And it is well on its way to become a billiondollar musical. What did i miss . It has become almost impossible to land a ticket. Those lucky enough to get in never know who might be sitting next to them. The president of the United States . At our sixth preview. It put my dreams to shame. laughs im steve kroft. Im leslie stahl. Im bill whitaker. Im charlie rose. Im scott pelley. Those stories, tonight on 60 minutes. Cbs money watch sponsored by American Express open. Proud supporter of growing businesses. Reporter good evening. Investors are watching as the dow can top 20,000 this week. Its estimated that 1 billion spent on gift cards last year went unused. And after 39 years, orlandos wet and wild water park is closing this week to make way for a new water park. Im demarco morgan, cbs news. I accept im not the hiker i was. I even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. 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I just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. My Insurance Company definitely doesnt have that. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ Liberty Mutual insurance rose we are about to do something we have never done in 49 years of 60 minutes, broadcast the same story two weeks in a row. But this ones special, and our present for you on christmas night. It is the oldest choir in the world. Evidence of its existence dates back to the seventh century. Today, its called the Sistine Chapel choir but is more commonly known as the popes choir. Thats because its at the popes side for all of the important papal celebrations. The choir may be dedicated to the pope, but historically it has held concerts on its own, especially at its home base, the magnificent Sistine Chapel. It was here, beneath michelangelos breathtaking frescoes in one of the worlds greatest wonders, where we recently attended a concert staged by the popes choir. gloria from palestrinas missa Papae Marcelli the music is sacred, contemplative, mystical. It soars whether in concert at the Sistine Chapel or during mass next door at st. Peters basilica. When the pope presides, the choir provides a holy soundtrack made up of 30 boys and 22 men. The choir helps spread the popes message. Mark spyropoulos we have a job to inspire people. They may not understand a word of whats going on at the vatican, but, when they hear us singing, we have to direct them to consider something which is transcendent and divine. Thats our job. Rose mark spyropoulos, a baritone from britain; Vittorio Catarci, a bass from italy; and cezary arkadiusz stoch, a tenor from poland, consider themselves more than just voices of the pope. What does it mean that youre called the popes choir . Catarci well, we are, we are. Stoch the family. Catarci popes family. Rose popes family. Catarci yes. His personal choir. Rose pope francis is the most popular pope in a generation. He spends much time tending to the poor and the dispossessed. It is this humility that also makes his choir feel at home, as Mark Spyropolous learned when he joined last year. Spyropolous when i first met him, the whole thing was completely overwhelming. And he said, youre from london. laughs well, welcome to the vatican, like this. And i was expecting, you know, sort of. I was so welcomed by this. I. It was very surprising and very impressed by quite how. What a personal touch he had. Rose as it tours italy, performing in some of the countrys great cathedrals, the choir sings in harmony. cremona concert, allegris miserere but until recently, the popes choir wasnt worthy of the name or the settings where it sang. For decades, the choir lacked cohesion. Many members came from opera and made sure they were heard. The choir was called the sistine screamers. Catarci we were aware that we were singing too loud. Rose Vittorio Catarci remembers the era of the booming voices. Hes been with the choir for 30 years and three popes. Can you sing for me the difference between the way it was and the way it is now . Catarci oh, for example we used to sing sicut cervus. And now we sing sicut cervus. Its completely different because we are looking for a very spiritual sound, not a meaty sound. Rose the choir turned around after maestro Massimo Palombella was hired in 2010, only the sixth man to be appointed director of the popes choir in 200 years. Palombella translated i didnt have to invent a sound, i had to rediscover a sound which was the sound the choir once produced in the Sistine Chapel. Rose palombella went back to the past, combining hightech and ancient texts. He studied endlessly, looking for the precise vocal range that palestrina originally intended when he wrote the sacred music that provides the bulk of the choirs repertoire. Palestrina composed his music with the Sistine Chapel in mind after michelangelo had finished painting his masterpiece. Spyropolous palestrina was writing when the paint was still wet of these incredible frescoes. And when we sing palestrina, its not like looking at a fresco; its the equivalent of being