Study Guide
Study Guide Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Beginner's Guide to Opera
- Who's Who At the Opera
- The Lyric Opera House
- BOC Education Programs
- A Bibliography of Selected Readings
- Education Resources
2007-2008 SEASON
2006-2007 SEASON
2005-2006 SEASON
2004-2005 SEASON
2003-2004 SEASON
2002-2003 SEASON
PREVIOUS OPERAS
Dead Man Walking
Opera in two acts
Music – Jake Heggie
b. 31 March 1961, West Palm Beach , Florida
Libretto – Terrence McNally based on the book Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States by Sister Helen Prejean CSJ (1993)
Composed 1998-99
Premiere: 7 October 2000, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco
This Opera was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera.
Principal Characters:
Sister Helen Prejean – a nun, Mezzo Soprano
Joseph De Rocher – a convicted murderer, Baritone
Mrs. Patrick De Rocher – his mother, Mezzo Soprano
Sister Rose – Sister Helen's friend, Soprano
Kitty Hart – mother of one of De Rocher's victims, Soprano
Owen Hart – father of one of De Rocher's victims, Baritone
Father Grenville – the prison chaplain, Tenor
George Benton – the prison warden, Bass
Dead Man Walking takes place in a Louisiana prison during the 1980's.