More and more people believe that Jesus is the son of the Lord God, and only Judas refuses to admit it. Judas is sure that thoughts about Jesus and God do not allow people to focus on the threat from the Romans.
On Friday evening, the apostles question Jesus about his plans and ask questions, while Mary Magdalene rubs oil on his feet and hair, believing that Jesus should rest. Judas approaches them and resents Mary's presence, speaking of her dubious reputation. Jesus tries to stop him by saying the famous “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” and notes the care with which Mary surrounded him. Magdalena, not wanting a scandal, leaves.
A meeting of clergy takes place in Jerusalem discussing Jesus and his work. The decision was made to kill him.
Jesus enters the Holy City, where he is greeted by the townspeople singing Hosanna. The son of God says that none of the people knows what real glory is, and that one must die in order to defeat death.
Pontius Pilate sees Jesus and his death in a dream and understands what role he has in all this.
Meanwhile, Jesus discovers moneylenders and merchants in the temple, which makes him furious and throws them all out. He shouts to the sick and poor people around him that they themselves must be cured. Maria, seeing his condition and frustration, tries to calm him down. As a result, Jesus falls asleep.
Judas gives the priests the location of Jesus. Jesus and the twelve apostles gather for a meal in the garden of Gethsemane. The apostles are happy to share the table with each other, while Jesus is not happy: he says that one of them will betray him, and Peter will turn away from him. Judas leaves, the others go to bed, and only Jesus begins the prayer.
Judas returns and Jesus is captured. Peter denies Jesus three times. Jesus is taken to Pontius, who, however, sends him to Herod. The King of Judea demands from him miracles and proof of his divine origin, promising liberation in return, but is refused.
The crippled Jesus is led back to Pontius, and then Judas sees him. The weak and pitiful appearance struck him so much that Judas hanged himself, blaming Jesus for his death. Pontius Pilate decides to save Jesus from death and speaks to the people with a proposal to replace the death penalty with 39 lashes. The crowd rejects his proposal and insists on death. Jesus is nailed to the cross. Jesus hears the voice of Judas asking about the meaning of his self-sacrifice. Having exclaimed, turning to God for the last time, Jesus dies.
The biblical story underlying the rock opera is told in an unusual, “youth” language, and all biblical characters are represented by ordinary people prone to passions and weaknesses. There is a clear analogy with the music business. Modernizing the gospel story allowed the author to bring his creation closer to modern youth.
Picture or drawing of Jesus Christ Superstar
Other retellings for the reader's diary
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- Summary of Aeschylus Oresteia
So the first part is called Agamemnon. Here is a complete description of the king on his native land from the Trojan War. His beautiful wife is waiting for him in the palace.
"Jesus Christ Superstar"is one of the most famous and greatest rock operas in the world, with a fairly long history, which has become a masterpiece and legend in the world of music. Rock opera became the first musical Andrew Lloyd Webber And Tim Rice on the professional stage. Perhaps no other rock opera has undergone so many changes.
The musical was originally released as an album in 1970, where the main role was played by Ian Gillan, the vocalist of the so-called “golden line-up” of Deep Purple. The live concert in July 1971 was such a huge success that it was decided to record and release a record, which subsequently sold millions of copies. A young composer unknown to anyone until this moment Andrew Lloyd Webber became a celebrity almost overnight. On October 12, 1971, an extended stage version of the rock opera premiered on Broadway. The young authors were shocked by the success of the production. Already in August 1972, the show opened in London. And in 1973, the rock opera was filmed. The film was shot in Israel, in the very places where the events shown in the film took place. Over the 40 years of rock opera existence "Jesus Christ Superstar" The show was staged on stages in 17 countries around the world. In Russia, for the first time in Russian, a rock opera was held on the stage of the St. Petersburg State Rock Opera Theater.
Even the authors themselves did not expect such a tremendous success. Unlike the audience, critics did not accept the performance. Journalists from music publications, representatives of business magazines, columnists of prestigious opera magazines, authors of women's magazines - the press in England hung up the phoneDavid Land, producer of young talents. But two weeks after the premiere"Jesus Christ Superstar"topped three charts at once!!!
