[MOVIE STREAM] The Metropolitan Opera: Dead Man Walking Movie Free Online On 21 October 2023

Based on Sister Helen Prejean's memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with ...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. Twenty-three years after its premiere at the San Francisco Opera, Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking has made its way to New York’s Metropolitan Opera. This unusual delay for what is likely the most popular and often-performed modern American opera has been compensated for with a new production by Ivo van Hove and the season-opening slot. Based on the 1993 book by Sister Helen Prejean — and the 1995 movie with Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn — it’s the story of the relationship between Roman Catholic nun Sister Helen Prejean and death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher. The staging holds the history of the opera. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has substantial experience in the role of Sister Helen, as does bass-baritone Ryan McKinny, who sings De Rocher. The important secondary role of his mother is sung by mezzo Susan Graham, who originated the role of Sister Helen in 2000. Their singing and characterisations are vocally rich and expressively nuanced. The music is lyrical, with a throb that suits the subject and also a yearning and wistfulness that bring out great feeling, but the singers have to express the awful anguish that is the core sensation. DiDonato has her usual lustrous sound, with a slight understatement that suggests Sister Helen’s doubts about her purpose and the possibility of getting De Rocher to be honest. McKinny, from falsetto voice to near-shouting power, walks the balance of claiming his innocence while also needing Sister Helen’s spiritual guidance. Graham is deeply moving. She first appears in front of the parole board, begging for her son’s life, intimidated and singing plainly and simply, before gliding into an operatic voice that still carries the sorrow and frustration of a woman who can barely understand what is happening. Most eloquent is Owen Hart, father of one of the two teenagers De Rocher murdered. The veteran baritone Rod Gilfry is wonderful in the role, singing beautifully, whether angry or seeking peace.