(KNOXVILLE, TN) Marble City Opera will present the world-premiere performances of The Doctor and the Devils by Knoxville composer Jason Overall on Thursday, June 6 and Saturday, June 8, 2024 in the Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State Street, Knoxville. Both performances will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets to The Doctor and the Devils are available at MarbleCityOpera.com/tickets General admission tickets are $40. VIP tickets are $50. VIP tickets include an invitation to meet composer Jason Overall at a pre-show reception with refreshments.
The Doctor and the Devils is adapted from a gothic-horror screenplay by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The screenplay was based on the true story of body snatchers who murdered at least sixteen people and sold their bodies for dissection in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1828. The opera explores the theme “do the ends justify the means” as the doctor who purchased the bodies used them to discover lifesaving surgical procedures.
Thomas renamed the historical characters, changing the name of surgeon Dr. Robert Knox to “Dr. Thomas Rock.” He changed the names of body-snatchers William Burke and William Hare to “Bob Fallon” and “Broom.”
The singers in the world-premiere cast of The Doctor and the Devils are Stephen Salters as Doctor Rock; Cody Boiling as Murray; Lela Philbrook as Elizabeth; Ema Mitrović as Annabella; Jenna Ziccardi as Jennie; Gianna Grigalonis as Alice; John Overholt as Broom; and Daniel Johnson-Webb as Fallon.
Jason Overall is a composer, organist, and choral conductor. He is also the director of music of Saint John's Episcopal Cathedral in Knoxville. The stage director for The Doctor and the Devils is Marble City Opera’s Executive Artistic Director Kathryn Frady. The orchestra conductor is Marble City Opera’s Music Director Brandon Coffer.
Marble City Opera brings world class singers, directors, and conductors to the stage while maintaining a dedication to creating opportunities for local, regional, and emerging artists. Marble City Opera has strong community ties and connections to other organizations, businesses, non-profits, schools, and artists within Knoxville, and the East Tennessee community.
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