Heggie: Dead Man Walking (Live recording of 2000 world premiere production) at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

Dead Man Walking, opera: Prelude
Dead Man Walking, opera: Prologue
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'He will gather us around.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 2.: 'Be careful,' people have always told me.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 2.: 'This journey. This journey to Christ.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 3.: 'Sister Helen? I've been waiting for you.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 4.: 'Some of them didn't look so bad.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 4.: 'I don't like that man.:
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 5.: 'Woman on the tier!'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 6.: 'Thank you.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 6.: 'A warm night.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 7.: 'The defendant's mother, Mrs. Patrick De Rocher.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 8.: 'It's a good sign when they take so long.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 8.: 'You don't know what it's like to bear a child.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 8.: 'It is the decision of this Pardon Board'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 9.: 'Guess you nun ain't comin' back, De Rocher.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 1. Scene 10.: 'He will gather us around'

Music CD 2

Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2.: Prelude
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 1.: '31... 32... 33...'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 2.: 'Oh!... Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 2.: 'Sometimes forgiveness is in the smallest gesture.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 3.: 'Well? Well?'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 3.: 'What time is it?'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 4.: 'Don't say a word.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 4.: 'Who will walk with me?'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 5.: 'Good evening.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 5.: 'I've said some harsh things.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 6.: 'You're a regular illustrated man, De Rocher.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 7.: 'We'd been drinkin' and smokin' weed at the road house.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 8.: 'Dead Man Walking!'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 8.: 'He will gather us around.'
Dead Man Walking, opera: Act 2. Scene 8.: Applause

Music reviews of Heggie: Dead Man Walking (Live recording of 2000 world premiere production)

Music Review: It Could Have Been More
Rating: 3 Stars

So why only three stars? I think the problem rests with the libretto. This opera continues the deplorable late 20th century trend in opera toward sung play. As opera houses move toward commissioning playwrites such as McNally and William Hoffman as librettists the things that distiguish the particular art of the librettist are dying out. This opera libretto reads like a play. While there are a few ensembles that attempt to present multiple viewpoints simulteneously, they don't compare to the great ensemble situations of a Da Ponte or Boito. And perhaps more importantly, though McNally does include soliloquies, they are in a rather straightforward prose...one that is hard to set well in music. Too many syllables and too little verbal rhythm. As a result, no matter how hard Heggie struggles (and he does a heroic job at this) the opera never bursts into song, as it obviously wants to. Some will say that this is because the opera is throughcomposed, as is the style in modern opera. While that's true, you only have to listen to the operas of Barber or Carlisle Floyd to here examples of throughcomposed opera that still retains the sense of song. Even Nixon in China manages to create a sense of song while remaining throughcomposed.

Perhaps the difference is that in the most successful contemporary opera libretti, the librettist is either the composer, or a poet. In many ways, the best choice for a modern librettist is to follow the practice of Broadway and let the dialogue be written by a playwrite, reserving the set pieces (and most operas still have set pieces, even Britten) for a poet or lyricist. Certainly, this would have helped this opera to do what opera can do best, soar.