- The Madeleine Choir School presents Benjamin Britten's "Noah's Flood" this weekend.
- Dr. Gregory Glenn highlighted the students' dedication to elevate their performance standards.
- Performances are May 7 and 8 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine; admission is free.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Madeleine Choir School students are singing, acting and dancing in a challenging production this weekend, a story from the Old Testament as you've never imagined it.
Benjamin Britten's opera, "Noah's Flood," brings together professional musicians and singers, as well as the Madeleine Choir School. And the children will be making use of the entire Cathedral of the Madeleine.
The procession signals the beginning of the Bible story of Noah's Ark, and this production celebrates a part of the commemoration of the Madeleine Choir School's 30th anniversary.
A huge undertaking for the students. Dr. Gregory Glenn is the founder of The Madeleine Choir School.
"This has been a little bit of a musical boot camp for them, because they've really had to challenge themselves to achieve a little higher level of performance practice," Glenn said.
For Ryan Tani, now assistant conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony, things are coming full circle 20 years later.
"In 2006, I was a singer, I was one of Noah's children, and here I get to conduct the orchestra and choir, and it's such a pleasure, such a joy to do that," he said. "So, it's through this act of singing and this act of music that we bring this story to life."
This opera, the students said, has given them a chance to perform in different ways. Mason is an eighth grader who has been at the choir school since first grade. He sings in the choir, but for this production he is assigned to the orchestra.
"We started with practicing all the instruments and the technique and now, we're assigned to one or two instruments; so, the instruments were pretty tough to learn," he said.
Eva, a seventh grader, has been a student at the Madeleine Choir School since pre-K. She sings the role of Mrs. Ham, married to one of Noah's sons.
"I like operas because it mixes, like, singing concerts where we just stand, but it mixes singing with acting, which is very cool," Eva said.
One hundred and sixty-six students are participating, many of them as the animals that Noah and his family must gather. Each group has a moment to sing and dance and then once they are in the ark, the floods come with the talents of yet another group of students. Ultimately, they all hope audiences see their enthusiasm and joy.
"It's a tremendous message of hope. The story of 'Noah's Flood,' that despite foibles and problems and challenges and difficulties, we can rise from that," Glenn said.
And that hope, as we know, comes in the form of a dove, in this production, a dancing dove.
Performances of "Noah's Flood" by Benjamin Britten continue Friday, May 8, at 10:30 a.m. and Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. Each performance will take place at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 E. South Temple, in downtown Salt Lake City. Tickets are free.