"Jesus Christ Superstar"was staged wherever possible, and in more than one version (including, as already noted, in Russia). The film adaptation of the rock opera was no less successful. After a while, the buzz about the rock opera died down and the film was forgotten for a while. But just recently the production was pulled from the shelves. AND"Jesus"once again sells out Broadway. A new Broadway production was created and a studio recording was made with new lyrics, where the role of Jesus is played bySteve Balsamo, and the role of Herod is Alice Cooper. The texts have also been slightly edited,Tim Ricecorrected some rhymes to be more successful, in his opinion. In addition, a new film adaptation of the rock opera was recorded"Jesus Christ Superstar", directed by Gail Edwards. The main difference of the new film adaptation is a completely studio recording. In general, the recording turned out to be a little more gritty than the first film, but no less interesting.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” - the plot of a rock opera
The basis for the plot of the rock opera was the gospel narratives, events that occurred at the dawn of the Christian Era. The storyline covers the period from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem until his death on Calvary, the last seven days of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, from his appearance on Palm Sunday until his execution by order of Pontius Pilate. Jesus is aware of what lies ahead, but does not quite understand the purpose of his own sacrifice, although he treats it as a fate that cannot be changed. Jesus suffers from this knowledge, he wants to understand why God the Father sends him to death.
In the librettist’s interpretation, Judas Iscariot did not intend to betray the “teacher”; simply, by the will of evil fate, it was he who had to commit the betrayal. He does not like what is happening, it seems to him that Jesus is losing control over what is happening, that he is moving away from his own teaching. He believes that Jesus and his apostles are close to self-destruction. He wants to save Jesus from the crowd and himself, denounces Jesus to the authorities, hoping that he will be isolated and thus saved. Judas does not hide his intentions: if Jesus is truly the son of God, it means that he is able to foresee everything in advance, understood what could happen and he himself identified him, Judas, to the role of “cursed for all time.”
"Jesus Christ Superstar" - rock opera video
Jesus Christ Superstar is credited with launching the rock opera era of the 70s. Despite the fact that this unique work was created more than 40 years ago, it has not lost any of its grandeur.
Main cast on 1970 studio recording
Jesus - Ian Gillan
Judas - Murray Head
Mary Magdalene - Yvonne Elliman
Pontius Pilate - Barry Dennen
Caiaphas - Victor Brox
Simon - John Gustafson
Anna - Brian Keith
Herod - Mike d'Abo
"Jesus Christ Superstar"is one of the most famous and greatest rock operas in the world, with a fairly long history, which has become a masterpiece and legend in the world of music.
Rock opera became Tim Rice's first musical on the professional stage. And perhaps no other rock opera has undergone so many changes.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” - the history of the creation of a rock opera
The musical was originally released as an album in 1970, where the main role was played by Ian Gillan, the vocalist of the so-called “golden cast”. The live concert in July 1971 was such a huge success that it was decided to record and release a record, which subsequently sold millions of copies. The young composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, unknown to anyone until that moment, became a celebrity almost overnight. In 1971, an extended stage version of the rock opera premiered on Broadway. The young authors were shocked by the success of the production. Already in August 1972, the show opened in London.
And in 1973, the rock opera was filmed. The film was shot in Israel, in the very places where the events shown in the film took place. Over the 40 years of its existence, the show has been staged on stages in 17 countries around the world. In Russia, for the first time in Russian, a rock opera was held on the stage of the St. Petersburg State Rock Opera Theater.
Even the authors themselves did not expect such a tremendous success. Unlike the audience, critics did not accept the performance. Journalists from music publications, representatives of business magazines, columnists of prestigious opera magazines, authors of ladies' magazines - the press in England cut off the phone of David Land, the producer of young talents. But two weeks after the premiere "Jesus Christ Superstar" topped three charts at once!!!
"Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged wherever possible, and in more than one version (including, as already noted, in Russia). The film adaptation of the rock opera was no less successful. After a while, the buzz about the rock opera died down and the film was forgotten for a while. But just recently the production was pulled from the shelves. AND "Jesus" once again sells out Broadway. A new Broadway production was created and a studio recording was made with new lyrics, where the role of Jesus is played by Steve Balsamo, and the role of Herod by Alice Cooper. The texts have also been slightly edited. Tim Rice corrected some of the rhymes to make them better, in his opinion. In addition, a new film adaptation was recorded rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar", directed by Gail Edwards. The main difference of the new film adaptation is a completely studio recording. In general, the recording turned out to be a little more gritty than the first film, but no less interesting.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” - the plot of a rock opera
The basis for the plot of the rock opera was the gospel narratives, events that occurred at the dawn of the Christian Era. The storyline covers the period from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem until his death on Calvary, the last seven days of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, from his appearance on Palm Sunday until his execution by order of Pontius Pilate. Jesus is aware of what lies ahead, but does not quite understand the purpose of his own sacrifice, although he treats it as a fate that cannot be changed. Jesus suffers from this knowledge; he wants to understand why God the Father sends him to death.
In the librettist’s interpretation, Judas Iscariot did not intend to betray the “teacher”; simply, by the will of evil fate, it was he who had to commit the betrayal. He does not like what is happening, it seems to him that Jesus is losing control over what is happening, that he is moving away from his own teaching. He believes that Jesus and his apostles are close to self-destruction. He wants to save Jesus from the crowd and himself, denounces Jesus to the authorities, hoping that he will be isolated and thus saved. Judas does not hide his intentions: if Jesus is truly the son of God, it means that he is able to foresee everything in advance, understood what could happen and he himself identified him, Judas, to the role of “cursed for all time.”
“Jesus Christ Superstar” – rock opera video
Jesus Christ Superstar is credited with ushering in the rock opera era of the 1970s. Despite the fact that this unique work was created more than 40 years ago, it has not lost any of its grandeur. We present both film adaptations of the rock opera, which have become masterpieces of world classics. They are different, and each is interesting in its own way. Some people like the first option, others like the new one. To make your choice, you need to see both. We highly recommend watching it!
"Jesus Christ Superstar" (1973)
"Jesus Christ Superstar" (2000)
Rock Opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" by E. L. Webber updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena
(English) Russian" (Murray Head) climbed the Billboard charts to No. 14 "I Don't Know How How to Love Him (English) Russian" performed by Helen Reddy peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.Premiere of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar took place on Broadway in 1971.
The plot of the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”
The plot of the rock opera is based on the gospel narratives and covers the period from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to his execution on Golgotha.
Judas and Jesus
In his libretto, Tim Rice generally follows the gospel texts, but at the same time interprets many key moments of biblical history in his own way. It can be argued that the role of the leading character here is given to Judas to an equal or even greater extent than to Jesus: the former belongs to him (“ Heaven On Their Minds") and almost the last word (" Superstar") (except for the words of Jesus dying on the cross). He comes across, at least initially, as a rational and coherent person, while Jesus is highly emotional, sensitive and, as it turns out, does not fully understand the purpose of his own sacrifice. “In the Gospel, Judas is presented as a caricature and every mention of him is accompanied by a derogatory remark. I believe that he was the most thoughtful of the apostles, which is why he found himself in such a situation,” Tim Rice said in an interview with Life magazine.
