Dead Man Walking

Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking vividly shows the reality of the death penalty and the inner conflicts of the condemned and those who are attempting to help them. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s book recounting actual events, Heggie’s first opera has already been staged in 40 productions on five continents. Reprising his role in the work’s Hungarian premiere is the male lead from an American production: David Adam Moore prepared for the part by actually visiting the death row of the prison depicted in the piece. The Hungarian audience will get to see this contemporary opera in a concert version supplemented by a visual display created by young multi-media artists and incorporating Moore’s own documentary photographs.

By arrangement with Bent Pen Music. Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music.

This Opera was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera.

General cast

Conductor

Gergely Vajda / Kornél Thomas

Helen Prejean (a young nun from Louisiana)

Andrea Meláth

Joseph De Rocher (a death row inmate at Angola State Prison)

David Adam Moore

Mrs. Patrick De Rocher (Joseph’s mother)

Katalin Károlyi

Sister Rose (co-worker and close friend to Sister Helen)

Gabriella Fodor

Howard Boucher (father of the murdered boy)

Péter Balczó

Jade Boucher (mother of the murdered boy)

Andrea Brassói-Jőrös

Owen Hart (father of the murderd girl)

Ferenc Endrész univ. stud. / Csaba Szegedi

Kitty Hart (mother of the murderd girl)

Beatrix Fodor

Father Grenville (prison chaplain)

József Mukk

George Benton (prison warden)

Antal Cseh

Older Brother (half-brother to Joseph)

Gergely Ujvári

Younger Brother (half-brother to Joseph)

Dominik Jobbágy / Rafael Abebe-Ayele

A Motor Cop / First prison guard

Róbert Rezsnyák

Second prison guard

Máté Fülep

Sister Lilianne / Sister Catherine

Sárközi Xénia

1st Inmate

János Vince

2nd Inmate

Géza Zsigmond

3rd Inmate

Attila Gulyásik

4th Inmate

Sándor Dobos

5th Inmate

Attila Fenyvesi

First Mother

Dorottya Győrffy

Mrs. Charlton

Mária Tempfli

Ghosts

Eszter Asbolt / Zsombor Bodó / Eszter Szakács / Benjámin Taba

Paralegal (on recording)

Arthur Roger Crane

Credits

Libretto after Sister Helen Prejean's novel of the same title

 

Terrence McNally

 

Director

 

András Almási-Tóth

 

Visual designer

 

Zsombor Czeglédi / Balázs Fügedi / Norbert Tóth

 

Costume designer

 

Krisztina Lisztopád

 

Choreographer

 

Eszter Lázár

 

Chorus director

 

Gábor Csiki

Premiere

 

March 12, 2020