Opera Now Critics Choice

Jake Heggie is a Critics Choice for Dead Man Walking
December 2023

As the year draws to a close, Opera Now's critics look back and nominate their top operas from 2023.

'Opera must make people weep, shudder and die,' wrote Vincenzo Bellini, but that sort of cathartic experience is very, very rare. The Metropolitan opened its 2023-2024 season with the company premiere of Jake Heggie's and Terence McNally's Dead Man Walking. The complex story of a murderer's redemption with the guidance and love of a nun was riveting. Ian von Hove's harsh production underscored the violence and chill of prison while his direction of the characters was filled with sensitivity. Ryan McKinny offered a star turn as the penitent killer and Joyce DiDonato offered another in a series of career triumphs as Sister Helen.