Judas tirelessly criticizes Jesus for, in his opinion, allowing events to get out of control, following the lead of the crowd, who literally “god-created” him, allowing Magdalene to spend expensive myrrh on him (the last episode is available and in the Gospel), etc. According to Judas, at the beginning of his career, Jesus considered himself just a man and did not pretend to be God (Matthew), and then stopped resisting the opinion of the crowd, which, according to Judas, could end badly. He decides to betray in order to prevent the worst catastrophe - a rebellion against the Romans and subsequent bloodshed. At the same time, at the Last Supper, Judas does not hide his intentions; moreover, he exclaims: “You yourself want me to do this” - and indeed, he hears in response: “Go, why are you delaying!” When Judas begins to realize that Jesus is facing death, for which history will blame only him, he declares himself a victim (“Why did you choose me for your bloody crime?”). Judas’ logic is this: if Jesus is truly the son of God, it means that he foresaw everything in advance, he himself wrote out the scenario of events and invited him, Judas, to play the role of “cursed for all time.”
Jesus himself repeatedly demonstrates that he knows what awaits him personally, and at the same time speaks of it as a destiny that cannot be changed. In the aria “In the Garden of Gethsemane,” Jesus, as in the Gospel, expresses his suffering from this knowledge and asks: “Take this cup away from me, I don’t want to taste its poison...” However, unlike the Gospel, here Jesus says directly that he does not understand why God the Father sends him to death (he only speculates: “Will I become more noticeable than I was before?”, “Will everything I said and did be more significant?”). He asks to explain to him the reason why God the Father wants him to die, the logic of this decision. (“Show me at least a grain of your omnipresent plan” - English. Show me just a little of your omnipresent brain). He reproaches his father for being too fascinated by the bloody details of his execution (“where and how”) and not caring enough about justifying its necessity (“why”) - English. You’re far too keen on where and how, but not so hot on why. Finally, he resigns himself to his destiny, adding that he is tired of his burden (“Then I was inspired; now I am sad and tired. After all, I tried for three years - it seems like ninety! Then why am I afraid to finish what I started ? - English Then I was inspired, now I"m sad and tired. After all I"ve tried for three years, seems like ninety! Why then am I scared to finish what I started?).
At the trial, Jesus, as in the Gospel, does not refute the accusations against him; making do with allegories, he avoids direct answers. “These are your words,” he says to Pilate when he asks: “But are you a king? King of the Jews? (English) But are you king? King of the Jews? - That's what you say) . Later, at his trial, Jesus does nothing to save himself from death and pushes away the help offered by the sympathetic Pilate.
Apostles and the crowd
It can be argued that there are no real villain characters in opera: here everyone acts according to their own logic, which in general looks more or less convincing (however, this tendency is to some extent generally inherent in this genre). The only completely “negative hero” here is the crowd, which first lifts its chosen one to the skies (“ Hosanna"), and then, with the same exaltation, demands from the authorities: “Crucify him!” At the same time, the motives of Jesus’ “fans” are sometimes base (… “Touch, touch me! Heal, heal me, Jesus!” or “Tell me that now I’m saved!”), and at some point he himself already unable to bear them (“Don’t push me, leave me!... There are too many of you, too little of me!...").
To some extent, part of the crowd are the apostles, who express only the most banal thoughts and feelings with their collective chants. “I always knew that I would become an apostle. I believed that I would achieve this if I tried. Then, when we retire, we will write the Gospel so that people will talk about us even after our death,” they sing in chorus to a serenely sweet melody, leaving the doomed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (“ The Last Supper»).
In the final track " Superstar" (released as a single and becoming Murray-Head's only solo hit in 1971), the voice of Judas and the choir address Jesus, now from the perspective of two thousand years later, asking him: "...Who are you? What have you sacrificed?... Do you think you are what they think you are?..” Just like similar questions from Judas, Pilate, and the apostles throughout the rest of the opera, these questions remain unanswered.
The powers that be
Tim Rice's libretto is filled with satirical episodes and lines that poke fun at pop stardom and the mores of the music business. King Herod talks to Jesus just like a potential entrepreneur, calling his popularity among the people a “hit” and himself the “miracle of the year.” Church leaders (the high priest Caiaphas, his father-in-law Annas, etc.), when discussing Jesus as a politically dangerous touring populist fakir, use the jargon characteristic of modern media. (“What should we do with this Jesus mania?... With someone who is more popular even than John, who toured with this baptism of his?...”) Convincing Judas that he made the right decision (“You made the right bet!” - English. You've backed the right horse), Anna advises him to do charity work.
