Elmer Gantry: A New American Opera

You'll have a chance to hear the cast sing the OCTET from ELMER GANTRY live on Nashville Public Radio, WPLN, and streamed live to the web at wpln.org. The Show is called "Live from Studio C" and it airs Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 12:00 noon Eastern Standard Time. To hear it, click here. For more on the history of the octet, read on... Herschel

Opera News gives Elmer Gantry a rave review

...the opera makes for a gripping evening of musical theater. The principal roles are gratefully conceived musically, sharply characterized dramatically, and there is some terrific ensemble writing in the form of gospel music (all of Aldridge's own invention, but entirely idiomatic in impact). Gantry also boasts a propulsive developmental arc that avoids the common pitfall of hotly burning its inspiration in Act I, only to run on fumes for the duration; its final moment — an ethereal choral diminuendo as a congregation of hapless worshipers is engulfed in fiery immolation with evangelist Sharon Falconer — is one of the most chilling in memory.

To read the complete review, click here.