Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking is the first of three Met premieres presented this season. The story is adapted from Sister Helen Prejean’s haunting memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, later made a household name by the critically acclaimed film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.

The opera is by American composer Jake Heggie, with a libretto by Tony and Emmy Award–winning playwright Terrence McNally. Since its 2000 premiere, Heggie’s masterpiece has become the most performed contemporary opera of the past 20 years.

World-renowned, Grammy Award–winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato stars as Sister Helen, alongside bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and legendary mezzo-soprano Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s world premiere—as De Rocher’s mother. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a champion of new works, conducts.

The new production is by Tony Award–winning director Ivo van Hove (who makes his highly anticipated Met directorial debut with Don Giovanni in 2023).

Content Advisory:

Dead Man Walking contains a depiction of a rape and murder, as well as other adult themes and strong language.