Much of the original cast reunited in a production at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York City in July 1972. The European première of
Mass was performed in July 1973 at Vienna's
Konzerthaus with a cast consisting of students from
Yale University, a choir from Vienna, and the
Yale Symphony Orchestra, all conducted by
John Mauceri. Mauceri, a protégé of the composer who studied at
Tanglewood, was then a faculty member at Yale, and director of the student orchestra. He conducted the piece at Yale in the fall of 1972, at which time the composer elected to take the cast and orchestra abroad. Bernstein's Amberson Enterprises sponsored the production, which used amateur performers because of union restrictions on taking the Kennedy Center cast abroad. Michael Hume, the son of
The Washington Post music critic
Paul Hume, sang the role of the Celebrant. Ted Libby, later a music critic for
The New York Times and
The Washington Post, was a member of the Street Chorus, as was the television actor
Robert Picardo. The Yale/Vienna production was filmed for television by
ORF, the Austrian broadcasting system, under the direction of
Brian Large, a producer of live music films. To date, this production has not been released on video, though it was broadcast several times in the United States by PBS, in its "Theatre in America" series. The producers of the PBS biography,
Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note, used clips from the film because no other high quality footage could be found. The design, direction and flavor of the production are redolent of the 1960s and 1970s, when
Godspell,
Hair, and
Jesus Christ Superstar used similar anarchical styles to present counter-culture themes on stage. On March 11 and 12, 1974, a fully staged performance of
Mass was presented at
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Under the direction of Richard Wright, this Florida premiere performance featured Robert Terry Whidden portraying the Celebrant, with choreography by Sharon Brooks. The first British performance was staged at
Coventry Theatre on May 16, 1976, by the
University of Warwick with the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, University of Warwick Chamber Choir and Chorus, Southend Boys' Choir, The London Chorale, Cycles Dance Company, Cameron (a pop group), conductor
Roy Wales, Robert Carpenter Turner as the Celebrant, and producer Clive Barker. Roy Wales received permission directly from Leonard Bernstein in November 1974 to stage this British premiere, following a visit that Bernstein made to the University of Warwick in October 1974 when Roy Wales conducted a performance of
Chichester Psalms in his presence. Wales had conducted the first London performance of
Chichester Psalms on June 10, 1966, in the Duke's Hall at the
Royal Academy of Music. The Coventry performance of
Mass was followed the next night by the first London performance, at the
Royal Albert Hall, on May 17, 1976, and this was reviewed in the
Financial Times by
Paul Griffiths and by
William Mann in
The Times, both May 18, 1976. Most reviews of the Royal Albert Hall premiere were mixed, but the performance was widely praised. In the
Financial Times, Griffiths wrote, "Given such poor material, this performance was almost a miracle of transubstantiation. The playing of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was full, bold and vigorous, and so too was the singing of the University of Warwick Chorus, joined by the excellent Southend Boys' Choir. Roy Wales had clearly trained his forces exceptionally well." In 1981, the Kennedy Center mounted a tenth anniversary production, directed by
Tom O'Horgan and conducted by John Mauceri, that was broadcast on September 19, 1981 ("Live from the Kennedy Center").
Donal Henahan described the work as even shallower than he remembered it from 1972 at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1982, a production was mounted in Berlin's
Deutschlandhalle conducted by Bernstein protégé
David Charles Abell, directed by , and choreographed by William Milié. Ten years after staging the British premiere, Roy Wales conducted the Australian premiere on April 11, 1986, in the
Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Performed by The
Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, Brisbane Chorale,
Queensland Conservatorium singers and with
Jonathon Welch as the Celebrant, staged by Giuseppe Sorbello, and choreography by dance designer Ruth Gabriel, the performances were critically acclaimed. In 2000,
Mass was staged and performed at the
Vatican as part of the
Jubilee 2000 celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II attended that special event. The Celebrant was portrayed by Douglas Webster and the boy soprano role was split by identical twins
Pascal Le Boeuf and
Remy Le Boeuf. On November 19, 2002, with the
Collegiate Chorale and the
Orchestra of St. Luke's staged a production in New York City with
Robert Bass conducting. The Celebrant was portrayed by Douglas Webster and the boy soprano was sung by James Burnett Danner. Soloists included Geoffrey Blaisdell, Peter Buchi, Charis Fliermans, D. Michael Heath, Jan Horvath, Andre McCormick, Warren Moore, Anika Noni Rose, Liz Queler, and Lori Rivera. Writing in
The New York Times,
Anthony Tommasini wrote: "In retrospect it's hard to understand the hostility the work provoked. Admittedly the text is glibly anti-establishment and often mawkish. But after
9/11, a line like 'Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer' no longer seems such pap." He praised some moments but faulted others for sounding like "a rush job". He praised the performance and concluded: "In many ways
Mass is an earnest mess, but it got to this baby boomer. Here is Uncle Lenny trying to make sense of it all. You have to love the guy." The
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign presented a gala production of
Mass at the
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, with student performers from the theater and dance departments and School of Music, in October 2006 in honor of the College of Fine and Applied Arts' 75th anniversary. Ricardo Herrera sang the part of the Celebrant; the performance was directed by James Zager, choreographed by John Dayger, and conducted by
Eduardo Diazmuñoz. Chester Alwes and Fred Stoltzfus prepared the chorus.
