Critical Reaction
Critical reaction to the opera was generally favorable; in particular, critics praised the sharp, finely delineated performances by the principals and the simple yet effective production. "It was a triumph beyond what even its most optimistic boosters could have predicted" wrote the San Francisco Chronicle's critic. "The reason for the work's appeal lies in its almost perfect fusion of ideas and emotions," wrote The Australian in 2007.
Many also found that McNally's libretto to be among the most finely crafted in recent memory: "…the splendid libretto —by turns plainspoken and eloquent, with wonderful splashes of wry humor to lighten the tone when it most needs it— creates the structural backbone of this wrenching drama".. Although not all of it has been set to music, McNally gave the libretto to Heggie with the express instructions to use whatever portions of it he felt necessary, and to discard the rest.
Read more about this topic: Dead Man Walking (opera)
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