work since its stage debut in 1972 and promises to be a unique theatrical experience.

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