Dead Man Walking (Opera)
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| Title: | Dead man walking |
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| Shape: | Opera in two acts |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Jake Heggie |
| Libretto : | Terrence McNally |
| Literary source: |
Helen Prejean : Dead Man Walking |
| Premiere: | October 7, 2000 |
| Place of premiere: | San Francisco Opera , War Memorial Opera House |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Louisiana, early 1980s |
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Dead Man Walking is a two- act opera by Jake Heggie (music) with a libretto by Terrence McNally . It was first performed on October 7, 2000 at the War Memorial Opera House of the San Francisco Opera .
action
The opera is set in Louisiana in the early 1980s.
prolog
A warm night by a lake in the forest. The rock 'n' roll song “Watching you, every day” can be heard from a car radio. A young couple in love enjoys their togetherness. Unnoticed by them, the brothers Joseph and Anthony De Rocher sneak up, overwhelm the young people and rape the girl. Anthony shoots the boy with a single headshot. When the girl starts screaming, Joseph grabs a knife and stabs her.
first act
Scene 1. Hope House
Sister (sister) Helen takes care of the children of poor families and studies the hymn "He will gather us around" with them. Her colleague Rose accompanies her on the piano. Helen appears distracted and accidentally skips a verse. Meanwhile, the sisters Lillianne and Catherine have come in with some mothers. They join the singing. When Rose asks Helen why she is pensive, she replies that the convicted murderer, with whom she had previously communicated by letter, has asked to meet in person. She regards all people without exception as children of God and cannot refuse his wish. Your drive to the prison will take three hours. Rose urges caution.
Scene 2. Drive to the Angola State Prison
During the ride, Helen ponders her life and her decision to become a nun. She passes a hitchhiker, but does not stop even though he has the same goal as her. Lost in thought about her strange relationship with the killer, she ignores her speed and is stopped by a motorcycle policeman. Since she is the first nun who has to give him a ticket, he lets mercy prevail. Helen wants to thank him with a prayer for his mother. When she arrives at the prison, she asks Jesus for strength, wisdom and humanity.
Scene 3. Outside the prison
The prison chaplain, Father Grenville, greets Helen. When she complains about the heat in the car, he jokes about the invention of the air conditioning - for him the beginning of the third age. On the way to his office, they pass by some prisoners who are roughly playing basketball.
Scene 4. Father Grenville's office
Grenville advises Helen to abandon her plan. So far, Joseph has shown himself to be completely inaccessible, insists on his innocence, lies and insults his interlocutors. But Helen is not deterred. The jailer George Benton comes with two guards to take them to Joseph. She confesses to him that she does not believe in the meaning of the death penalty.
Scene 5. The walk through death row
As Helen and the guards pass the death row inmates' cells, the partially automated metal gates open and close loudly. The prisoners themselves are very different from one another. Some make obscene remarks, others ask for respect for the visitor. Helen is shocked. The guard tells her that two hundred men are waiting here to die. He'll never get used to it.
Scene 6. Death row visitor room
The room is completely empty except for two chairs. While Helen waits, she sings the song from the first scene to herself. Joseph is led in by two guards. He greets Helen warmly and struggles to light a cigarette. He then asks her for help with the pardon committee, his last chance. He assures her of his innocence. His brother committed both murders, but was only sentenced to life imprisonment because he had a better lawyer. Helen explains to him that it is not her job to judge his guilt. However, she wants to help him admit his responsibility to himself. Joseph confesses to her that he is afraid of execution. Before being led away by the guards, he asks Helen for spiritual assistance.
Scene 7. Hearing before the pardon board
In the room there is a table with a wooden chair and a microphone. Helen stands by the side. The families of the murder victims are also present, as are Joseph's mother and her two younger sons, Joseph's half-brothers. The latter feels insecure, but then reads a prepared speech on the microphone about the difficult living conditions of Joseph, whose father left her when he was two years old. Despite all his problems, Joseph took good care of her and his siblings. Owen Hart, the murdered girl's father, interrupts her angrily to remind her of the brutal murder of his daughter. Helen comes up to Mrs. De Rocher to give her courage. She now speaks directly to the committee and pleads freely for mercy for her son until she bursts into tears.
