Two Goddess Choruses
from the opera Montevergine

for soprano soloists, SSA chorus, and piano with optional percussion

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Duration: 10 minutes

Libretto: Latin & English, by Kendra Preston Leonard

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Movements:

1. Nigra sum et formosa
2. Snow! Snow on the ground

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Program Notes:

Based on a Neopolitan legend from 1256.
Set in Naples and Montevergine.

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At its heart, our opera Montevergine explores themes of identity, love, and acceptance. Inspired by a 13th-century Neapolitan legend, the plot follows two young men on pilgrimage to the shrine of Mamma Schiavona, the Black Madonna of Montevergine, for the Feast of Candlemas. Mamma Schiavona, the “Slave Mother,” venerated as protector of outcasts, is rooted in both Christian and ancient pagan traditions—her shrine built on the site of an older temple to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, “Mother of Gods.”

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The men are in love and condemned by their community for that love. They are subjected to a brutal lynching, stripped naked, bound and pack in with snow and ice, and left to die on the mountainside. Mamma Schiavona intervenes, melting the snow with her divine warmth and saving the couple, while admonishing the villagers for their hatred.

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“Snow! Snow on the ground” is the second of Two Goddess Choruses from the opera. In this scene, a femminiello—a third-gender identity in Naples—blesses the couple and urges them to honor both the Madonna and Cybele. They are interrupted by the arrival of Cybele herself, accompanied by her Galli: ancient eunuch priests who renounced maleness to serve the goddess, adorned in vibrant yellow robes with painted faces and bleached hair. This ritual chorus with aria bridges past and present, as it draws on the timeless cycles of death, rebirth, and the transformative power of love and acceptance.

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Upcoming Premiere:

Opéra Queens

Montréal & Toronto, Canada
Summer 2026

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