Christine Rice, Sister Helen Prejean; Michael Mayes, Joseph De Rocher; Sarah Connolly, Mrs Patrick De Rocher; Madeline Boreham, Sister Rose; Andrew Manea, Warden George Benton; Ronald Samm, Father Grenville; Gweneth Ann Rand, Kitty Hart; Jacques Imbrailo, Owen Hart. Kerem Hasan, Conductor; Annilese Miskimmon, Director, Alex Eales, Set Designer, Evie Gurney, Costume Designer; D.M. Wood, Lighting Designer
The first night of this new ENO production received rave reviews, so I was very much looking forward to seeing it. It seems extraordinary that this was the first professional stage production of Dead Man Walking there has ever been in the UK, after 25 years of performances all over the world since its premiere in 2000. Could there have been some snobbishness that delayed the decision to go ahead for so long? A feeling that it was a bit too, well, popular…..? I hope not……Yes, Dead Man Walking is tonal, with passages of gospel music, jazz, Elvis (!) and much else. But it has a gripping story, handled with great deftness in the libretto which in different hands might have sounded mawkish or toe-curling at points. Above all it is definitely an opera and not a play with music; it has duets, a sextet even, a striking use of the chorus at points, and, throughout the characters are communicating through the music as well as through the words they’re singing. The story lends itself very well to opera’s particular ability as an art form to tackle powerfully emotional story-telling, and communicate raw feelings. Sadly I fear that the real reason for its delayed UK appearance was probably the view that any company putting on a contemporary work would risk instant financial damage (which is what happened at the performance I went to, though I hope the rave reviews and 5 stars from several newspapers would mean better audiences for its remaining performances – on November 4, though, Balcony and Upper Circle where closed, and even the Stall and Dress Circle were not by any means full). But then why was Turnage’s Festen earlier this year sold-out? It remains a mystery why more people weren’t interested in seeing this production…..
The story is a true one, albeit fictionalised to preserve anonymity, written by a nun who had befriended several prisoners on death row, and talked with them to enable them to admit finally, and publicly, their guilt. In the case of the opera the composite convict is called Joseph and he finally admits in front of the parents of the two young people he had murdered, his responsibility for the murder and rape he committed, and his hope that his death will ease their pain. The nun’s account was first made into a film and then this opera. The nun, Sister Helen Prejean (who is still alive – now in her late 80’s) was happy for Heggie to write the opera as long as the Christian message of her story was not watered down. It isn’t – and whether you accept the Christian aspects of it or not, even from a secular perspective the opera is about powerful issues everyone has to consider – taking responsibility for your actions, loving others, whatever the cost, and of course it represents a powerful questioning of the need for capital punishment (Sister Helen became a leading US advocate for its abolition for many years). The opera raises many difficult moral issues – can a crime be so extreme it cannot be forgiven, the place of compassion as against justice, are there people so completely evil love cannot reach them? – the libretto deals sensitively with them all, and Sister Helen’s (self-doubting at times) perspective on these issues is balanced by the views of the parents of the young couple and the prisoner’s mother.
Heggie’s music is difficult to describe. It doesn’t really have any motifs for different characters, as far as I could tell, though there is the composed gospel song which opens the work and recurs at points throughout, including, as a solo for Sister Helen, at the very end. For the most part, the compositional style is a complex wash of melodic fragments, nearly all as far as I could tell not repeated or developed further, that are occasionally memorable and beautiful but always working well with both the words and the singers’ voices. I guess you could call it a bit like film music but it isn’t really – there are many occasions when words and music are together giving complex messages, with the music as powerful and important as the words. Musical highlights include the prisoner the scene where Joe (the prisoner)’s mother, Sister Helen and the two sets of parents sing in the Appeal Court of their feelings, and much of Sister Helen’s role. I mused afterwards how Puccini, say, might have tackled such a libretto. I am sure his approach would have been completely over-the-top, and by comparison with what he would have made of it, Heggie’s work sounds much more restrained – and that is all to the good, for 21st century sensibilities. All in all, this was everything an engaging contemporary opera should be – powerful, dealing with big issues, being something different from a film or play with music, and very moving. It’s not a short work – about two and a quarter hours – but always gripping, and the audience was as wholly engaged as they should have been.
And….this was an excellent production and set of performances……….. The set as in the photo below was two greyish white walls of an institutional building which served as the school in the ‘projects’ where Sister Helen worked with poor children, the prison and the court room where appeals were heard. This allowed the many scenes in the opera to be deftly transitioned, often by means of characters ascending and then descending a staircase via the upper level of the walls. At the end, the execution chamber was realised in terrifying detail, moving onto the stage in blazing white light. All the characters were believable, their movements appropriate and realistic, and their reactions superbly timed and realised. Annilese Miskimmon, one of the triumvirate who runs ENO currently, deserves huge credit for her brilliant production.
There was not one weak link in the cast. All sung and acted superbly. Christine Rice not only had the ability to sing the lyrics with a beautiful and varied line, but captured in great detail a character both awkward and sensitive – moving in an ungainly way, some hesitancy at times, faltering and self-doubting. I suspect the real Sister Helen is probably a more forthright person, but this was a brilliant representation of the character. Michael Mayes, who has sung the role in many productions since 2018, was outstanding as Joe – he has a big stage presence, a resounding voice and is a large man – all these elements making him very credible in the tough but ultimately fearful prisoner role, and he sang superbly. Sarah Connolly was luxury casting as Joe’s mother, and she offered a highly convincing and touching portrayal of someone not really coping with what’s happening to her, and awkward when faced with authority. She leaves the stage still convinced that Joe is innocent, and Ms Connolly’s singing and acting was very moving. All the smaller parts were very well-done – I was particularly taken by Madeline Boreham’s account of Sister Rose. Kerem Hasan and the ENO orchestra did everything they could to realise Heggie’s music vividly and sensitively, and at the same time Hasan’s control of dynamics meant the singers were never overpowered by the big orchestra Heggie requires. Perhaps my only quibble would be the use of Southern US accents by the cast, which came and went a bit among the UK members of it.
So…..I think this was a powerful work, which we have waited too long to see in this country. I am still asking myself why, in the end, I was more impressed by Turnage’s Festen seen earlier this year. Both are works with powerful stories – in Festen’s case sexual abuse – which started life in other mediums (in Festen’s case film). Perhaps in the end the music has more character – I am not sure and need to think about it.
John's musical journey 