When Monsignor M. Francis Mannion proposed a yearly arts festival at the Cathedral of the Madeleine it was his hope that the cathedral would become a cultural center for the city.

Twenty-five years later, the Madeleine Festival of the Arts and Humanities has become one of the city’s most appealing venues for local artists and ensembles. “The festival is more talked about today than ever before,” said Laurel Dokos, who now runs the annual event. “We have more applications than we’ve ever had in the past. We’re very excited.”

As with past festivals, this year’s festival strives to find something for everyone. “We wanted to have a broad selection of programs and also feature the best of the best in the city,” Dokos said.

While she and her committee were putting this year’s festival together, Dokos was trying to find a common denominator connecting each program. “I think we can call this year’s theme ‘collaboration,’” she said, noting that there is an element of collaborative teamwork between various arts organizations in the community in several of the programs.

The festival opens Sunday with an oratorio by Alessandro Scarlatti, the father of the more famous Domenico Scarlatti of keyboard sonata fame.

Douglas O'Neill

The elder Scarlatti’s oratorio, La Maddalena, was first performed in 1685 in Rome. It tells the story of Mary Magdalene and her choice between living a life of sin or a life of piety. The work has all but been forgotten today. Cathedral organist Douglas O’Neill researched the work and made a performance-ready copy of the score.

There are only three characters in the oratorio: Mary, Youth and Penitence, sung respectively by Stephanie Moore, Emily Nelson and Valerie Hart-Nelson. There is no chorus, and the singers will be accompanied by O’Neil at the organ and a string quartet.

Dealing as the work does with the cathedral’s namesake, Dokos said it was “a natural choice to open the festival’s 25^th anniversary.” Sunday’s performance could also be the work’s United States premiere. “There is no indication that it has been performed in the U.S. before.”

On April 28-29, the cathedral will collaborate with Utah Opera in the children’s opera Shoes for the Santo Niño. “This work was written in 1930 and lost for 70 years,” Dokos said. The story was written by New Mexico author and poet Peggy Pond Church. A few years ago American composer Stephen Paulus, whose The Three Hermits was performed at the cathedral in 2002, set the words to music.

Dokos said that Melanie Malinka, the director of music at the Madeleine Choir School, discussed doing a joint project with Utah Opera as part of Utah Symphony|Utah Opera’s Florencia Festival. “This is a great collaboration that really fits in with what we want to do to celebrate the festival’s anniversary,” Dokos said.

Vladimir Kulenovic

The story is about people praying to Santo Niño (the Christ Child) and leaving their shoes. “It’s a story you find in Native American and Hispanic cultures,” Dokos said. The opera will be staged and costumed. The choristers of the choir school will be joined by local musicians, and Utah Symphony associate conductor Vladimir Kulenovic will conduct.

The final concert of the festival, on May 12, will feature the cathedral choir and an orchestra consisting of local musicians in J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 112, Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112, and Francis Poulenc’s Gloria. Malinka and director of music at the cathedral Gregory Glenn will conduct.

There will also be a concert of jazz featuring Valerie Capers joined by several of her musicians along with faculty members from Brigham Young University. That takes place on April 21.

On April 14, Ririe Woodbury will present a dance program. “We’re thrilled to have them,” Dokos said. “People enjoy dance in the cathedral.”

Each year, the Cathedral of the Madeleine honors someone from the Utah arts scene with a special award. This year it is Craig Jessop, former music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and current dean of the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University and music director of Logan’s American Festival Chorus.

Craig Jessop

“Craig is the logical choice [for the award],” said Dokos. “The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has performed in the cathedral in the past, and he has been involved with the cathedral for years. He is a real friend of the cathedral.”

Jessop will receive his award at a dinner honoring him on May 9 in the Alta Club. Contact the cathedral office for details and reservations at 801-328-8941.

Below is a list of programs. All events begin at 8 p.m. and are free to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information contact the cathedral office at 801-328-8941 or log on to www.utcotm.org.

• April 7: Alessandro Scarlatti, La Maddalena; with Stephanie Moore, Emily Nelson, Valerie Hart-Nelson, Douglas O’Neill and the Madeleine Baroque Consort.
• April 14: Ririe Woodbury, Counterpoint; excerpts from five works, plus a preview of a new work to be premiered in April.
• April 21: Valerie Capers and Friends, Together Again 2013; a collaboration with jazz faculty from Brigham Young University.
• April 28-29: Utah Symphony|Utah Opera; Shoes for Santo Niño, children’s opera with libretto by Peggy Pond Church and music by Stephen Paulus, Vladimir Kulenovic, conductor.
• May 5: David Kranes, A Playwright’s Education – The Winding Journey Between I and We.
• May 9: Madeleine Award Dinner, honoring Craig Jessop; 6 p.m., Alta Club. (Contact the cathedral office at 801-328-8941 for details and reservations.)
• May 12: The Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; J.S. Bach, Cantata No. 112, Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112, and Francis Poulenc, Gloria; Gregory Glenn and Melanie Malinka, conductors.