Beneath the vaulted ceilings of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, more than 150 children reverently streamed into the sanctuary Friday morning as a children’s orchestra thrummed softly nearby. Some wore earthy-toned tunics, others were dressed as animals or floodwaters.
Following conductor Ryan Tani’s lead, the young performers presented “Noye’s Fludde,” a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten written primarily for amateur performers, especially children.
The performers, students at The Madeleine Choir School in Salt Lake City, were joined by a small cast of professional singers and musicians.
Twenty years ago, Tani was one of the young boys dressed in earthy-toned tunics. Now, he has returned to the Madeleine Choir School — this time as conductor — from his post as associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
For Tani, the performance marked a meaningful full-circle moment.
“It’s a real joy to be here, to do this, to see the new generation of choir school students engage with this music in the same way that we did, but in a new world,” Tani said.
“This is a really unique work,” he continued. “It tells the story of the flood and the renewal of humanity and this idea of hope in what can be.”
The opera, which tells the biblical story of Noah’s flood, offers accessible storytelling and an immersive experience that blends community spirit with both amateur and professional performances, often encouraging audience participation. Its hopeful message, Tani said, resonates across different stages of life.
“It’s fascinating to me to imagine coming from this from the very first time in 2006 ... just how quickly our world changes,” Tani said, adding that the opera can speak to audiences in “such poignant and different ways every time we engage with it.”
It had been a decade since students from The Madeleine Choir School last performed “Noye’s Fludde” at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, where the rarely staged chancel opera is presented every 10 years as a celebration of both the historic cathedral and the choir school.
Gregory Glenn founded The Madeleine Choir School in 1996 and now serves as its pastoral administrator as well as the director of liturgy and music at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
The school began in the basement of the cathedral with 100 students in fourth through eighth grades. Over the past 30 years, it has grown into a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade program serving over 400 students.
“It’s been a remarkable experience seeing it grow and being able to provide the opportunity for young people. There have been several kind of milestones,” Glenn said. “It’s been really rewarding.”
Glenn recalled several milestone performances by his students, including appearances with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and at the 2008 rededication ceremony for the Utah state Capitol.
His students rehearsed for “Noye’s Fludde” for over a month and a half, and while practice can feel “a little dreary and tiring” for young performers, Glenn said, “Once they hit the performance, it just awakens something in them ... they truly will keep this in their memory as a wonderful experience.”
The performance also serves as an important celebration of the cathedral as a historic landmark and a gathering place for the community to experience the arts.
“The arts offer an opportunity for people who engage with (the cathedral) to be seen,” Tani said. “When that happens, I think that people feel a place of community and belonging.”
“The Cathedral of the Madeleine is able to do that in such a unique way of helping people feel or giving them an opportunity to feel like they belong, that they matter and that they’re seen. ... Music in particular has this way of touching all of us and reaching something really deep in our souls that connects us to each other.”