Scene 8. Parking lot in front of the prison
While everyone waits for the committee's decision, Helen looks after Joseph's family. Her colleagues Rose, Catherine and Lillianne have also arrived. The parents of the murdered, Kitty and Owen Hart as well as Jade and Howard Boucher, stand a little apart with hostile looks. Helen goes to them to introduce herself. The four are upset about their support for their children's killer. When Helen suggests that they pray together, Jade and Howard withdraw indignantly. Owen asks Helen if she really believes Joseph has the right to go on living. Helen affirms that she believes God wants her to believe. The paralegal appears and reports in a few words that the pardon was rejected.
Scene 9. Death row visitor room
Helen speaks to Joseph about the rejection of the request. She suggests contacting the governor - but Joseph has lost hope. He thinks he's a bad person. Helen tries in vain to convince him to admit his guilt so that he can be forgiven. The overseer and a guard pick up Joseph. Helen goes into the waiting room.
Scene 10. The waiting room
A fan is booming in the overheated room. There is a drinks machine. Helen asks a passing guard in vain for change. She sits down exhausted on a bench and is plagued by hallucinations. In it appear her fellow sisters and the singing children, the threatening prison inmates, the motorcycle policeman, Joseph's mother, the parents of the murdered and Father Grenville, who repeat essential statements from the previous conversations. Helen collapses. The guard returns, helps her up and informs her that the governor has rejected Joseph's last petition for clemency. Joseph is a "dead man". The voices from Helen's dream are getting louder and louder. When the guard realizes her situation, he gives her change, which she uses to get a coke. The bottle crashes out of the slot of the machine. Helen breaks down completely.
Second act
Scene 1. Joseph's cell
After a short prelude, a cassette player plays the rock 'n' roll song from the beginning of the opera along with Joseph counting out loud - he is doing push-ups. Warden Benton interrupts him with news that his execution has been scheduled for midnight on August 4th. After Benton leaves, Joseph lets himself go to his thoughts - August 4th is his little brother's birthday. From outside you can hear that the overseer describes him as “dead man walking” (the term was translated as “dead man is coming” in the German version). Joseph wonders what was the point of his execution. He thinks Helen let him down. As he resumes his push-ups, he thinks of the murdered girl - if she hadn't screamed, he wouldn't have done her anything. He doesn't remember the boy.
Scene 2. Helen's bedroom
Helen is startled by a nightmare with the two murdered teenagers. Rose comes into her room worried. Helen tells her about her dreams that have plagued her for weeks. The two talk about the love of God and the importance of forgiveness. Rose says Helen must forgive Joseph herself in order to help him. After Rose goes back to her room, Helen prays to the Blessed Virgin.
Scene 3. Joseph's cell on the evening of August 4th
At 7:00 p.m. before the execution, Helen visits her protégé. They find that they both adore Elvis Presley. Joseph confesses to Helen that he is scared but, despite her urging, still insists on his innocence. A security guard reports his family's visit. Helen and Joseph follow him out.
Scene 4. The visitor room
Joseph's mother and the two half-brothers are already waiting in the room when Joseph and Helen enter with two guards. The wall clock shows 7:30 p.m. There is a fan and a drinks machine. After the greeting and general small talk, Helen goes to the machine with the brothers to give Joseph the opportunity to talk to his mother. The guards talk to each other about biblical justice - "an eye for an eye". The mother still believes in Joseph's innocence. She asks Helen to take a picture of her family. Before Joseph is taken away by the guards, his mother says goodbye to him. She pretends to smile and reminds him of his happy childhood. Then she bursts into tears. Helen assures her that God loves her son like everyone else. When the family left the room, they themselves had doubts about the future: "Who will guide me?"
Scene 5. Outside the house of the dead
The witnesses, including the victims' parents, are being prepared for the execution. When Helen approaches them, they accuse her of making no attempt to understand or help them. A guard tells everyone to follow him. Owen stays a little behind with Helen. He apologizes for his previous harsh words. Now he has more feelings of sadness than anger. His marriage has also broken up. He accepts Helen's offer to visit him soon and follows the others. Helen stays behind.
Scene 6. Joseph's cell
While the guards prepare Joseph for his execution, cut his hair, and put on a special uniform, they make flippant remarks.
Scene 7. The confession
Helen urges Joseph one last time to tell her about the night of the murder. At first he continues to deny. But when Helen talks about her own visits to the crime scene and describes details, his memory comes back and he admits his guilt. Helen assures him that he is still a son of God and that she cannot hate him. She asks him to look at her during the execution, because for him she will be the “face of Christ and love”. At that moment, the guard and the prison chaplain come in with guards. Joseph rejects Grenville's offer to say one last prayer together.
