University of Virginia Library

Weaknesses

A comparison of Jesus
Christ Superstar with the Saint
Matthew Passion is instructive
in pointing out weaknesses that
are inherent in both the
structure and in the content of
the rock work. The Bach
Passion has a narrator,
something Superstar badly
needs.

The Evangelist, as the
narrator in the Saint Matthew
Passion is called, ties the
various episodes together and
keeps the story line clear,
distinct, and inexorable in its
movement towards the
Crucifixion and the
Entombment. In Superstar, the
story line fragments into a
series of episodes that are quite
disjointed, an effect
detrimental to the tautness
and impact of the work.

Secondly, in the Saint
Matthew Passion, the
commentary on the story is
totally divorced from the
telling of it. Such is not the
case in Jesus Christ Superstar,
and the blurring of narration
and comment has the effect of
diluting the natural impact that
the event of Christ's last days
can and do have.

Even when considered alone,
Jesus Christ Superstar is a
disappointment. The score
itself, like the Leonard Berstein
Mass, suffers from an almost
unbelievable stylistic
eclecticism. There are traces of
Samuel Barber's Adagio for
Strings a veiled reference to
"Es ist vollbracht!" from
Bach's Saint John Passion, a
touch of Gypsy, and a number
or two that sound like refugees
from a Busby Berkeley
musical.

Perhaps the most serious
weakness in Jesus Christ
Superstar is the one-sidedness

of the characterizations. None
of the principals, with the
notable exception of Judas
Iscariot, has any real depth,
and I was not the least bit
inspired by the portrayal of
Caiphas and Annas as "Grade
B" villains or by the
representation of Pontius Pilate
as a petulant, sadistic,
bureaucratic civil servant. In
fact, I found the
characterization of King Herod
as some sort of a profligate and
debauched — puppet to be
downright cheap and vulgar.

The worst part of the score
is the one that is most
important. The Crucifixion is
represented as a delirious
experience that is more easily
associated with a fever of 104
degrees or with the delirium
tremens than with the death of
the Savior.