in a fresco. credo from palestrinas Papae Marcelli rose maestro palombella also softened the tone by hardening the workload. The choir went from rehearsing three hours a week to three hours a day. So, you have to be a perfectionist . Tough. Palombella translated thats exactly right. Rose if you are on a journey of excellence, how far along are you on your journey . Palombella circa a meta. Rose halfway. You sound like an American Sports coach. Catarci a choir is a very, very terrifying beast because if you are not able to handle it, it goes away. It runs away. Stoch this not safari. This is more dangerous. Catarci you have to handle the choir. We were compared to a ferrari, but you have to drive ferrari to do dressage like, you know, like the horses. Just little bend, little, you know, very light dressage. Dressage, not vroom rose at rehearsal and in concert, palombella conducts the choir like a manic traffic cop. The maestro was born on christmas day, but, with his choir, hes not always in a holiday mood. Palombella blah, blah, blah. Rose for the boys in the choir, commands from the maestro can be jolting. And when hes not happy, lorenzo . Malizia translated eh, eh, he has moments of. Malizia translated he has some explosions of anger, but then he calms down because then we sing the piece properly. Rose 13yearold Lorenzo Malizia is one of the boys, all sopranos, who are able to produce the high notes that give the choir its celestial sound. Just listen to how the boys warm up. singing in high voices the vatican refers to them as the white voices for the purity of their sound. Choir ave maria. Rose at home, like many italian boys their age, they have ordinary pictures on their walls. And then, there are reminders of why the boys are extraordinary. So, when people ask you about the pope, what do you tell them . Catapano translated they ask us, how is the pope . Is he fun . Does he always crack jokes . We say, yes, yes, its true. So, hes fun. Rose 13yearold Riccardo Catapano has been in the popes choir for four years. Id be nervous if i were singing in front of the pope. Catapano translated i am little anxious, but then i think that the pope does not understand anything about music. He only says how beautiful it sounds. So, i continue to sing. Rose across rome, auditions for the choir are held in the second and third grades. Several times a year. Instructors fan out to see who has the right timbre. 700 boys are tested a year in all. It can be painstaking. Few make it. Ciao, ciao, ciao. Rose only a dozen at most are selected annually. The chosen ones are sworn in during an elaborate ceremony. Each are given fiveyear scholarships at a special school in the center of rome. They arent studying to become priests; their curriculum runs the gamut. Are you italian . I am. Rose they may be known as choir boys on sundays, but the rest of the week they are typical boys on the cusp of their teenage years. These are hallowed times for the boys, until the day arrives when their voices break and they must leave the popes choir. They can return as adults, but 11yearold Emanuele Buccarella fears whats coming soon. What happens when your voice breaks . Will that be a sad day . Buccarella translated for me, it will be an ugly moment when that time will come in which my voice will no longer be ready to sing the way we sing now. I try to make the most of everything now until that day will come in which they tell me my voice is no longer good to sing. Rose in their remaining time with the choir, their voices will join those of their adult brethren to bring the sounds of heaven to earth. The music of the popes choir speaks to the soul. Palombella translated we recently did a concert, and a man came up to me at the end of the concert and said that the choir that i conduct is missing one thing wings. Rose wings. To go as an angel. Palombella translated like an angel. amen from victorias o magnum mysterium applause thope to see you again soon. Whoa, whoa, i got this. Just gotta get the check. Almost there. I cant reach it. If you have alligator arms, you avoid picking up the check. What . Its what you do. I got this. 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Rose if you didnt get everything you wanted for christmas this year, weve got the ticket an encore presentation of our story about the breakthrough musical hamilton. While the original cast has moved on, the show is thriving, opening in cities across the country. And its creator, 36yearold Linmanuel Miranda, is collecting awards writing, acting and songwriting the same hard work that led to his masterpiece. We originally broadcast this story 16 months ago, shortly after Opening Night on broadway. Tonight, youll see an expanded version that includes more of the remarkable performances and more about hamilton himself, who was one of the most brilliant figures in American History. Linmanuel miranda the thing about hamilton is he spoke in paragraphs. So the opening sentence of our show is this crazy runon