Scene 8. The execution
While the group goes to the death chamber, Grenville begins alone with the prayer, in which the victims' parents, the guards and other people soon join in. Joseph asks the overseer's permission to let Helen touch him. The latter nods and shortly afterwards calls out: “Dead Man Walking!” Helen recites the beginning of Isa 43 EU - “I called you by your name”. When the death chamber comes into view, Joseph becomes weak and the guards have to support him. Helen and Joseph promise each other their love. The guards lead Helen into the auditorium. Joseph is tied to a stretcher. The guard asks through a microphone if Joseph would like to say the last few words. Joseph asks forgiveness from the parents of the victims - he hopes his death will bring them relief. A nurse attaches a syringe to his arm and withdraws. The orchestra falls silent so that only Joseph's heartbeat can be heard. The execution itself is automatic. Helen expresses her love for Joseph through silent movements of her mouth. He tries to smile, flinches, and dies. Helen sings the song from the beginning in a clear voice: "He will gather us around."
layout
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (3rd also alto flute and piccolo ), two oboes , English horn , two clarinets in Bb (2nd also bass clarinet ), three bassoons (3rd also contrabassoon)
- Brass : four horns in F, three trumpets in C, two trombones , bass trombone
- harp
- piano
- Timpani , percussion (two players)
- Strings
The reduced version for smaller orchestra by Jeffrey W. Richmond and Michael Sakir requires these instruments:
- Woodwinds: two flutes (2nd also alto flute and piccolo), two oboes (2nd also cor anglais), two clarinets in Bb (2nd also bass clarinet), two bassoons (2nd also contrabassoon)
- Brass: two horns in F, two trumpets in C, trombone, bass trombone
- Synthesizer (harp and piano sounds only)
- Percussion (two players)
- Strings
music
The individual scenes of the opera merge into one another without a break despite the changing scenery. The orchestral prelude consists of a slow fugal motif that steadily gains in intensity and reappears several times in the further course of the opera. The song “He will gather us around” from the first scene is also quoted several times.
The musical style is characterized by numerous Arioso motifs. Heggie also used elements of various American styles such as gospel or blues - mainly to depict the protagonists' early memories from the time before the crime. In contrast, there are fluctuating harmonies as well as unusual rhythms and melodic turns with which Heggie evokes a subliminal feeling of unrest. In the arias and ensemble movements, the authors differentiated the different and often contradicting character traits of the people.
Heggie integrated non-musical sounds in at least three places. This includes the fifth scene of the first act, in which the opening noises of the doors are recorded by the orchestra. One of the highlights of the opera is the seventh scene of act one, in which Joseph's mother pleads for mercy for her son before the pardon committee. The soulful music of the orchestra deserves special mention here.
In the second act, Joseph's confession in the seventh scene is remarkable for the continuous pulsating music of the orchestra. At the beginning of the last scene the theme of the prelude is heard again.
Work history
Dead Man Walking is Heggie's first opera. It was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera and is based on the book Dead Man Walking by the American nun Helen Prejean , which received a lot of attention in the 1995 film adaptation of Dead Man Walking . The libretto for the opera version was written by Terrence McNally . Since he wanted to find out that he had taken a "fresh look" at the book as a template, he changed the name of the convicted Matthew Poncelet to Joseph de Rocher. He also modified some details of the victims' families and added a prologue in which the murder itself was shown. He left the audience in no doubt about the guilt of the convict.
Susan Graham (Sister Helen Prejean), John Packard (Joseph De Rocher), Frederica von Stade (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher) and Theresa Hamm sang the leading roles at the world premiere on October 7, 2000 at the War Memorial Opera House of the San Francisco Opera -Smith (Sister Rose), John Ames (George Benton), Jay Hunter Morris (Father Grenville), Nicolle Foland (Kitty Hart), Robert Orth (Owen Hart), Catherine Cook (Jade Boucher) and Gary Rideout (Howard Boucher). Patrick Summers has directed the opera orchestra, opera choir, girls' and boys' choirs of the San Francisco Opera and the Golden Gate Boys' Chorus. Directed by Joe Mantello , the stage was by Michael Yeargan , the lighting design by Jennifer Tipton and the costumes by Sam Flemming. Due to the great success, nine instead of the originally planned seven performances were given. Most of them were sold out.
