Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, September 10, 1971 3 Center opening features By DONALD SANDERS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (Y') - T h e John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was formally opened Wednesday night w i t h the late president's family join- ing in a standing ovation for the featured work, a Mass by Leonard Bernstein. There was general critical ac- claim for the Bernstein w o r k, which he subtitled "a theater piece for players, singers a n d dancers," although some came away wondering whether they had fully understood it. It was the third public per- formance of the Mass, but the first at which officials of the cultural center authoried crit- ical reviews. The second of the center's three major halls will have its premier tonight, with the Na- tional Symphony Orchestra un- der its music director, Antal Dorati. The audience at Wednesday night's premiere was compris- ed of 2,200 invited guests drawn from officials of the Kennedy and Nixon administrations, the president's council on the Arts, performing artists and b e n e- factors of the $66.4-million mar- ble structure on the Bank of the Potomac River near the Lin- coln Memorial. Mrs. Joseph Kennedy, mother of the late president, came with her son and daughter-in-law, Sen. and Mrs. Edward K e n - jnedy (D-Mass.) John Kennedy's surviving sisters and many of ~ .,... - his nephews and nieces were among the guests, all of whom paid $25, $50 or $100 for their seats. All joined in a 10-minute ova- tion for Bernstein and his Mass, portions of which are certain to stir dispute among the faith- ful. Th ere is a moment near the end when, in a thunderous cli- max of the 'Agnus Dei," the celebrant of the Mass is tor- mented by those he though were his followers and hurls the sac- raments of bread and w i ne down a flight of stairs a n d breaks them on the floor. "Look, isn't that odd?" the celebrant sings. "Red and white isn't red at all. It's sort of brown and blue. What are you staring at - haven't you ever seen an accident before? How easily things get broken." Then he breaks the candles on the altar and sings: "Oh God in Heaven, haven't you ever seen an accident before?" This moment of remorseful- ness and feeling that "I am not worthy Lord" then dissolves into a scene of reconciliation. The celebrant is masterfully s u n g and acted by Alan Titus. At the end, acolytes treat up the aisles, clasp hands w i t h members of the audience and say, "Pass it on.". Then there is the recorded voice of Leonard Bernstein say- ing, "The Mass is ended; go in peace," and the house li g h t s come up. Irving Lowens, music critic of Washington's , Evening Star, said: "I'm very impressed - it's undoubtedly Bernstein's greatest work - a florid mas- terpiece." And music critic Paul Hume wrote in The Washington Post: "Staged with marvelous imagi- nation by Gordon Davidson, the Kennedy Center's complex pro- duction is magnificent." If people talk animatedly about the Mass during the next two weeks it wil be presented at the Kennedy center, they a r e likely to talk about the center itself even longer. Critics have called it a marble mausoleum and a bit of ag- grandized posh. It is huge: 630 feet long, 300 feet wide, 10 feet 'Mass' high, with the exterior and the interior corridors all faced with marble. One occasional critic of the center has been Sol Hurok, the impressario, who had complain- ed the halls were too small for successful commercial bookings. But Hurok said now he is willing to give the center a try. "I love it," he said. As for Bernstein's work, Hurok said, "He has a great philoso- phy. He strives for a unifica- tion and I only wish we had the strength." "You feel like crying," Hurok said of the concert. And Rose Kennedy, mother of the late president said simply: "It's marvelous. I think my son would have liked it." Me flee NOArIAps 4 Lb" Aill 'Mass' performance gets standing ovation 1Mass Apermanent addition to, American theater repertory NEWSPAPERS ... FRIEND = == OF THE _________ . ONSUMVERS rI Il 0 $1.50 EDITOR'S NOTE: The author of the following. review is music editor of the Saturday Review and editorialdirector of the Kennedy Center program; miagazine. By IRVING KOLODIN WASHINGTON (P) Leonard Bernstein's 'Mass',. belongs to a category of works known as "pieces .d'occasion" or works written "for an occasion." In bringing together the emotions of the com- poser-a friend and great admirer of the man whose name the building sadly bears-and the motions of a cast of singers, dancers and play- ers numbering more than 200-Bernstein has not