Dead Man Walking: A Freelance Article by Andy Metzger

Most opera patrons will not know the contemporary opera “Dead Man Walking,” featuring music by Jake Heggie and libretto by Terrence McNally. Pensacola Opera presents performances of this powerful piece March 17 and 19 at the Saenger Theatre. The story is based on actual events that are also depicted in an acclaimed 1995 film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. At its heart, “Dead Man Walking” is the story of Joseph de Rocher, a young man on death row at Louisiana’s notorious Angola Prison, and Sister Helen Prejean, the nun who grapples with realities she has never encountered to become his spiritual advisor. What Heggie and McNally succeeded in creating is an opera that unfolds as a series of musical conversations, often intensely emotional and always musically engaging, that take place among various key players in this human drama. As I watched Pensacola Opera’s superb cast in rehearsal, I found I could not take my eyes off these characters, could not listen closely enough to what they were communicating. For those who might cast a wary eye on contemporary opera – “Dead Man Walking” premiered in 2000 – let me assure you that his is highly accessible musically. Audiences will be reminded of the likes of Gershwin, Bernstein and Sondheim when they hear the arias and recitative that mold together to form this work. Sung in English, “Dead Man Walking” features only a smattering of spoken lines. Allow me to sing the praises of mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata, who performs the role of Sister Prejean. Many supporters of Pensacola Opera will recognize Quagliata’s name from past roles performed with the company. The title role in “Carmen” may come to mind. It is a role she has played multiple times, but what might come as a surprise is that Quagliata places the role of Sister Prejean on an equal footing with Bizet’s more famous character. “It’s kind of funny that those should be my two defining roles,” Quagliata said. “They are both extremely strong women in their own rights and both extremely intense roles. What’s interesting with Sister Helen is that she is a living character. You’re portraying someone who is living and active in her work and that adds another level in creating your character. It’s physically demanding because she’s virtually never offstage and she sings constantly. In preparing this role, I had to do a lot of the research.” That research included a trip to Angola Prison as well as living with the Sister Prejean prior to Quagliata playing the role in a production of “Dead Man Walking” at DePaul University in Chicago. “We would share meals and be together every day, so I got to know her in a very physical way,” Quagliata said. “I could see how she holds a glass or walks through a room. It informs how I play her on stage, which is extremely helpful. She’s a saint among humans, but she’s also an amazingly hilarious, down-to-earth person. Even with such an intense show, there are a few moments of levity in this opera.” Quagliata is riveting in the role. Those aforementioned musical conversations unfold most frequently with the singer portraying Joseph de Rocher. In rehearsal, this was understudy Brent Hetherington, who was more than solid. In performances at the Saenger, local audiences will see a familiar artist in the person of baritone Michael Mayes. Mayes joins Pensacola Opera’s cast fresh from portraying de Rocher for the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. An interesting side note involves Corey McKern, who is singing the role of Owen Hart, the father of one of the victims, for Pensacola Opera. McKern was called in to portray Hart for two performances (March 3 and 5) of the same Kennedy Center production in which Mayes played the lead. Ruth Orth, Immediate Past Chair of the Pensacola Opera board, happened to be in the audience and had no idea McKern had been called in. “When it was announced that Corey was going to take the part, I swooned of course,” she said. “He was fabulous and had all sorts of accolades and this just shows you the kind of talent we put on the stage in Pensacola.” Quagliata’s interactions with Owen and others portraying the victims’ family members are truly poignant and one can only imagine how these must have gone in real life. The ensemble piece “You don’t know what it’s like to bear a child” roils and builds to an almost fever pitch as the well-meaning nun is verbally assaulted in ways she cannot fully deflect. Another exceedingly emotional moment is delivered by mezzo-soprano Hanan Tarabay when she sings the aria “I am a mother who is asking you to spare her son’s life.” She portrays Mrs. De Rocher, a simple woman forced to deal with an overwhelming truth about her son that a mother’s love insists on denying. There are many more memorable moments in this score and this story, and the wonderful portrayals by this Pensacola Opera cast are too numerous to mention. The subject matter and language make this an opera more suitable for adults, though youth is represented in the cast as members of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus appear as Sister Prejean’s students. Other main roles in Pensacola Opera’s production include NaGuanda Nobles as Sister Rose, Johnathan Riesen as Howard Boucher, Gillian Lynn Cotter as Jade Boucher, Sheila Murphy Dunn as Kitty Hart, Tommy Rowell as Father Grenville, and Patrick Jacobs as Warden George Benton. In many ways, “Dead Man Walking” is a chilling journey, but that’s nothing new in the world of opera. However, on this journey, audiences ultimately end up in a place, a moment, they might never have imagined they’d experience. Take it from me, it is a journey well worth taking.