Presented by Washington National Opera
Show Dates
Saturday, Feb 25 at 7pm,
Monday, Feb 27 at 7pm
Friday, Mar 3 at 7pm
Sunday, Mar 5 at 2pm
Wednesday, Mar 8 at 7:30pm
Sat, Mar 11 at 7pm
COULD YOU FORGIVE THE UNFORGIVABLE?
JAKE HEGGIE / TERRENCE McNALLY’s
Dead Man Walking
In English with Projected English Titles
Sentenced to die for a double-murder he swears he didn’t commit, hardened convict Joseph De Rocher asks a kindhearted nun to help him with one last appeal. Sister Helen Prejean accepts his request, only to begin her own searing journey through the emotional and spiritual ramifications of his supposed crime. As execution day ticks closer, the young nun finds herself empathizing with Joseph’s predicament. But once his family and the victims’ relatives share their harrowing stories, she struggles to reconcile the paradox of mercy and compassion with society’s demand for justice.
Based on Prejean’s real-life memoirs, which also inspired the 1995 film, Dead Man Walking infuses its score with American popular styles to become an instant modern classic, hailed as one of the most gripping and important operas of the new century. For its landmark premiere in 2000, the New York Times called this mesmerizing drama “a masterpiece of words, music, and emotions.” And London’s Guardian raved it “makes the most concentrated impact of any piece of American music theater since West Side Story.“