Product Details

• Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000NA26WW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,356 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The Story of Holy Week in Words and Music

Words by Jane McCulloch
Music by Donald Fraser

Starring Jessye Norman as the Narrator
Thomas Allen: The Centurion
Robert Hardy: Pilate
Patricia Hodge: Procula
Ron Moody: The Donkey Minder
Kevin Whately: Judas

Jonathan Cope dances the Spirit of Jesus

Boys of St Paul’s Cathedral Choir
City of London Sinfonia
The Company of Singers
Conductor: John Scott

The People’s Passion is an Eastertide special, telling the story of the last days of Christ’s life, to His death and Resurrection, from the point of view of ordinary people caught up in the dramatic events. The Donkey Minder is asked to lend his donkey to lead a palm-waving procession. Judas meets the High Priests and offers to deliver Jesus to them, before plotting his betrayal. The Last Supper is followed by the scenes at the Garden of Gethsemane, the procession to Calvary and at Christ’s tomb. The finale tells of the Resurrection in a triumphant rendering of ‘Jesus Christ is Risen’.

Jessye Norman sings the Beatitudes, The Lord’s Prayer and the beautiful Song of Mary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars grander than your congregation's holiday cantata, June 29, 2007

By 

RuthRoe "Dillon's Mom" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The People's Passion / Jessye Norman, Jane McCulloch, Donald Fraser (DVD)

I tried the disc because it had Kevin Whatley in it. (I'm a new fan of the Inspector Morse series, which includes Kevin Whatley as the co-star.) I was not at all sure what I would hear, before it began. There are a couple grand singers, and some other singers who sing their solos "with a sound, like one of the people." (read that: Kevin Whatley is not an opera star, but he has one of the starring roles in the story. My daddy would have described it as "he sang it all the way through," accurately but robotically rather than lyrically.) After I was finished my first watch/listen, my impression was that while I was pleased to have heard it, I felt no passion or need to have my own copy of the program. Oddly, several weeks later now, I do find that I want to watch/listen again. I have sung in a large professional chorus; and I have sung in a rather small congregation choir. Each group has its place, even in the experience of the presumably 'opposite' audience. The production is bare-bones; which at first seems cheap rather than thrifty, but prior to the conclusion it had become apparent how the program is a finely produced program which happens to be shown without distractions of posh scenery or multitudes of characters. The opera is aptly named, "the People's Passion." Not everyone will want to own this program. But anyone who has any tolerance for listening to a basic story of Christianity, and who has any toleration for experiencing music in the form of classics or modern masterworks, will be pleased for the opportunity to enjoy this.