Execution of Powerful Art

What makes art powerful is having an element that can grab your attention and keep you engaged.  In Puccini’s Tosca, the first 5 chords of the Scarpia motif grab your attention.  Verdi sets up Rigoletto with a brooding prelude, creating a real sense of curiosity.  In the case of American composer Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking, the first scene will either make you want to watch the whole thing or feel so terribly uncomfortable you will not want to stay for the rest.  In a nutshell, it’s a scene of rape and murder. 

I am a major fan of Jake Heggie’s works and especially love Dead Man Walking.  I have seen the movie, listened to the opera, and have been fortunate enough to perform a scene from it.  But nothing, NOTHING, prepared me for seeing it live.

Union Avenue Opera put on the Missouri premiere of Dead Man Walking this past August.   It is always a risky endeavor for a small company to put on a modern work, even one as frequently produced as Dead Man Walking.  Fortunately, St. Louis has a very appreciative audience for opera.  I saw the show three times and every night was almost a full house. 

Dead Man Walking is based on the book of the same title by Sister Helen Prejean.  She was the spiritual advisor to Patrick Sonnier, an inmate on death row for the murder and rape of a young girl and boy in late seventies Louisianna.  After his final appeal was denied, Sister Helen worked to help him admit to his participation in the murders and finally accompanied him to his execution. 

Dead Man Walking is Jake Heggie’s first opera, commissioned by the San Francisco Opera in 2000.  Listening to the music, it’s safe to say Jake Heggie hit it out of the ball park.  Every compositional aspect of the music was descriptive of the situations of the story and emotions of the characters.  The orchestra, lead by Artistic Director Scott Schoonover, handled the tough composition with precision and artistry. 

The stage was lined with chain link fence with several moveable platforms of fencing.  The balconies just above the stage were set up as prison cells.  It was a very minimal set with a few simple props that helped describe the starkness of the story.  Lead by stage director Tim Ocel, each scene in the show was properly executed and segued to the next, allowing the actors to help build the drama.  A stand out scene was the opening depicting the rape and murder of the young kids.  Watching a young girl being raped, it was definitely unsettling.

Union Avenue brought in mezzo soprano Elise Quagliata for the role of Sister Helen and Jordan Shanahan for the role of condemned inmate Joseph deRocher.  Elise Quagliata was on stage for almost the entire show except two scenes.  Her vocal and dramatic stamina to carry the role from start to finish was nothing short of miraculous.  She played the role with such character, bringing the lighthearted and quirky nature of Sister Helen out in a truthful and understanding way.  Jordan Shanahan’s rich voice was a perfect match for the convicted criminal.  Even in deRocher's angriest and hatefilled moments, Shanahan was able to touch the audience and give them hope that he just may find the redemption Sister Helen was working so hard to help him find.

Union Avenue is a company that likes to use its local and regional talent.  Debra Hillabrand as Mrs. deRocher, Joseph's mother, and Clark Sturdevant as Father Grenville, the prison chaplain, were stand out examples of St. Louis’ local talent.  As the chaplain, Sturdevant provided a lovely and rich tenor quality in an otherwise non lyric role.  Debra Hillabrand was easily the heartbreaker of the show.  It was impossible to not cry as she sat in front of the pardon board crying and pleading for her son's life.  It was truly a performance beyond measure.  Other stand out performances were Cecilia Stearman as the teenage boy's mother Jade Boucher, Thomas Sitzler as a prison guard, Marlissa Hudson as Sister Rose, and Phil Touchette as the state trooper. 

The Union Avenue Opera Chorus added much to the drama of the story.  While the women of the chorus were only on at the very beginning and in the finales, the men were on stage in the prison cells for most of the opera.  The men of the chorus sang an unnerving sequence as Sister Helen walked through Death Row to visit deRocher for the first time.  In the final scene as deRocher was marched to the execution room, the voices of the chorus sang the most harrowing Our Father I have ever heard in my life.  It was truly the most terrifying thing I have seen or heard on the stage.

I can safely say I walked away from this production quite a changed person.  On a personal level, the show makes you think about capital punishment and the treatment of convicts and those suffering from the crimes.  On an artistic level, it is so wonderful to see a modern work of a large scale like this one.  Union Avenue Opera should be very proud of its work and artists.  I hope to see more work of this caliber from them.