"This is probably the one time I'm going to say, 'Stay directly on center,' " choreographer Dwight Rhoden says in the middle of a rehearsal for "Carmina Burana" at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre studios. He then goes on to ask the dancers to be rude, to be real, to be honest -- even to "be like maggots on the floor."

It's all aimed at capturing the reach of powerful, albeit ultra-familiar, music that has filtered into our contemporary consciousness through numerous television commercials and movies as diverse as "Excalibur," "The Doors" and "Finding Forrester." "Carmina Burana" may be inspired by 13th-century poems written by monks, pared down to 24 odes and artfully arranged by German composer Carl Orff in 1937, but the 13th century plays successfully in the here and now. After a highly popular debut, it has remained a magnet for audiences over the years and has developed a following of music enthusiasts.

Even "Rent" composer Jonathan Larson included it in his "La Vie Boheme" lyrics: "German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein, Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa, Carmina Burana."

What is the attraction?

It all begins with an overview of Orff's style. While he was composing, so were the sweeping symphonic visionary Gustav Mahler, colorful Impressionist Claude Debussy, American modernist Charles Ives and 20th-century icon Igor Stravinsky.

Orff didn't have the depth or intertwining of melodies or counterpoint to be found in classical compositions of the time. It was a purposeful choice. He was attracted to metrical changes in the rhythm, as was Stravinsky, but the German composer kept his harmonies straightforward and rather simple in comparison.

An educator as well, Orff wanted to form "Theatrum Mundi," in which music, movement and speech were inseparable. In his mind, every musical moment should be connected with an action on the stage. So, from the start, "Carmina Burana" was intended to be a staged work with choreography, visual design and stage action, not to be performed in concert halls as an oratorio.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre conductor Charles Barker says that " 'Carmina' has a unique place. It is a complete theatrical production, ever more so than opera, all combined in a big theatrical package."

Indeed, "Carmina Burana" is capable of harboring a performing contingent of 300 or more performers, although here in Pittsburgh, due to the stage space constraints of Rhoden's highly physical choreography, the Mendelssohn Choir will be restricted to 72 members without a children's chorus. Still, the Benedum Center production will total more than 150 participants, enough to take full advantage of "Carmina's" impact.

"People turn out in droves to hear it," says Mendelssohn Choir conductor Betsy Burleigh, who admits that her ensemble will have its own workout, because of the physical demands with sustained loud and high singing. "It's one of the top 10 favorite hits in the choral repertoire."

Barker calls it "a series of popular songs woven together in a brilliant way." He compares it to '60s popular music, where groups like the Beatles had three verses. "It gives us a chance as an audience to hear it once. By the third time, the instantaneous gratification factor sets in."

But what is most attractive for Barkley is the orchestration, where Orff's score pushes the limits of the musicians, from the high tessitura of the bassoon to some peculiar bowing required of the strings to achieve an "abrupt, almost brittle" effect in "Estuans Interius."

Of course, the PBT dancers will undergo their own workout. Rhoden had been attracted by "the cacophony of emotions and feelings" when Ballet Met of Columbus, Ohio, asked him to choreograph the work.

According to him, it's about love, lust, joy, sorrow, sloth, gluttony ... and the excess of it all. But Rhoden wants his dancers to transform during the process that is "Carmina Burana," from springtime to a tavern (with what has been labeled "the best drinking song in the world") and then courtly love, all wrapped in a paean to the fickleness of fate.

"It's not one story that's synchronized from beginning to end, but there's a narrative there as these people transform," explains Rhoden, without revealing the special effects that go along with it.

The ballet has been a larger project than he usually attempts. His own company, Complexions, is a "lights and tights" group because it tours so often. Nonetheless, he feels that his usual emphasis on the movement works in "Carmina" because "the piece has to be able to stand on its own without Hollywood smoke and mirrors."

But at the very end, the main responsibility will fall on Barkley's shoulders to marshal the arts forces at work -- not too fast to make it difficult for the choir members to articulate, not too slow to make it hard for the dancers to execute lifts. Barkley exudes confidence that it will work out fine. "I can make music at any tempo," he says.