40th anniversary 2011 saw several performances of
Mass commemorating the 40th anniversary of its premiere in 1971. Among these were a production presented by the Anchorage Concert Chorus, Alaska Children's Choir, and Alaska Dance Theatre in the Atwood Concert Hall on March 18 and 20 in Anchorage, Alaska, and the
University of Colorado at Boulder in the
Boettcher Concert Hall (Denver) on April 26. A full-stage production was performed at the
Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio, May 13 and 14, featuring the
Dayton Philharmonic, conducted by Neal Gittleman, and actors, singers and dancers from
Wright State University, directed by Greg Hellems, choreographed by Gina Walther, with musical direction by Hank Dahlman, as well as the Kettering Children's Choir, featuring John Wright as the Celebrant, and produced by W. Stuart McDowell. The BBC performed
Mass as part of their 2012
Proms music festival at
Royal Albert Hall. Featured was Morten Frank Larsen as the Celebrant, the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the
BBC National Chorus of Wales, and the National Youth Choir of Wales.
Mass was performed on March 9 and 10, 2012, at the
Adelaide Festival Theatre during the 2012
Adelaide Festival of Arts with
Kristjan Järvi conducting. The Celebrant was
Jubilant Sykes, performing with the
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Absolute Trio, and the Adelaide Festival Chorus and Children's Choir. Soloists included James Egglestone, Carolyn Ferrie,
Leah Flanagan, Adam Goodburn, Lane Hinchcliff, David Linn, Nic Lock, Beau Daniel Loumeau, Samantha Mack, Libby O'Donovan, Mark Oates, Kirsty-Ann Roberts, Gary Rowley, Danielle Ruggiero,
Sally-Anne Russell, and James Scott. The director was Andy Packer and the chorus director was
Carl Crossin. A very positive review in
Limelight magazine described the production as "a brave production of a brave work that doesn't shy away from exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy of life with or without religion". This performance was described in Festival publicity as the "Australian première" but in fact several earlier Australian performances were held: in Sydney in 1987 by the
NSW State Conservatorium of Music, with
Peter Cousens as the Celebrant, conducted by Ronald Smart; in Brisbane in 1986 by the Brisbane Chorale; in Melbourne in 1989 by the
State Orchestra of Victoria; and in Adelaide at the 52nd Intervarsity Choral Festival in 2001. The
Philadelphia Orchestra presented a staged version of
Mass at the
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, April 30 – May 3, 2015.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducted and Kevin Vortmann sang the role of the Celebrant. The production was recorded by
Deutsche Grammophon and released in 2018, as part of the Bernstein Centenary celebrations. The Conservatorium of Music in Sydney again staged
Mass at the
Sydney Opera House, with Christopher Hillier as the Celebrant and Eduardo Diazmunoz conducting as part of the Conservatorium's centenary. On November 13, 14, and 15, 2015, a full-staged production of
Mass was performed by the opera, orchestra, and choir departments of the
Blair School of Music at
Vanderbilt University, with Steven Fiske as the Celebrant. The production was directed by Gayle Shay, the chorus was directed by Tucker Biddlecombe, and the conductor was Robin Fountain. In February 2018,
Los Angeles Philharmonic staged a production of
Mass at the
Walt Disney Concert Hall directed by
Elkhanah Pulitzer for the Bernstein
centennial. The production was then revived at
Lincoln Center for the July 2018
Mostly Mozart Festival. On 6 and 7 April 2018, at the
Royal Festival Hall in London,
Marin Alsop conducted the Mass Orchestra, comprising young musicians from Chineke! Junior Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, plus Tony award-winner
Paulo Szot in a performance of Bernstein's
Mass. Performers: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Chineke! Junior Orchestra, Marin Alsop (conductor), Paulo Szot (celebrant), Maia Greaves (treble), Freddie Jemison (treble), Leo Jemison (treble), Voicelab, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Finchley Children's Music Group, Avanti House Secondary School (Harrow), Millennium Performing Arts, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, Streetwise Opera, Woven Gold, Choir With No Name, Yeast Culture (visuals), Lilian Baylis Technology School (visuals). On July 28, 2018,
Mass made its professional Chicago area debut at the
Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. The staged performance was part of the festival's season-long tribute to Bernstein to honor the composer's centenary. Marin Alsop conducted the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra in its debut performance of the piece.
Paulo Szot reprised his role as celebrant for the performance. Other performers included the
Chicago Children's Choir, Vocality, and the
Highland Park High School Marching Band. The production's creative director was Kevin Newbury. An encore performance was given on July 20, 2019, by many of the same performers and members of the creative team. The encore performance was filmed for the
PBS series,
Great Performances. The episode first aired on May 16, 2020. On December 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2018 the
San Diego State University School of Music and Dance and School of Theatre, Television, and Film ran a production of
Mass with performers from the orchestra, choirs, jazz department, the Marching Aztecs, and MFA in Musical Theatre program with André Ward as the Celebrant. The production was conducted by Michael Gerdes. On May 10 and 12, 2019, the San Jose State University School of Music and Dance presented a production of
Mass at the Hammer Theater Center in downtown San Jose, CA. Fred Cohen, conductor; Sandra Bengochea, stage director. On September 15, 17, 18, 2022, as the concluding event of the Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary celebration,
Mass returned 51 years after its world premiere at the Center's 1971 opening gala. Directed by Alison Moritz and choreographed by Hope Boykin, the performances featured the
National Symphony Orchestra, conductor James Gaffigan, and 2020 Marian Anderson Award winner
Will Liverman as the Celebrant. ==Recordings==