Jake Heggie – Dead Man Walking
Joyce DiDonato; Philip Cutlip; Frederica von Stade; Measha Brueggergosman; Houston Grand Opera; Patrick Summers
Virgin Classics50999 6024632 5
In the last few years, Broadway producers looking for a sure-fire success embraced the idea of making popular movies into musicals The Producers, Spiderman, How to Succeed in Business, Sister Act, Once, Priscilla Queen of the Desert — this list could go on. Not nearly as often, a modestly successful and thoughtful film becomes an opera. Dead Man Walking — the movie — may still be remembered because of Susan Sarandon’s portrayal of the anti-death penalty crusader, Sister Helen Prejean. Unlike many films, this is a great subject for an opera. The themes of life and death, crime and redemption, desperation and grace play well on the grand stage. They would not, however, play half as well were it not for the music of Jake Heggie, an American composer whose personal love of the operatic genre is showcased in the inspired use of the negro-spiritual and pop-music idioms.
Just over a decade after its premiere, this opera shows a lot of staying power. The performances are impressive — Joyce DiDonato, reprising the role originated by Frederica von Stade, layers the performance with nuances of conviction, weakness, doubt and anger. Measha Brueggergosman delivers a powerful performance in the small role of Sister Rose. Finally, von Stade this time appears as the murderer’s mother, rounding off this stellar cast of mezzos and dramatic sopranos. This is so much more than just an opera of a film — this is by now a part of American standard repertoire.
