American composer Jake Heggie’s masterpiece, the most widely performed new opera of the last 20 years, has its highly anticipated Met premiere, in a haunting new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s beautiful and poignant music and a brilliant libretto by Terrence McNally. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for this landmark premiere, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The outstanding cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and legendary mezzo-soprano Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere—as De Rocher’s mother.

The Met: Live in HD is the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning series of live high-definition cinema simulcasts. Simulcasts feature the full performance along with backstage interviews and commentary.

Tickets $25 ($22 members, $18 students, $5 children 15 and under). Advance registration encouraged; capacity is limited. No refunds.

This production contains adult themes and strong language, along with dramatic depictions of intense adult content.

Joyce DiDonato as Sister Helen Prejean and Ryan McKinny as Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking." Image: Paola Kudacki / Met Opera