Pilate is depicted differently, like Judas, feeling that history will not forgive him for the death of Jesus. In this the opera mostly follows the Bible. At first, Pilate tries to push the matter off to the local authorities. You're Herod's race! You're Herod's case!), but realizing that they intended to eliminate the crowd hero who was interfering with them with the hands of a stranger, he even openly takes the side of the latter (“I don’t see his guilt: he just imagines himself to be an important person...”). Pilate points out to Jesus the irony of fate: it is the Jews who want death for him, the “king of the Jews”; he, the Roman, is the only one who is trying to protect him (English: Look at me, am I a Jew?). Then he momentarily enters into a political argument with Caiaphas, calling the Jewish high priests hypocrites (“You hate us more than you hate him!”), and calling the crowd thirsty for blood vultures. …But to keep you vultures happy I shall flog him…)
At the last moment, Pilate, left alone in front of the angry crowd, himself turns to Jesus for help, but he once again expresses his conviction that the course of events cannot be changed, but everything is in the hands of the Lord. Realizing that Jesus is deliberately going to his death, Pilate “washes his hands” (of the crime), throwing in the end: “Well, it is not me who is destined to prevent this great self-immolation. Die if that’s what you want, you innocent puppet.” Don"t let me stop your great self-destruction. Die if you want to, you innocent puppet…).
In the connection between the death of Jesus and his eternal glory, one can see another direct analogy with the music business, for whose interests it is sometimes good if a star dies “in a timely manner” and thus remains a commercially fruitful “icon for all time.”
The position of the authors and the reaction of the church
“We view Jesus not as God, but as a man who was in the right place at the right time,” Tim Rice said in an interview Time. Our task is to tell the story of Jesus the man. I think from this angle his greatness only increases.”
Later, the author of the libretto said that he considered the text completely neutral in religious terms. “Our attitude towards religion can not be called either positive or negative. Events occurred in this man's life that turned him into a legend; the fact that he was only a man does not in any way diminish the greatness of this legend. On the other hand, time passes, the 21st century is approaching and, I think, more and more people perceive him not as God, but as a symbol of goodness, in the most general sense of the word. Personally, I don't consider Jesus to be God. In the opera, his divinity is not categorically refuted and this question, I believe, is left open.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber expressed similar views in his interviews. This caused a negative reaction from many religious leaders. “Such writers are incapable of producing anything that will magnify the Lord,” writes the Rev. E. L. Bynum ( Tabernacle Baptist Church). “They cannot be saved because they remain deaf to the voice of God. A Christian should stay away from their anti-Christian work."
Main cast on 1970 studio recordingAfter working on the album Jesus Christ Superstar was completed, it turned out that a fragment of the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus was erased. Since Barry Dennen was no longer in the studio, the words "...this un-for-tu-na-te" were recorded by Murray Head. Translation by V. Ptitsyn. In Russian (translation by V. Polyak), the rock opera was first performed on December 24 of the year by the team of the Yaroslavl City Rock Club on the stage of the Aviator House of Culture in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region. Starring performers on the 1992 studio recording
Incidents in RussiaIn October of the year, the Omsk Orthodox social movement opposed the tour of the St. Petersburg Rock Opera Theater, which staged the opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” in Omsk. As a result, the opera was cancelled. According to one of the organizers of the production, “tickets for the rock opera were not selling well, so they decided to cancel the performance.” |
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, written in 1970 and staged on Broadway a year after its creation.
The album Jesus Christ Superstar, recorded in 1970, topped the Billboard 200 the following year and climbed to No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1972. In 1973, director Norman Jewison filmed the musical.
But in 2000, the rock opera was remade by Australian filmmakers with a new cast and director, and was released on DVD under the title Jesus Christ Superstar. Millennium Version.