Dead Man Walking became one of the most-performed recent American operas. It has been performed internationally by more than 50 opera houses. In addition to many American cities, there have been performances in Australia (State Opera of South Australia 2003, Sydney State Theater 2007), Sweden ( Malmö Opera 2006), Germany ( Semperoper Dresden 2006, Theater Hagen 2007, Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin 2014), Austria ( KlangBogen Vienna 2007), Ireland ( Gaiety Theater Dublin 2007), Denmark ( Det Kongelige Teater Copenhagen 2009), South Africa ( Cape Town Opera 2009) and Canada ( Opéra de Montréal 2013).
In 2001, a new production commissioned by the seven American opera houses Opera Pacific, Cincinnati Opera, New York City Opera , Austin Lyric Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Pittsburgh Opera and Baltimore Opera, directed by Leonard Foglia. The stage was by Michael McGarty, the costumes by Jess Goldstein and the lighting design by Brian Nason.
In 2008 a version with a reduced cast was created for a production at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln , which was revised again in 2013 and has been played many times since then.
In September 2002, Heggie revised the original version of the opera for a New York City Opera production.
A documentary about the opera, entitled And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking , was presented in 2002.
Recordings
- October 7, 2000 - Patrick Summers (conductor), opera orchestra, opera choir, girls 'choir and boys' choir of the San Francisco Opera .
Cast of the premiere.
Recording of the world premiere from the War Memorial Opera House of the San Francisco Opera.
Erato 6024632. - January / February 2011 - Patrick Summers (Conductor), Orchestra and Choir of the Houston Grand Opera .
Joyce DiDonato (Sister Helen Prejean), Philip Cutlip (Joseph De Rocher), Frederica von Stade (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher), Measha Brueggergosman (Sister Rose), Hector Vásquez (George Benton), Beau Gibson (Father Grenville), Cheryl Parrish (Kitty Hart), John Packard (Owen Hart), Susanne Mentzer (Jade Boucher), Jon Kolbet (Howard Boucher).
Live from the Houston Grand Opera.
Virgin Classics 6024632. - 16./17. October 2015 - David Neely (conductor), Jose Maria Condemi (director), Steven Kemp (stage), Linda Pisano (costumes), Patrick Mero (lighting design), Matt Herndon (choreography of the fights).
Rachel K. Evans / Sarah Ballman (Sister Helen Prejean), Reuben Walker / Eric Smedsrud (Joseph De Rocher), Summer Aebker / Kelsea Webb (Mrs. Patrick De Rocher), Tiffany Williams / Leeza Yorke (Sister Rose), Andrew Richardson / Jeremy Gussin (George Benton), Edward Atkinson / Eddie Mony (Father Grenville), Amanda Sesler / Madeline Stern (Kitty Hart), Jonathan Bryan / Jóhann Schram Reed (Owen Hart), Anne Chester / Courtney Jameson (Jade Boucher), Benjamin Rardin / Gregory McClelland (Howard Boucher).
Video; Production by the Jacobs School of Music; live from the Indiana University Bloomington Opera Theater .
Internet stream.
Web links
- Supplement to CD Virgin Classics 6024632 with libretto (English, PDF)
- Stefan Schmöe: Great opera from death row. Review of the CD from 2000. In: Online Musik Magazin
- David Patrick Stearns: HEGGIE Dead Man Walking. Review of the CD from 2011 (English). In: Gramophone . May 2012
- Tim Ashley: Heggie: Dead Man Walking - review. Review of the CD from 2011 (English). In: The Guardian . May 9, 2012
- Fred Cohn: HEGGIE: Dead Man Walking. Review of the CD from 2011 (English). In: Opera News. November 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Role information in the supplement to the CD Virgin Classics 6024632, p. 3.
- ↑ a b Role information in the supplement to CD Erato 6024632, pp. 4–5.
- ↑ Dead Man Walking - Characters on stageagent.com, accessed August 22, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h information on the work on the composer's website , accessed on August 22, 2017.
- ↑ Factory Information Bill Holab Music, accessed on 22 August 2017th
- ^ A b c d e Stu Lewis: Performance and work information of Lyric Opera Kansas City , accessed on August 22, 2017.
- ↑ Melanie Feilotter: Heggie, Jake. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ^ A b Matthew Schnaars: Program Notes. In: Program of the Jacobs School of Music, season 2015/16 (PDF) , pp. 11–12.
- ↑ Program of the Jacobs School of Music, season 2015/16 (PDF) , accessed on August 22, 2017.
- ↑ Videos of the performances at the Jacobs School of Music (Flash) , accessed on August 22, 2017.