Annilese Miskimmon Directs New Production of Jake Heggie's DEAD MAN WALKING

English National Opera (ENO) will bring a new production of the compelling death row opera Dead Man Walking to the London Coliseum stage this November. Directed by ENO's Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon and featuring a poignant score by renowned composer Jake Heggie, it marks the 25th anniversary of this ground-breaking opera.  

The opera's plot is based on the true story of a Louisiana nun, Sister Helen Prejean, who becomes the spiritual advisor to a convicted murderer on death row. It is taken from Prejean's bestselling 1993 memoirs, also adapted into a 1995 Oscar-winning film of the same name – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. 

A new national and international co-production between ENO, Opera North and the Finnish National Opera, this is the first fully staged professional production of Heggie's iconic work to be performed in the UK. Operatic heavyweights Christine Rice and Michael Mayes perform the roles of Sister Helen Prejean and the incarcerated Joseph De Rocher respectively.  

Dead Man Walking is the most widely performed opera of the 21st century. There have been over 80 productions of it worldwide since it premiered in 2000 at San Francisco Opera, which originally commissioned the work (and which will also stage a special run to celebrate its 25th year). The opera's development was chronicled in the Emmy-nominated documentary And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking. 

American composer Jake Heggie is considered one of the greatest living opera and song composers. His compositions, which include the acclaimed operas Moby-Dick (2010), Three Decembers (2008) and Intelligence (2023), have led critics to name him ‘arguably the world's most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer' (The Wall Street Journal). His work has been performed on five continents, and he regularly collaborates with some of the world's most beloved artists. ENO staged a new production of Heggie's 2016 opera It's a Wonderful Life (starring Danielle De Niese) to acclaim in 2022.  

Belfast-born, internationally acclaimed director Annilese Miskimmon has been Artistic Director of ENO since 2020. Miskimmon continues to direct productions around the world as well as at ENO; recent highlights include the ‘superb' (The Telegraph) The Dead City (Die tote Stadt), the ‘powerful staging' of The Handmaid's Tale that ‘leaves a striking impression' (The Stage), and most recently the ‘haunting' (The Guardian) Suor Angelica. She is known for her commitment to modern work and engaging new audiences.  

Annilese Miskimmon says: ‘The opportunity to direct a new production of Jake Heggie's emotionally gripping opera Dead Man Walking in its 25th anniversary year, with the likes of Christine Rice, Michael Mayes and Dame Sarah Connolly among the cast, is a true honor. The themes of morality, guilt and forgiveness that the opera tackles feel as relevant today as they did a quarter of a century ago, and I can't wait to bring a new production to the ENO audience.' 

Taking up the baton with his ‘superb technique' (Backtrack) is rising star British-Cypriot conductor Kerem Hasan, who will lead the Orchestra and Chorus of ENO and an exciting cast of operatic soloists. Winner of the 2017 Nestlé and Saltzburg Festival Young Conductors Award, Hasan is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.  

Starring as conflicted nun Sister Helen is Christine Rice MBE, ‘one of the world's great mezzos' (The Arts Desk). Rice has performed around the world at venues including the Royal Opera House, New York's Metropolitan Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Teatro Real and with ENO, for which she has sung the roles of Erda (Das Rheingold), Marguerite (The Damnation of Faust) and the title role in Gloriana, among others.  
 
Opposite her as convicted murderer Joseph De Rocher is international baritone Michael Mayes. He reprises the role for ENO having made an explosive international debut as Joseph De Rocher in Teatro Real (Madrid)'s 2018 production of Dead Man Walking, opposite Joyce DiDonato and at the Barbican's 2018 semi-stage concert, where his performance ‘was a revelation' (The Times) and ‘nothing short of sensational' (Bachtrack). A native Texan, Mayes has enjoyed a distinguished operatic career singing both traditional and contemporary roles throughout the US and Europe.  

Making a welcome return to the ENO stage is Dame Sarah Connolly, who plays Joseph's mother, forced to plead for her son's life. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire spanning 20th century and contemporary works. She has a longstanding history with ENO, having performed in productions including Xerxes (1998), Medea (2013), Orpheus and Eurydice (2019) and, most recently, The Dead City (2023, also directed by Annilese Miskimmon). Connolly was awarded The King's Medal for Music, awarded to an outstanding individual who has had a major influence on the musical life of the nation. 

Also returning to the London Coliseum is the ‘showstopping (The Telegraph) Trinidadian tenor Ronald Samm, who takes on the role of prison chaplain Father Grenville. His previous productions for ENO include Mary, Queen of Scots, Peter Grimes and It’s a Wonderful Life.  

The role of Sister Rose is performed by Harewood Artist soprano Madeline Boreham, who graduated from the Royal College of Music this summer. Winner of second place at the 2024 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, Boreham made a spectacular debut for ENO in last season’s production of La boheme, taking to the Coliseum stage for several performances while covering the role of Mimi. 

She will be joined by South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo making his role debut as Owen Hart, the father of one of the teenagers murdered by De Rocher. A former ROH Jette Parker Young Artist, Imbrailo was the winner of the Audience Prize at the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and he has gone on to become one of the most sought-after artists. His wife, Kitty Hart, is played by soprano Gweneth Ann Rand, currently an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall. She returns to ENO following her appearance in ENO’s acclaimed 2024 production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.  

The parents of the other murdered teenager, Howard and Jade Boucher, are played by fellow Australians, tenor Hubert Francis and mezzo-soprano Catherine Carby respectively.  

Joining them as Sister Helen’s fellow nuns Sister Catherine and Sister Lillianne are rising star young singers, soprano Olivia Rose Tringham and Harewood Artist mezzo-soprano Amy Holyland respectively.  
 
Completing the cast are Marcus Swietlicki and Michael Lafferty as Joseph De Rocher’s brothers, Malachy Frame and Harewood Artist Alaric Green as prison guards, Romanian American baritone Andrew Manea as Warden George Benton and former Harewood Artist, tenor Zwakele Tshabalala as the Motorcycle Cop.