Tijdloze tradities en hedendaagse angsten botsen muzikaal en theatraal in Leonard Bernsteins krachtige maar nogal verwaarloosde 'Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers'. De dansers worden weggelaten in deze semi-geënsceneerde voorstelling, geproduceerd ter gelegenheid van het Vaticaans jubileum van 2000, maar de show is muzikale schittering, de bedreven vermenging en botsing van muziekstijlen, de contrasten van hoop en angst, geloof en ongeloof, oude sereniteit en moderne ontevredenheid worden allemaal op briljante wijze overgebracht. Meer dan dertig jaar na de première, ter gelegenheid van de opening van het Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., heeft de mis nog steeds de impact van de krantenkoppen van vanochtend.

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.