SALT LAKE CITY —; Light of the World: A Celebration of Life is quite unlike anything that has ever been staged. From the moment guests enter the 21,000-seat Conference Center —; the largest religious auditorium in the world —; they will be immersed in a lively and colorful celebration of ethnic diversity and cultures from the four corners of the world.
Light of the World will be presented in seven evening and three matinee performances. The evening performances begin at 7 p.m. on February 7, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, and 22, and the three Saturday matinee shows are on February 9, 16, and 23, beginning at 2 p.m.
As guests enter the auditorium to take their seats for the main performance, they will be greeted by a rich orchestral and choral overture, as the house lights dim to half. In this spacious venue, PANI projection of NASA imagery will transform the Conference Center auditorium into a deep-space environment, surrounding guests with stars, swirling galaxies, nebulae and meteor fields on all sides.
At the center, the huge domed stage will be obscured by an 80-foot by 130-foot white sheer curtain, on which will be projected an impressionistic montage that chronicles the creative periods of Earth. While experiencing these images to the accompaniment of an orchestral overture, guests will hear the words of prominent scientists, artists, and humanitarians such as Annie Dillard, Albert Einstein, and Dante.
The audience will see an international cast of more than 1,500 performers celebrating the birth of children, the joy of childhood discovery, the realization of individual talents, and the unparalleled spirit of Olympic competition which encompasses individual achievement and national honor.
The indomitable and persevering spirit of the Mormon pioneers will also be portrayed, as handcarts fill the stage in a re-enactment of the largest westward migration in United States history. As the pioneer story unfolds, audience members will experience true-life stories of the sacrifice, faith, joy, and courage of the men, women, and children who crossed the plains and ultimately founded Salt Lake City.
Complementing these stirring performances will be remarkable special effects that will showcase unique uses of sound, light and horizontal and vertical space, as cast members "fly" as high as 70 feet above the stage.
Music is a universal language and will be a unifying thread woven throughout Light of the World. The rich and melodic original score represents a collaborative effort of several award-winning composers who have donated their time and talents as a gift to the production. Solo vocalists and the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, accompanied by the recorded score of the Orchestra at Temple Square, will enrich the overall production with their musical talents. Together, they will combine to help bring to life the collage of human stories that rejoice in the worldwide spirit of the nations and in a celebration of cultures.
As a prologue to the performance, the pre-show Welcome the Nations will treat guests to a festival of international music, song, and dance. In the massive lobbies on all three levels of the Conference Center, groups in authentic native costume will be performing traditional dances, including Croatian, Turkish Black Sea, Welsh clog, Hungarian bottle, English rapper sword, Native American hoop and Maori haka. Musical groups also will play international specialty instruments such as the Japanese koto, Bolivian panpipes, Celtic harp, lute, alphorn and balalaika. Welcome the Nations will begin 90 minutes prior to the Light of the World show time.
Light of the World: A Celebration of Life captures the beauty of the human spirit that is universal to all mankind —; the light within each of us that inspires acts, both great and small, of compassion, feats of bravery, and the realization of individual triumph.
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