After last year's staging of the blockbuster musical Hair, Bronowski Production is returning to the Ljubljana Festival with the first rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics).

The brand new production of the musical, directed by Mykal Rand and produced especially for the Ljubljana Festival, will feature 30 West End artists, starring Alex Gaumond as Jesus, Ian Virgo as Judas and Portia Emare as Mary Magdalene.

The story of the last days of Christ is focused on the relationship between Jesus and Judas, but it also underlines the modern obsessions with stardom and money, according to Rand.

"This is a timeless story and the greatest story ever told," the director told the STA ahead of the performance, promising that the story would move the audience, and may even bring them to tears, as it had brought him.

Although the musical does not show Jesus only in his divine nature and even stresses his human side, Gaumond told the STA he always had in mind that he was the Son of God, adding that it felt good to dim the "boundaries in the perception of Jesus as sinless".

Describing his own role, Virgo noted that the story was indeed "somehow shown through the eyes of Judas", expressing hope that the audience could identify themselves with the character and understand his actions.

Jesus Christ Superstar was first staged in New York in October 1971, with the first London production opening in August the following year.

When it closed after some eight years and 3,358 performances, it had become the longest-running musical in the history of West End.