Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 4 Dead Man Walking

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 29 how the system works, and how it prolongs the grieving and suffering of all the families involved. Though it sounds unlikely, this opera was the next logical step in the unfolding of my story. If you have seen the movie Dead Man Walking , you know that music is an integral part of the story. Most of the music was written specifically for certain scenes. It’s a very powerful part of the film. And why not? We know that music can change consciousness and music can open up parts of our hearts we don’t even know we have. Music also brings about healing and connectedness among human beings. Jake Heggie was incredibly aware of this fact. In the opera, “You Don’t Know What It’s Like” is an ensemble sung by both victims’ and death row families and it demonstrates the common unifying experience of suffering and loss. Also, Jake allowed a spiritual hymn – “God Will Gather Us Around, All Around” – to thread through the story, without resorting to the stereotypes we often see when nuns are portrayed. His sensitivity to the issues and emotions involved make it a stronger and truer production, and I am so proud of him and his work. These days, I am still on the journey. Speaking out about what I have witnessed comes naturally to me. There are many roads taken as I travel the world, giving talks to help people see the system for what it really is, and offering alternatives if they’re ready to change things. My second book was also about the men I‘ve counseled on death row, this time focusing on those who I’m certain were innocent, yet were executed anyway. I am amazed when I look back over the last two decades at how the discussion on the death penalty has grown and matured, but yet we are still finding innocent people on death row. It is going to take the books and the movies and the news programs and, of course, the operas to continue this discussion, and to keep the American people moving forward in their awareness and their advocacy. It’s a journey. I thank the people of Chicago for joining me in it. Adapted from an article that originally appeared in the program of New York City Opera. Sister Helen Prejean and Jake Heggie at the world premiere of Dead Man Walking , San Francisco, 2000. The journey of Dead Man Walking By Jake Heggie When Terrence McNally and I first met in 1996 to discuss a possible opera collaboration, it was a comedy that the producer had in mind. Something light and celebratory for the millennium. Being virtually unknown as a composer, with this incredible opportunity placed before me, I was hardly in a position to disagree with Lotfi Mansouri, San Francisco Opera’s general director. Terrence, however, was. And he did – he couldn’t have been less interested in such a project. With Terrence’s passion for opera and my devotion to composing for the operatic voice, Lotfi believed that this collaboration must happen. Removing the mandate of comedy, he asked us to find a story that would inspire both of us. In mid-1997 in San Francisco, Terrence and I sat down to lunch and he brought out a list of ten ideas, only one of which he really wanted to do. He wouldn’t tell me which it was. He started reading the list. Dead Man Walking . The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I immediately started to hear music. This was the right story. He continued reading, but to this day, I can’t remember any other idea because I was already figuring out how Dead Man Walking would sound. What kind of architecture would the music have? What kinds of musical motifs? The range of characters and their transformations was incredible. There would be room for large ensembles and great possibilities to build emotional tension, to find transcendence in musical terms. Fortunately, that was the idea Terrence was most enthusiastic about, too. Why was the story so compelling? Sister Helen Prejean, a Louisiana nun, becomes the spiritual advisor to a convicted murderer on death row and accompanies him to his execution. She experiences a journey most of us can’t imagine and witnesses Jake Heggie Art & Clarity Art & Clarity