Based on the acclaimed book and film, the opera examines faith, redemption and the bonds of family as seen through the eyes of a nun who establishes a unique relationship with a convicted murderer who is an inmate on death row in Louisiana’s infamous Angola prison. Of that intimacy is born a spiritual journey that addresses the plight of the condemned and the rage of the bereaved, the needs of a crime-ridden society and the Christian imperative of love.

“This opera is accessible and understandable to all. The music sounds like a merging of George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein and to me feels more like a theatrical work than an opera,” said David Troy Francis, the production’s musical director.

The cast ranges from veteran performers with the Metropolitan Opera to Susan Belcher (professionally-trained opera singer and wife of WCU Chancellor Belcher) to a regional children’s chorus.

Tickets range in price from $25 to $40 and may be purchased online (with a $3.50 surcharge) at www.tmamp.com or 800.595.4849.