Dead man walking opera jake heggie biography
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The Journey of Dead Man Walking
The Journey of Dead Man Walking
by Jake Heggie
Article and photo credited to Michigan Opera Theatre
The grateful young composer of Dead Man Walking describes how his opera found him, and where it has taken him.
It’s hard to believe now, but when Terrence McNally and I first met in New York in 1996 to discuss a possible opera collaboration, it was a comic work that the producer had in mind. Something light and celebratory for the millennium. Being almost completely unknown as a composer and having this incredible opportunity placed before me, I was hardly in a position to disagree with the general director of the San Francisco Opera, Lotfi Mansouri. Terrence, however, was. And he did. He could not have been less interested in such a project and he was too busy to consider anything else at the time. He was moving to a new apartment, getting ready to film Love! Valour! Compassion!, and in the midst of writing other shows.
With Terrence
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Dead Man Walking (opera)
Opera by Jake Heggie
Dead Man Walking is the first opera composed by American Jake Heggie, with a libretto by playwright Terrence McNally. Based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., the work premiered on October 7, 2000, at the War Memorial Opera House, produced by the San Francisco Opera.
Performance history
[edit]The 2000 premiere production was commissioned by then-General Director Lotfi Mansouri. The stage director was Joe Mantello, and the conductor was Patrick Summers. Sets, costumes and lighting were designed by Michael Yeargan, Sam Fleming, and Jennifer Tipton, respectively. Susan Graham created the role of Sister Helen, with John Packard as Joseph De Rocher (a composite of Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie). Frederica von Stade performed the role of Mrs De Rocher, the convict’s mother.
The Australian premiere (the first performance outside the United States)[1] took place in August 2003 at t
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Jake Heggie
American musikdrama composer and pianist
Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961)[1] is an American composer of musikdrama, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers.
Biography
[edit]Childhood
[edit]John ("Jake") Stephen Heggie was born in West Palm Beach, Florida,[1] to Judith (née: Rohrbach) and John Francis Heggie, the third of fyra children. His father was a physician and an amateur saxophonist, and his mother was a sjuksköterska. Shortly after Heggie's birth, his family relocated to Columbus, Ohio. He began studying piano when he was sju years old.
In 1972, Heggie's father committed suicide after a long battle with depression.[2] Shortly thereafter, Heggie began writing music. A few years after his father's death, the family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Heggie completed high school and continued his stu