As operas worldwide struggle to manage tight budgets and find ways to attract new audiences, the decision by San Francisco Opera to stage a new work by composer Jake Heggie, Dead Man Walking, seemed like a perfect solution to both problems. What better way to attract people who would not normally go to the opera, than through a contemporary piece based on a successful novel and Academy Award-winning Hollywood film?
The world premiere in October 2000 played to packed houses and critical acclaim in San Francisco and was subsequently co-commissioned by a further seven American opera houses. But it was also a turning point for one of the starring cast members. The opportunity to play Joe de Rocher, the inmate facing execution on death row, launched the international career of New Zealand-born baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Although he performed in three of the nine San Francisco Opera performances, says Rhodes, it was enough to provide an insight into what it was like performing for major American opera houses.
