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The opera moves from backstage preparations at Ford’s Theatre to a performance of Tom Taylor’s comedy before Lincoln, then to the assassination and its aftermath. Actors embody both the play’s characters and the historical events: Booth shoots Lincoln, the company tries to continue, Laura Keene cradles the dying president, and the actors face arrest and loss.
In 1806, Irish Catholic immigrants Dominic Daley and James Halligan await execution for a murder they may not have committed. Father Cheverus travels from Boston to comfort them despite believing them guilty, while Daley’s wife Finola challenges the case by revealing doubts about a witness’s testimony. The governor denies an appeal, and Cheverus ultimately delivers the execution oration after gaining the men’s trust.
Eric Sawyer’s opera adapts Barry Werth’s biography of literary scholar Newton Arvin and depicts the scandal that disrupted his life. The cast also includes Ned Spofford and Truman Capote.
The opera moves from backstage preparations at Ford’s Theatre to a performance of Tom Taylor’s comedy before Lincoln, then to the assassination and its aftermath. Actors embody both the play’s characters and the historical events: Booth shoots Lincoln, the company tries to continue, Laura Keene cradles the dying president, and the actors face arrest and loss.
In 1806, Irish Catholic immigrants Dominic Daley and James Halligan await execution for a murder they may not have committed. Father Cheverus travels from Boston to comfort them despite believing them guilty, while Daley’s wife Finola challenges the case by revealing doubts about a witness’s testimony. The governor denies an appeal, and Cheverus ultimately delivers the execution oration after gaining the men’s trust.
Eric Sawyer’s opera adapts Barry Werth’s biography of literary scholar Newton Arvin and depicts the scandal that disrupted his life. The cast also includes Ned Spofford and Truman Capote.