sentence. How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the caribbean by providence, impoverished in squalor, comma, grow up to be a hero and a scholar . Thats the question were going to answer for the next two hours and 45 minutes. Im past patiently waitin im passionately smashin every expectation every actions an act of creation. Rose in hamilton, the answers come fast. Alexander hamilton first time im thinking past tomorrow and im not throwing away my shot rose my shot is the shows anthem as hamilton arrives in new york city during the American Revolution and sees his opportunity. Cast rise up rise up, take a shot take a shot, not throwing away my shot Linmanuel Miranda it took me a year to write my shot, which is hamiltons big i want song. Rose it took you a year. Linmanuel miranda yeah. Because every couplet needed to be the best couplet i ever wrote. Thats how. Thats how seriously i was taking it. Rose hamilton demands lots from you. Linmanuel miranda yes rose i mean, he is calling on your best. Linmanuel miranda hes calling on my best. Because he is the smartest guy in the room. So i have to write from the perspective of the smartest guy in the room when the other people are jefferson and washington and very smart guys. Sir, entrust me with a command. Rose hamilton was front and center at nearly every major event in early American History. Aaron burr man, the man is nonstop rose he never became president , but had a bigger impact than many who did. George washington let me tell you what i wished i had known. Rose his mentor was George Washington, played here by chris jackson, who plucked hamilton out of the ranks and relied on him for 20 years. Thomas jefferson so what did i miss . What did i miss . Rose daveed diggs originated the role of thomas jefferson, hamiltons primary political opponent. Jefferson ive been in paris meeting lots of different ladies. I guess i basically missed the late 80s. Hamilton the bullets out your gun. The bullets out your gun. Rose the show reflects mirandas broad musical taste, but hip hop and rap define it. Your music is hip hop. Your music is rap. Linmanuel miranda yes. And i also believe that form is uniquely suited to tell hamiltons story. Because it has more words per measure than any other musical genre. It has rhythm and it has density. And if hamilton had anything in his writings, it was this density. Angelica schyuler im a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich my father has no sons, so im the one who has to social climb for one, so im the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in new york city is insidious. Rose miranda wrote this for hamiltons sisterinlaw, angelica schyuler, played by reneeElise Goldsberry. Schyuler and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world rose in hamilton, women get equal time. Schuyler sisters work work angelica work work eliza work work the schuyler sisters hamilton just you wait. Alexander hamilton. Rose the idea to cast black and Latino Actors to play the founders was deliberate. Miranda wanted to connect america then with america now. Cast you can never back down and never learn to take your time ooohh Alexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton rose hamilton blossomed during an extended run at new yorks public theater. fireworks rose and was greeted with fireworks over the hudson when it opened on broadway. Linmanuel miranda i come up here in the opening number. Rose the show has already reached the loftiest heights. In 16 months at the Richard Rodgers theater, hamilton has established itself as broadways impossible ticket, fetching more than 1,000 a seat from ticket and those lucky enough to get a seat never know who might be next to them. The president of the United States. Linmanuel miranda at our sixth preview. Rose the Vice President of the United States. Linmanuel miranda yes. Its put my dreams to shame. Yeah. Its, its super, super humbling and when you list those boldface names that have come to see the show, i see those as an opportunity to see the show with fresh eyes while im doing it. When dick cheneys sitting in the audience, i think what is he thinking when he hears the lyric, history has its eyes on you. You know, when the president is here, what is he thinking as he sees George Washington say, i have to step down the so the country can move on. Rose hamilton was a complicated figure war hero, famous philanderer, political thinker, mudslinging politician, and the nations first treasury secretary. Ron chernow he creates the first fiscal system, first monetary system, first customs service, first central bank, on, and on, and on. Rose ron chernow wrote the biography that inspired the musical and is the shows historical advisor. Chernow heres the story of a penniless, orphaned, immigrant kid who comes out of nowhere and sets the world on fire. And his achievements were absolutely monumental. Rose you say he came out of nowhere. Where is nowhere . Chernow he was born on the island of nevis. He spent his adolescence in st. Croix. His father ab