Based on letters from Sister Helen Prejean (“a Catholic religious sister and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty” [wiki]) to death row inmates, this song cycle of Jake Heggie (“composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music…best known for his operas and art songs…” [wiki]) is incredibly unique and passionate. Not only does it pull your heart strings, it ties those strings into knots and demands with both its texts and swelling melodies that you consider what prisoners go through mentally and emotionally. Quoting from the main letter of Sister Prejean titled “Dear Young Person” that inspired this cycle,“I never dreamed that two years later the man on the other end of my letters was actually going to be electrocuted to death by the state of Louisiana. Much less that I’d be there with him and as he’s dying he’s going to look at my face. Surprise…just ride the Wave.” Both Sister Helen Prejean and Jake Heggie are alive today, and I encourage you to look into the human rights of inmates as well. The closely related Dead Man Walking opera that Heggie debuted in 2015 is also based on Sister Prejean’s novel of the same name, both works being highly regarded and influential in both contemporary opera and human rights (music.indiana.edu).