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Alsop has been even

more in demand as a

guest conductor than

usual since worldwide

celebrations of

Bernstein’s centennial

began last fall.

Ravinia’s July 28

performance of

Mass

is the centerpiece

of the three weeks

of concerts with the

Chicago Symphony

Orchestra that she is

personally leading

as the curator of the

festival’s multiyear

salute to the great

American musician

and socio-cultural

provocateur. Earlier

this year, she

presented

Mass

at

London’s Southbank

Centre with musicians

from the National

Youth Orchestra of

Great Britain and

the Chineke! Junior

Orchestra along with

a cast of young choirs

and theater artists.

Baritone Paulo Szot

(left) earned critical

acclaim in his debut as

the central Celebrant

at the performance,

and he will reprise the

role for his Ravinia and

CSO debuts.

diverse musical styles found in the work

and Bernstein’s willingness to rethink

how the baritone voice is typically treat-

ed.

Mass

includes an extended section

that calls on Szot to sing a cappella and

falsetto, something he had never done

before. “So, I was absolutely fascinated

from the beginning until the day we

opened in London,” the baritone says.

“And I can’t wait to do it again.”

Because of the massive scale of

Mass

,

learning, rehearsing, and performing it

becomes a journey in itself—what Alsop

calls a “secondary metaphor” for the

message of the piece. The trepidation

and anxiety at the beginning are ulti-

mately replaced with feelings of accom-

plishment and fulfillment. “I know what

the pay-off can be,” Alsop says. “For

people who haven’t gone through this

journey, they don’t actually yet know

what an incredible experience it will be

for the audience and for themselves. I

don’t have the fear anymore. I just have

the knowledge of the enjoyment of the

process.”

The work brings out the best in the

artists working on it, Newbury says,

because virtually all of them have expe-

rienced a crisis of faith or a lost con-

nection with community and can share

in its message. And that common bond

and the empathy it generates communi-

cate powerfully to the audience. “More

than any other piece that I’ve done,” he

says, “and I’m not being hyperbolic, it

really feels like the audience and the

performers are in the same space and

the same world, and there is no real di-

viding line between who’s listening and

who’s performing.”

The world has changed a great deal

since 1971, when

Mass

premiered, yet

the United States faces many similar

challenges, including intense political

divisions and societal upheaval. “The

message of community, of standing up

for what you believe in about tolerance,

about acceptance, about love, about mu-

tual respect,” Alsop says, “all of these are

very strong messages throughout

Mass

,

and it brings together such a diverse cast

of people, not just ethnically diverse but

generationally diverse.

“I think it is a very important mes-

sage for the time we’re living in where

we have to remember that tolerance is

an important part of existence on this

planet.”

Kyle MacMillan served as classical music critic

for the

Denver Post

from 2000 through 2011.

He currently freelances in Chicago, writing for

such publications and websites as the

Chicago

Sun-Times

,

Wall Street Journal

,

Opera News

,

and

Classical Voice of North America

.

MARK ALLAN/SOUTHBANK CENTRE (BOTH)

RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 23 – AUGUST 5, 2018

18