Jesus Christ Superstar, a masterpiece by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is one of the most famous and beloved musicals of all time thanks to its main ability to combine spirituality, pacifism and rock. Not everyone knows that, before becoming a hugely successful stage and film musical,Jesus Christ Superstar was in 1970 a record rock opera sung by Ian Gillan, legendary frontman of Deep Purple. Considered blasphemous by public opinion in the early seventies, as he approached the Gospels to the hippie culture of the period,Jesus Christ Superstarhe received the appreciation of both believers and laity for his universal message of hope, love and faith. The rock opera, characterized by a singular union between the pacifist instances and the search for spirituality of the seventies, tells the last week of Jesus mainly from the point of view of Judas. The figures of Judas and Jesus represent two opposing moral worlds, but on the figure of the Iscariot, however, there is no definitive judgment of condemnation, as he also reveals his tragic dignity, while Jesus is often presented in his human weakness, making him closer to us. Norman Jewison’s 1973 film would not have had its global success without two extraordinary protagonists such as Carl Anderson (Judas) and Ted Neeley (Jesus).
The latter personifies an ideal Jesus vocally and scenically, although much more mature than the 33 years of Christ in the last earthly week, in the new edition of Jesus Christ Superstar currently on stage at the Sistina Theater in Rome until Easter: the same thrill of seeing live, for example, John Travolta in a Broadway musical on Saturday night fever. Jesus Christ Superstar will touch several cities in the coming months: Florence (Teatro Verdi from 22 to 24 April), Bari (Teatro Team from 30 April to 1 May), Bassano del Grappa (Pala Bassano 2, 6 May), Genoa (Politeama Genovese, from 13 to 14 May), Turin (Teatro Colosseum from 17 to 19 May), Reggio Emilia (Municipal Theater Valli from 27 to 29 May) and Bologna (EuropAuditorium Theater from 31 May to 1 June). The director and producer Massimo Romeo Piparo, precursor of the Anglo-Saxon musical in Italy (his first edition of JCS dates back to 1994), was the only one to have obtained official recognition from the Holy See on the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000, a sign that the Chiesa, after the initial hesitation, fully recognized the spiritual value of the work. The public of the great occasions, including actors and personalities from the world of entertainment, crowded the premiere of the musical, which updated its message of peace with some significant references to current events. The show, in the original language and with the live orchestra conducted by Maestro Emanuele Friello, gave space to the tragedy of the war currently at the gates of Europe, bringing its universal message of hope, dialogue and spirituality back to the present day. While Jesus-Ted Neeley was given 39 lashes shortly before dying, the images of martyrs of yesterday and today (Holocaust, Twin Towers, Hiroshima, Falcone and Borsellino, war in Ukraine) flowed on the big screen behind him as a warning. of any tragedy, ancient or contemporary. One of the most applauded moments of the show was the two-part performance of the beautiful song Could We Start Again, Please? (whose title, emblematically, means “Can we start all over again, please?”) by the mezzo-soprano Sofiia Chaika (who plays Maria Maddalena throughout the opera) and the soprano Anna Koshkina.
A Ukrainian and a Russian, together in an emotional shared performance, each wrapped in the flag of their country, yet united by a common feeling of forgiveness. As a demonstration of the international caliber of the production, all the songs are sung in English (and not adapted into Italian, as happens too often in our theaters), with extensive quotes from the Gospel on the big screen in the key scenes. Feisal Bonciani, a Florentine born in 1990 who has been transplanted to London for years, is entrusted with the arduous task of not making Carl Anderson regret, the unforgettable Black Judas of the film. It is of him, after theOverturethe first solo song, the intense Heaven on their minds, where Judas expresses his concern for the growing popularity of Jesus, fearing that earthly fame could take him away from his mission. Bonciani shows to have a strong personality, in addition to the physicality required by the role and an enviable vocal range, full of soul, garnering great applause. A moment of great suggestion is Ted Neeley’s sudden entry into the scene from a trap door, accompanied by the unmistakable riff of trumpets by Superstar, which unleashes a real roar in the room. In the enthralling and choral What’s the buzz?Mary Magdalene enters, interpreted with measure and sensuality by Sofiia Chaika, who shows her excellent vocal range inEverything’s alright and even more, later, in the iconic I don’t kow how to love him . Giorgio Adamo, an energetic and combative Simone, thrills the audience in Poor Jerusalemdemonstrating how even a small role, happily played, can contribute to the success of the show. Pilate’s dream is the piece with which Andrea Di Persio introduces himself, who has the right scenic authority and the emotional combat of Pontius Pilate. No less are Francesco Mastroianni and Mattia Braghero in the roles of the bad priests Caifa and Hannas, who lighten their characters with the right amount of irony. The cast, made up of about twenty acrobats, waders, fire eaters and dancers in the choreography of Roberto Croce, enlivens and enlivens the scene changes of the show. A shiver runs through the backs of the spectators of the Sistina from the first notes of Gethsemane, Ted Neeley’s workhorse, where he reveals all his talents as a refined interpreter, up to the famous high note that snatches the thunderous applause of the audience. The funniest moment of the show is certainly the one starring Frankie Hi-Nrg Mc in the role of King Herod, made even more kitsch and surreal than the film thanks to the characteristic Eighties rapper clothes, with large sunglasses, Kangol hat , gold chains, fur down to the feet and the white sneakers that the Run DMC wore (today, however, the trappers make models for the major world fashion houses, especially Italian and French).
Frankie raps and sings with great flair in the hilarious King Herod’s songsurrounded by dancers, and scoffs at Jesus, claiming to be the real star of that historical period. Her performance pulls convict applause and lots of laughter. The fun then leaves room for the excruciating pain of Jesus, betrayed by Judas and taken away by force by the Roman soldiers, up to the terrible 39 lashes and crucifixion. If anyone could have doubts about the director’s choice to have a 78-year-old artist play Jesus, those perplexities were dispelled by the capital interpretation of Ted Neeley, able to return every single nuance of the human suffering of Christ, which, despite the atrocious pains and the possibility of saving himself offered to the last by Pilate, he courageously meets his destiny.
The tension dissolves with the enthralling Superstarthe main theme of the musical, during which Neeley, Bonciani and some dancers pass by the enthusiastic spectators of the stalls, before going back to the stage. After the finale of the musical, in which the theatrical company leaves the desert where they had performed a show on the last days of Jesus, a long standing ovation from the Sistine Chapel leads to two encores, with Could We Start Again, Please? by the two Russian-Ukrainian Maddalene and a portion of the iconic Superstar, the ideal song to end the evening. “It is not easy, in such a delicate moment in our history, to tackle issues that seemed to have faded forever like that of war,” said Massimo Romeo Piparo, director and artistic director of the Sistina. “The only way we have at this moment to strongly testify the strength of art, music, theater, culture is to send messages and signals that unequivocally give the imprint of what culture should always do: unite “.
Jesus Christ Superstar al Sistina actualizes his message of peace