About the work
Dead Man Walking is an opera by Jake Heggie to a libretto by Terrence McNally, based on Helen Prejean's memoir "Dead Man Walking" (1993) about her spiritual counselling of death-row inmates. San Francisco Opera, which had commissioned the work, gave its premiere on 7 October 2000 at the War Memorial Opera House, directed by Joe Mantello, with Susan Graham as Sister Helen.
Plot
After a young couple is murdered, Joseph De Rocher sits on death row in a Louisiana prison. At his request, Sister Helen Prejean becomes his spiritual counsellor and finds herself caught between his family and the victims' relatives. Wrestling with guilt, compassion and forgiveness, she stays with De Rocher until his execution.
Cultural significance
With well over eighty productions to date, the opera ranks among the most frequently performed works by a living American composer; its 2025 London premiere won the Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.