[Magdalen] Bernstein’s “Mass”

[Grace Cangialosi]

Ever since Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” opened the Kennedy Center in 1971, I have wanted to see it, but I’ve never had the opportunity.
Today I finally got a chance, and it was an amazing experience! It was the regional premier and was put on by the UVa Music Department. I could see why it isn’t performed very often, though some of the choruses are performed as stand-alone pieces. But it has actors and dancers, a children’s choir and a whole

Susan Hagen joined me, and we had seats in the front row of the balcony on the center aisle. It was an absolutely riveting performance, and we were completely exhausted when it was over! The work runs an hour and 50 minutes with no intermission, but the time flew by.

If you ever have a change to see a fully staged performance of this, go!

As an aside, this was a grand old movie theater that has been beautifully restored. The rbalcony where we were sitting was originally where African-Americans, or “colored people,” as they were called then, had to sit. It had its own separate entrance from the street