Mass for the Masses = by Scott MacClelland | Page 1 | April 24, 2008 | Monterey County Weekly =

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Posted April 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Mass for the Masses =

Opera based on interviews with the homeless will benefit = people in=20 need.

By Scott=20 MacClelland

Henry Mollicone=E2=80=99s opera The Face on the Barroom Floor = became America=E2=80=99s=20 most-performed opera soon after its premiere in 1978, and went on to = productions=20 around the world. Lasting less than 30 minutes, and using a cast of = three=20 singers plus three instrumentalists, it is eminently portable and has, = indeed,=20 been staged to acclaim in barrooms across the land.

Anyone who knows Mollicone quickly recognizes the magic in the = Saratoga=20 resident=E2=80=99s musical personality. His stage works include the = haunting and=20 unforgettable Coyote Tales, Emperor Norton, Hotel Eden and = Gabriel=E2=80=99s=20 Daughter. In 2006, he composed the Beatitude Mass, using the = mass in=20 conjunction with texts taken from interviews with people living in = homeless=20 shelters. The libretto was written by William Luce, author of The = Belle of=20 Amherst (which gave Julie Harris success in New York and London, and = a Best=20 Actress Tony Award).

The Beatitude Mass was premiered at St. Joseph=E2=80=99s = Cathedral Basilica in=20 San Jose in the spring of 2006, with Leroy Kromm conducting the San Jose = Symphonic Choir. Now, Kromm will conduct the San Jose choir and Monterey = Symphony Choir, with vocal soloists and a chamber orchestra, in the = work=E2=80=99s=20 Monterey premiere on April 25 at the Golden State Theatre, as a benefit = to=20 Monterey County homeless through Shelter Outreach Plus (with additional=20 sponsorship by Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program churches.) =

Like so many of Mollicone=E2=80=99s works, the Beatitude Mass = draws on his=20 exceptional musical gifts of melody and harmony to exalt the simple, = anguished=20 words of homeless people into haunting and moving expressions. = Alternating with=20 the =E2=80=9CKyrie,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CGloria,=E2=80=9D = =E2=80=9CSanctus, =E2=80=9CBenedictus=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9CAgnus = Dei,=E2=80=9D it takes=20 on the universality found in so many great musical settings of the Latin = mass.=20 It adds for its finale the =E2=80=9CSalve Mater Misericordiae=E2=80=9D = and, like Brahms=E2=80=99 =E2=80=9CGerman=20 Requiem,=E2=80=9D reprises the opening beatification, =E2=80=9CBlessed = are the poor.=E2=80=9D

A graduate of the New England Conservatory, where he studied = with=20 Gunther Schuller, Ron Nelson and Daniel Pinkham, Mollicone has = composed=20 works for orchestra, voice, chorus and ballet, as well as music for = film,=20 television and theater.

=E2=80=9CThe idea for composing Beatitude Mass evolved from a = discussion with=20 a friend, Father Jon Pedigo, a very liberal Catholic priest, who = promotes the=20 idea of using one=E2=80=99s artistic gifts for social justice purposes, = particularly=20 poverty and homelessness,=E2=80=9D Mollicone says. =E2=80=9CFather Jon = made the suggestion to=20 interview some homeless people. We hope that a portion of all proceeds = garnered=20 from performances of Beatitude Mass will be used to raise funds = for=20 organizations that support people in need.=E2=80=9D

Kromm brings a broad musical background to his conducting, = singing and=20 teaching. Professor of voice and co-chairman at the San Francisco = Conservatory=20 of Music, he serves as music director of the San Jose Symphonic Choir = and=20 Monterey Symphony Chorus.

The performance in Monterey should be considered a gift to the entire = community, not only to benefit the homeless but also to enrich the = musical=20 experience of those who attend. With more than 30 churches involved, = Shelter=20 Outreach Plus=E2=80=99s IHELP is engaged in marketing the concert to = members of their=20 respective congregations and to the community at large.

Shelter Outreach Plus, a nonprofit organization, has for 29 years = provided a=20 continuum of care for the homeless and victims of domestic violence = through=20 programs of outreach, emergency shelter and transitional housing in = Monterey=20 County. Last year SOP served 1,877 individuals and made 9,047 referrals. =

Beatitude Mass =E2=80=93 A Special Benefit Concert for = the=20 Homeless happens 7:30pm Friday, April 25, Golden State = Theatre,=20 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $15; $10/students. Information, 384-3362. = Tickets=20 may be purchased at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey=20 Peninsula, 601-4564 or = e-mail ruuu2@cs.com.

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Published by Monterey County Weekly. The mission of the Monterey = County=20 Weekly is to inspire independent thinking and conscious action, etc.

Serving Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, = Marina,=20 Monterey, Moss Landing, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Salinas, = Salinas=20 Valley, Sand City, Seaside and the entire Monterey County. =C2=A9 2008 = Milestone=20 Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

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