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

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

The Beatitude Mass was premiered at St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica in 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’s Monterey premiere on April 25 at the Golden State Theatre, as a benefit to Monterey County homeless through Shelter Outreach Plus (with additional sponsorship by Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program churches.)

Like so many of Mollicone’s works, the Beatitude Mass draws on his exceptional musical gifts of melody and harmony to exalt the simple, anguished words of homeless people into haunting and moving expressions. Alternating with the “Kyrie,” “Gloria,” “Sanctus, “Benedictus” and “Agnus Dei,” it takes on the universality found in so many great musical settings of the Latin mass. It adds for its finale the “Salve Mater Misericordiae” and, like Brahms’ “German Requiem,” reprises the opening beatification, “Blessed are the poor.”

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

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

Kromm brings a broad musical background to his conducting, singing and teaching. Professor of voice and co-chairman at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he serves as music director of the San Jose Symphonic Choir and 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 experience of those who attend. With more than 30 churches involved, Shelter Outreach Plus’s IHELP is engaged in marketing the concert to members of their respective congregations and to the community at large.

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

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