Dead Man Walking

POWeRFuL PReMIeReS

With the first performance of Dead Man Walking in 2000, composer Jake heggie has left a significant mark on modern opera

By kRIStIne McIntyRe, StAge DIRectOR

DEAD MAN WALKING IS SPOnSOReD By FRAnk R. BROWneLL III ifirst met Jake Heggie in the 1990s at the San Francisco Opera. He was working in the public relations department and i was an assistant director on the staging staff. Jake was "that nice guy from marketing" who also wrote songs. i knew that Frederica von Stade liked and sang his stuff at a few events around town, but i was as surprised as anyone when the company commissioned him to compose Dead Man Walking, with a libretto by playwright Terence Mcnally.

it was with a mixture of excitement and a little fear that i took my seat at the world premiere of Dead Man Walking in 2000. at that time the San Francisco Opera was doing a lot of new work—Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons in 1994 and andre previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire in 1998 with renée Fleming as Blanche DuBois. The company had a good record producing new work, but could Jake write an opera?

There are times in the theatre where, from the moment the curtain goes up, you know you are in expert hands. Opening night of Dead Man Walking was one such experience. The entire audience knew we were seeing an amazing piece come to life and witnessing the debut of the next great american opera composer. it was clear that Dead Man Walking would take its place in the modern opera canon.

Doing modern opera is one of the most interesting and important things we can do for this art form, and i can’t tell you how different it is to rehearse a piece that comes with little or no performance history—to have the total freedom to create from scratch or to have the living composer or librettist as a resource. Jake cares deeply about his pieces, often traveling to wherever one is being performed (which, in the case of Dead Man Walking, keeps him really really busy), and he’s a great ambassador for opera. He writes music that is easy to hear, rewarding to sing and imbued with humanity and compassion for the human condition. He’s also a true man of the theatre, and Dead Man Walking is opera theatre at its best and most arresting.

That Dead Man Walking is also an important opera, which deals with significant contemporary issues, is another great bonus. We talk a lot about relevancy in the performing arts, and as a director you always want your audience to have an immediate connection to the story and the characters. With a piece like Dead Man Walking, the conversation is very short and very easy. Jake and Sr. Helen have given us a great gift—a way of exploring a controversial and difficult issue from the standpoint of music and theatre. i can think of no place i’d rather be than in rehearsal with a piece like that. •

DeAD MAn WALkIng Jake heggie

June 28 | July 8 | July 11 | July 19 7:30PM July 6 2:00PM

advisory: This opera highlights the issues of capital punishment and contains brief nudity, graphic violence, and explicit language. it is not recommended for anyone under 18 years of age.

Jake Heggie cOMPOSeR elise Quagliata SISteR heLen PReJeAn

complete cast and production information at desmoinesmetroopera.org

StAgIng SPOnSOReD By cOnnectIOnS

Because of the social and legal issues surrounding this opera, DMMO will collaborate with several metro area organizations to present educational activities leading up to the performances.

APRIL 15 “17 minutes” art exhibit and gallery Show 4pm, prairie Meadows gallery, rasmussen Center, grand View university “seventeen minutes. that’s how long it takes to decide if a man should live or die,” says Joseph de rocher in Dead Man Walking. the power and intensity behind this line of text is interpreted by grand View university students in this juried exhibit, with selected works on display at the Blank Performing arts center during the dmmo summer Festival season. Free

APRIL 27 Director’s insights 1:30pm, Levitt auditorium, Des Moines art Center stage director Kristine mcintyre (Peter Grimes, Eugene Onegin) will lead a connection and preview of the opera including its themes, the designs for dmmo’s production and musical excerpts. Free

MAy 6 Dead Man Walking–The Journey Continues: a Conversation with Sister Helen prejean 7pm, Sheslow auditorium, Drake university sister Helen Prejean, whose autobiographical novel Dead Man Walking was the inspiration for the film and opera of the same name, will give a lecture about her experience, the book and its subsequent iterations. Presented in conjunction with the drake university President’s office and the law school. Book signing following the event. Free

June 4 The american Death penalty as reflected in the Opera 7pm, room 206, Cartwright Hall, Drake university Law School this panel discussion and conversation will look beyond the sensational headlines and anecdotes to understand the state of capital punishment in the american legal system. moderated by david e. drake, d.o., a remarkable panel of death penalty experts from the region connect with artists from the production to offer unique insights on this multi-faceted issue. approved for 1.5 hours of cle credit for legal professionals. Free

June 28 a Day With Dead Man Walking Composer Jake Heggie 1:30pm, Des Moines Temple Theater, The Temple for performing arts: members of dmmo’s acclaimed apprentice artist Program will present a program of opera scenes and art songs by Heggie with the composer present, followed by a Q&a connection session. Free 7:30pm, Blank performing arts Center, Simpson College Campus: dmmo presents opening night of Dead Man Walking with Heggie in attendance, one of opera’s most preeminent american composers. Ticket prices vary

DAVIDHT ADAM MOORe S p OTL ig

David Adam Moore was raised in the rural town of Vidor, texas, home to country music legends george Jones, clay Walker and Billie Jo Spears. Like many of Vidor’s musicians, Moore grew up making music and is part of the fourth generation of professional performers. however, instead of singing about pickup trucks and cowboy boots, he ended up with opera arias and cadenzas in such places as Seattle Opera, Lyric Opera of chicago, Opera theatre of Saint Louis, glimmerglass Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Arizona Opera. A singing actor who is known for his dramatic intensity, Moore will take inspiration from his hometown to sing the challenging role of Joseph De Rocher, the inmate on Louisiana's death row in heggie’s Dead Man Walking. “It was an environment quite similar to De Rocher's— full of trailer parks, churches, thick forests, and young people without much to do," says Moore. "I knew quite a few guys like De Rocher, who grew up in troubled homes and never had a chance to develop the tools they needed to become productive, or even functional, members of society. Watching them make the journey from innocent child to aggressive, dysfunctional adult had a big impact on me.”

the idea of tackling the role is exhilarating, and Moore is also looking forward to getting up close to Des Moines Metro Opera’s audience at the Blank Performing Arts center. “Larger houses present the challenge of having to physicalize subtle emotions, and with this comes a wider margin of error. In more intimate situations, that margin of error is gone, but it also means you can give a more honest, intimate, realistic performance. Dead Man Walking takes a hard look at how we, as a society, deal with those whose behavior falls outside of the accepted moral code. It's an important, relevant story to tell, and having the opportunity to bring such a story to life is a dream come true for any performer.”