San Francisco Opera premiered its new opera “Dead Man Walking” this weekend. “There is nothing musically offensive about ‘Dead Man Walking’, but to paraphrase Gertrude Stein, there’s not much there there. The aesthetics of ingratiation take an artist only so far, and this is subject matter with far greater needs.” – New York Times
“An opera by a composer of great musical heart.” – Boston Herald
“A crowd pleaser created by artists who are also crowd pleasers in all that they do.” – Los Angeles Times
“We feel worse when we leave “Dead Man” because misery has been hammered home with music, and a point is made, unmusically.” – Orange County Register
Musically, Heggie’s ‘Dead Man Walking’ is an impressive piece of work. Morally, it’s a washout. – Washington Post