The Madeleine Festival announces schedule for 25th anniversary

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

The Cathedral of the Madeleine will host various events during this year's Madeleine Festival of the Arts and Humanities.

SALT LAKE CITY — This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Madeleine Festival of the Arts and Humanities, which brings music, dance and literature to the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

The festival will run from April 7 to May 12.

This year the opening festival event will be "La Maddalena" by Alessandro Scarlatti, presented by the Madeleine Baroque Consort.

The subject of this oratorio is Mary Magdalene, the patron saint of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. It "draws upon the tradition of Mary Magdalene having rejected her youthful sinful life in favor of a devout faith," according to the website www.utcotm.org/madeleine-festival.

Other presenters will be the Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, which on April 14 will present "Counterpoint;" and jazz pianist Valerie Capers , who will perform with faculty from Brigham Young University on April 21.

On April 28 and 29 the Utah Symphony and Opera will perform "Shoes for Santo Niño," a magical Hispanic legend about human and heavenly goodness.

The following Sunday, playwright and author David Kranes will present "A Playwright’s Education – the Winding Journey between I and We."

On May 12 the Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine will perform "Bach and Poulenc." The "Gloria" from this piece is one of the most celebrated works by Poulenc.

The Madeleine Award Dinner will take place May 9. The honoree will be Dr. Craig Jessop, who is best known for his tenure as the music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1999 to 2008. In 2010 he became the first Dean of the Caine College of the Arts (CCA) at Utah State University; last year he conducted ‘Joy to the World Christmas Musical Celebration,’ which was hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in central Oklahoma.

The Madeleine Festival was founded in 1988 by Monsignor M. Francis Mannion, former rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine and now pastor emeritus of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish. His goal in founding the festival was to revitalize the cathedral’s traditional role in the community’s cultural life.

The Madeleine Festival will open April 7 and continue every Sunday through May 12 at 8 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 309 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City. The performances are free and open to the public. For information visit www.utcotm.org.