only glorified the "occasion" for which the work was conceived, but made it "of a piece" in ano- ther way. In combining the liturgy of the Roman Cath- olic Mass, from "Kyrie Eleison" to "Agnus Lei." with a concept utilizing .sung and spoken inter- polations in English the work of himself and Ste- phen Schwartz, Bernstein has called into account all the manner of means with which his career has been associated: the concert hall and the mu- sical stage, the pop tunes and the "Jeremiah" symphony, and achieved a fusion more varied and expressive than in any prior work of his. It, puts the final stamp of "Made in America" on a building whose like this country has not previously seen. According to his own description, "Mass" is a "Theater Piece for Singers, Players, and Dan- cers," but it might well have been called a "Mass of Life" rather than anything resembling a sacred service for the dead. Verdi put Italian opera into his "Manzzoni Requiem" and Bernstein has un- questionably drawn upon the techniques of the "musical" for the score brilliantly staged by Gor- don Davidson. But the so-called "alien elements" have been, for the most part, so sensitive to the more tradi- tional content that the result must be considered a permanent addition to the works of the American theater repertory. OPEJ1!4 IF -ice i ', Electra Rec. Artist FREE BILL ii Tape Recorder Clinic Friday and Saturday Clean, align, demagnetize heads- -all makes and models Tape Recorder Specialists E. Liberty 663-4152 VANAV ER guitar, banjo, tambura 309 *4 f3rd 14I1T WEEK At corner of State.& Liberty DIAL 662-6264 . SHOWS AT 1, 3, 5,7, 9 P.M. not continuous" On 5UnlGys I ' I For the student body: Genuine Authentic Navy PEA COATS $25 Sues 34 to 50 opens the Ark with a dynamite act that will set you forward about ten years. 1 SKULL a play Fri. - Sat. - Sun. 8 P.M. AIR CONDITIONED RC Auditorium 15c CHECKMATE TONIGHT MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S The Ann Arbor premiere of one of' director ERIC ROHMER'S Six MORAL TALES. Rohmer explores love at first sight, self-deception and Pascal's wager:, make the assumption that God exists. 1968. 0 SATURDAY and SUNDAY FIRES ON THE PLAIN Directed by Kon Ichickawa, 1959. A World War I1 Film, but seen from Japan's side. Cannibalism and violence reinforce Ichikawa's anti-war senti- ments. Architecture Auditorium 7 ad9:05 7sc "superb instrumentalist" "so funny at times I wished he were a comic with a sense of music rather than a musician with a sense of humor." JOHN WILSON N.Y. Times *1 Join The Daily Ad Staff CINEMA II TONIGHT A THOUSAND CLOWNS 1965 comedy starring Jason Robards Jr. and Barbara Harris 1'1 saw a horrible sight today: I saw people going to work." Aud. A-Angell Hall State Street at Liberty I ,-=- ann arbor film cooperative presents THE ALLEY Cinema We will be located at 330 Maynard, formerly Canterbury House. Shows will be Monday through Thursday, at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. " 1 I unless otherwise noted. Don't miss our GRAND OPENING MONDAY, SEPT. 13 7 and 9:00 75c I FLESH by ANDY WARHOL Shows at 7, 9, 11 $1.00 We Don't Just 3 -J * We meet new people * We laugh a lot * We find consolation and ARBOR CITY MUSIC PRODUCTIONS PRESENT IN CONCERT SATURDAY & SUNDAY ONLY Hours: 12 noon to 8 p.m. SUPER FALL SKISALE K2 PKG. $125.00 SPALDING PKG. $139.00 (170-175-180 cm length only) (190-195-205-210 cm lengths only) 2 XR-10 fiberglass Skis Spalding TF or PF Skis (ACV or EPOXY) Le Trappeur Plastic Buckle Boots Le Troppeur Plastic Ski Boots Solomon s404 Step-in Bindings Tyrolio Step-in Bindings Borrecrafter Aluminum Poles Barrecrafter AW Poles SAVE $44.00 SAVE $90.00 SKIS HEAD REG. SALE RED STAR 185.00 139.50 320E 135.00 99.50 WHITE STAR 210.00 149.50 KILLY 606 165.00 105.00 WHITE STAR (SUPER) 250.00 179.50 KILLY 800 200.00 139.50 SPALDING K2 GS COMPETITION 180.00 89.95 ELITE 1 120.00 79.50 TRUE FLEX (ALUMINUM) 140.00 69.95 ELITE 2 140.00 99.50 TRUE FLEX (EPOXY) 140.00 69.95 JR. COMPETITION 125.00 90.00 VOIT HOLIDAY 95.00 76.00 SPECTRA CT6 150.00 110.00 KNEISSL SPECTRA CT7 165.00 115.00 BLUE STAR 165.00 130.00 DEMONSTRATOR SKIS $55.00 to $120.00 BOOTS KOFLACK REG SALE STANDARD 120.00 80.00 RACER 50.00 35.00 GARMONT WHITE STAR 60.00 39.50 INTERNATIONAL 50.00 35.00 ARTIC FUR 65.00 39.50 RAICHLE MASTER 90.00 45.00 VOGUE FUR 65.00 39.50 COMPETITION 135.00 90.00 STANDARD 115.00 88.00 LANGE SUPER 145.00 105.00 SKI PANTS & SKI JACKETS (Men's and Ladies') 30050% OFF * 4 * We play football (once) " We make money (some) We solve problems I We gain prestige We become self confident .a l r i / . . I f;:New Heavenly BRII. :aI