Lighting Designer

Joseph De Rocher has been sentenced to death for murder. Armed with her faith, Sister Helen Prejean is accompanying him on his journey to execution. Faced with the raw pain of the victims’ parents and the despair of the murderer’s mother, Sister Helen’s faith is tested in ways she never could have imagined.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera world premiere, Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Dead Man Walking returns to the stage where it all began. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir of the same name, the opera is a searing portrayal of grief, anger, and compassion, hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a masterpiece” in 2000. Since that auspicious premiere, Dead Man Walking has become the most widely performed new opera of the 21st century.

Heggie’s dramatic, lyrical score takes us deep into the humanity of an unthinkable reality. Leonard Foglia’s acclaimed production highlights the emotional nuance and moral complexity at the center of Sister Helen Prejean’s journey. Patrick Summers conducts.

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Dead Man Walking

War Memorial Opera House

The first of its kind ever written, this mariachi opera by José “Pepé” Martínez and Leonard Foglia marries two musical worlds with one thing in common: each finds its fullest voice in the telling of moving tales, and Cruzar is no exception. After leaving his wife and son in Mexico to find work in the United States, Laurentino is torn between distance and duty. Decades later, and with days to live, he looks back on how the choices he made became the secrets he kept, with consequences that will redefine what it means to be a family. With sorrowful serenades, Cruzar creates a seamless musical merger that spans the distance of its cultural differences with sublimely bittersweet songs that make full use of their enhanced ability to take an emotional toll. Grammy-award-winning mariachi band Mariachi los Camperos will perform with Lyric Opera of Kansas City in this production.

Lighting Designer

Brian Nason

Events

Past events

14 - 28 Sep, 2025

Dead Man Walking · San Francisco Opera

7 - 9 Mar, 2025

Cruzar la Cara de la Luna · Lyric Opera of Kansas City

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