In our country, the rock opera was first performed on December 24, 1989 by the team of the Yaroslavl City Rock Club (translation by V. Polyak) on the stage of the Aviator House of Culture in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region. It’s interesting that Alla Pugacheva was supposed to sing the part of Mary Magdalene, but something didn’t work out and, as a result, Tatyana Antsiferova sang.
Why am I telling all this? The fact is that I first heard this rock opera in the original, but I have never heard or seen it in Russian. It happened. And recently on YouTube I came across a video where the part of King Herod is performed by our “mustachioed nanny” Sergei Prokhanov. It was a complete surprise for me to see him in such a role, but I liked it.
And I put the original and, frankly, I wouldn’t compare.
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To be honest, for me, a believer, such an ironic and somewhat hyperbolic interpretation of biblical stories is strange and alien. I’m still used to treating religion with extreme caution and aspiration. And here is something else, mundane.
Jesus in this opera is a symbol of goodness, not God. This is how its authors Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice saw it...
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The most famous film was made in 1973 by director Norman Jewison. Filming took place in Israel, in the places where the historical events described in the rock opera took place.
In 2000, the rock opera was remade by Australian filmmakers with a new cast and director and was released on DVD under the title “Jesus Christ Superstar. Millennium Version".
“Jesus Christ Superstar” has been translated into different languages, productions have been made in different countries, including the USSR... The performance has been staged in Russian at the St. Petersburg Rock Opera Theater since February 1990. At the Yaroslavl Theater for Young Spectators, the performance in Russian (translation by V. Polyak) began on April 2, 1990. In Moscow, the play is staged in Russian, staged by the Mossovet Theater (premiere took place on July 12, 1990), as well as in English and Russian, staged by the Moscow Theater of Music and Drama Stas Namin (premiere took place in 2000, the Russian version premiered in 2011 year)... In 1989, Andrei Voskresensky made a free equirhythmic translation of Tim Rice's libretto, published on the Internet in 2003...
“We view Jesus not as God, but as a man who was in the right place at the right time,” libretto author Tim Rice said in an interview with Time. Our task is to tell the story of Jesus the man. I think from this angle his greatness only increases.”
He later said that he considered the text completely neutral in religious terms. “Our attitude towards religion can not be called either positive or negative. Events occurred in this man's life that turned him into a legend; the fact that he was only a man does not in any way diminish the greatness of this legend. On the other hand, time passes, the 21st century is approaching and, I think, more and more people perceive him not as God, but as a symbol of goodness, in the most general sense of the word. Personally, I don't consider Jesus to be God. In the opera, his divinity is not categorically refuted, but I believe it leaves this question open.” Andrew Lloyd Webber expressed similar views in his interviews.
Throughout the history of the rock opera, there have been religious figures from whom both the work itself and the position of its authors caused a negative reaction. For example, the Baptist preacher Rev. E. L. Bynum wrote the following: “Such authors are unable to create anything that would magnify the Lord. They cannot be saved because they remain deaf to the voice of God. A Christian should stay away from their anti-Christian work."
But this and similar statements by church leaders have so far not had an impact on the popularity of rock opera and its triumphant march around the world. Until the “offended Orthodox” emerged from the darkness in Russia in 2012. In Rostov-on-Don, believers demanded a ban on rock opera, and therefore wrote angry letters to several authorities, including the prosecutor's office. According to the applicants, the universally recognized world classic, which has undergone hundreds of productions, including in Russia, offends the feelings of believers...
In the Rostov diocese, groups of citizens immediately disowned the letter. Igor Petrovsky, press secretary of the head of the Don Metropolitanate: “This is a private initiative of individuals. We were very surprised that these comrades were signing on behalf of the Orthodox residents of Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov region. At the very least, to do this, you need to at least have some kind of blessing."
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The libretto of the opera is indeed, to put it mildly, “a-dogmatic”. But the music is talented.
It seems to me that the smartest thing to do in such a situation would be to remain silent. Even better is to picket the theater with an invitation to go to a real temple after the opera (but without criticizing the opera itself)...