The Cornell production of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" will bring the composer's rarely seen work to the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, April 21-26.

Based on the Roman Catholic Church's Tridentine Mass, with liturgical sections sung in Latin, the production is an ambitious theatrical staging exploring a crisis of faith by combining music, dance, theater and multimedia and involving more than 125 performers including students, staff, professionals and community members.

"Mass" was commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and its premiere opened the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 1971, with choreography by Alvin Ailey. The Metropolitan Opera also staged "Mass" in 1972, but since then the work has seldom been attempted as a full theatrical production.

"This is the perfect environment for this kind of adventure, because you can introduce students, participants and the audience to a rarely performed piece by a genius of the 20th century music scene, that continues to have resonance," said director David Feldshuh, artistic director of the Schwartz Center. "It's rare that you find a piece that calls on such a multiplicity of talents."

The 90-minute Cornell production features operatic baritone Dominic Inferrera in the lead role of the Celebrant, six dancers, a 10-piece orchestra and a nine-voice Children's Choir with members of Ithaca Children's Choir and Ithaca College undergraduate Mallory Berlin.

There is also a 17-member Street Chorus and an 86-member Liturgical Chorus of Cornell Glee Club and Cornell Chorus members, singing in Latin under the direction of Scott Tucker. It was Tucker who ultimately convinced Feldshuh that a production of "Mass" was possible at Cornell.

"The piece is particularly challenging, both in its openness and in its musical demands," Feldshuh said. "Bernstein is extremely sophisticated. That creates another level of experience for participants. You have to sing and dance, but that is contained within a score that suddenly switches beats on you, and tempos, and goes in directions that you never would expect. Everything looks easy after directing this."

Marilyn Rivchin, a lecturer in film, created projections for the show to illustrate the Celebrant's internal visions. The multimedia elements -- and Feldshuh's staging -- correspond to the 32 songs in Bernstein's score, from a reverie and an "Alice in Wonderland"-like parade set outside a Greenwich Village church to a "desecration dance" and scenes of madness.

"Each of these songs tells a complete story within a larger story," said Feldshuh. "What if there were a Celebrant, a young priest, who has doubts about his calling, given the fact that the world is filled with hatred and violence? What if this priest prayed all day for guidance, and at some point he fell into a reverie? That allows, within the structure of the story, for all kinds of eclectic things to happen."

Feldshuh's staging of the work was inspired by the writings of Joseph Campbell, William James and Alfred Lord Tennyson in addressing the mythical and mystical aspects of the reverie, but he also gives credit to Bernstein's powerful score.

"The emotional journey is fully there in the music," Feldshuh said. "There's nothing more thrilling than hearing this music and seeing what this team of creators have managed to evolve, because it's so powerful to have all these people on that stage, and it's a unique opportunity to see 125 people singing some remarkable music. I hope the audiences find it to be a powerful experience with a lot of variety."

Performances are in Kiplinger Theater April 21-26 at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee April 25. Tickets are $10, $8 for students and senior citizens, and are available at the Schwartz Center box office, 403 College Ave.