KQED Public Television 9 Goes Behind the Curtain of San Francisco Opera's ``Dead Man Walking'' and the Controversy of the Death Penalty in America Today

Business Wire, Sept 4, 2001

Entertainment Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2001

The Making of "Dead Man Walking" and Capital Punishment Debate Are

Told in Parallel Stories that Combine Art, Life and Death

You don't know what it's like to bear a child, raise him, tend to his ills / ...kiss his cuts and bruises, and pray to God he turns out right.

You don't know what it's like to see your baby / Grow up into a beautiful young woman. And then one night...

-- Terrence McNally's libretto from "Dead Man Walking"

In March 1998, San Francisco Opera unveiled its plans at a press conference in New York for a bold production of contemporary American opera, "Dead Man Walking." Lotfi Mansouri -- then-general director of the company -- made the announcement with Sister Helen Prejean, Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie in attendance, and that Patrick Summers would be the conductor, 18 months before the lights dimmed on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House for the world premiere. Many preparations needed to be made in mounting this colossal work with a libretto penned by famed playwright Terrence McNally. Auditions were held and roles cast. Scripts and blocking were written and re-written. Rehearsals upon rehearsals were staged and attended. Sets were constructed. Lighting was plotted and adjusted. Perhaps most importantly, songs, libretto, instruments, musicians and actors were creatively integrated.

But underneath the surface of a normal theatrical and operatic production, there was a cloud of uncertainty. The arts world had a sharp eye on how San Francisco Opera would produce this new and controversial work. Additionally, the production was led by a composer, writer and director whose first experience with creating an opera was "Dead Man Walking." It was a huge risk for San Francisco Opera -- and KQED, who couldn't predict how successful "Dead Man Walking" would be.

Throughout the year, KQED and director/producer Linda Schaller were with San Francisco Opera to capture the collaborative processes that culminated in the world premiere of this provocative performance of "Dead Man Walking." Featuring the narration of renowned Hollywood actress Angela Bassett, the result is a one-hour documentary titled "And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking," premiering on KQED Public Television 9 on Thursday, September 20 at 8 p.m., with an encore Sunday, September 23 at 6 p.m. The documentary will be broadcast nationwide on PBS on Monday, January 14 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).

Across America, there is a renewed public interest in capital punishment -- the various forms of "Dead Man Walking" (book, film and now opera), the 2000 Presidential elections and the multiple high-profile federal executions seemed to catapult the issue to the forefront of the collective American conscience. Is capital punishment morally right? Is it biased in regards to people of color and class status? "And Then One Night" addresses the topic as no news report has, demonstrating the added emotional dimension that music and stories can bring to an important public debate. The documentary incorporates the opinions of both sides of this controversial issue to illustrate its relevance to the American public.

"There's a direct track from being poor in this country, and going to prison and going to death row," said Sister Helen Prejean.

"And Then One Night" includes emotional interviews with dynamic personalities, such as singers Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham and John Packard; author and advocate Sister Helen Prejean; librettist Terrence McNally; composer Jake Heggie; conductor Patrick Summers; set designer Michael Yeargan; costume designer Sam Fleming; former general director of San Francisco Opera Lotfi Mansouri; president of Opera America, Marc Scorca; assistant district attorney of Alameda County James Anderson; actor Mike Farrell of Death Penalty Focus; and representatives from both sides of the capital punishment issue, including family members that have been directly affected by the death penalty.

"Even from the start of this project, I felt it critical to include real people who were from families of both victims and death row inmates," noted Schaller. "But it wasn't until we began editing the footage that I felt the full emotional impact of how their opinions and pain so completely mirrored the music and the characters in the opera. The people and their situations aren't abstract -- the death penalty debate shouldn't be either."

"Dead Man Walking" is an opera that embodies some of the social, spiritual and political challenges of the day, using a modern American tragedy of loss and violence, forgiveness and redemption, as the basis for a uniquely American opera. "Art helps us explore alternatives (to capital punishment), to make new choices and brings us to that deeper place to do it," noted Prejean.

At a time when observers are paying close attention to the development of an emerging canon of contemporary opera, the documentary helps the broader public and experts alike appreciate the complex process of creating a new opera, fine tuning its orchestration and mounting it for its premiere performance.