Hard rock in hell: Monsignor makes 'The Divine Comedy' a musical

Published: 2007-01-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Rome monsignor has composed an extravagant musical version of "The Divine Comedy," featuring symphonic music in heaven, Gregorian chant in purgatory and hard rock in hell. That's not a value judgment on rock music -- it just seemed to fit the spirit of rebellion in Dante's description of the inferno, Msgr. Marco Frisina told Vatican Radio Jan. 4. Msgr. Frisina, a liturgy official for the Diocese of Rome and a well-known composer of religious music, said the new work, "The Divine Comedy: The Opera," will use a 100-piece orchestra, 50 dancers and singers, and more than 250 costumes. According to the opera's production company, Nova Ars, the set will be one of the biggest ever used for an operatic work and will be designed to allow audience interaction in some of the scenes. The priest has dedicated the opera's musical score to Pope Benedict XVI and said he hopes the pontiff will attend the premiere in Rome next fall. Dante Alighieri's medieval poem, considered one of the masterpieces of world literature, imagines a journey through the three realms of the dead.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .