What secrets do we keep to spare the ones we love? In Jake Heggie's touching chamber opera, aging Broadway star Madeline and her adult children, Charlie and Bea, brave the depths of memory, love, and resentment. Maddy's career took her away from her children after their father died in a tragic accident. Now grown and facing heartaches of their own, they shun her and idolize the father they barely knew. The acclaimed composer of Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick chronicles a family's achingly human struggle to love each other despite disappointment and conflict.

"Sharp and witty and poignant" – Chicago Tribune
"A modern masterpiece" – Opera Today

Contains adult content

PART 1
Madeline (Maddy) Mitchell is a well-known theatrical star, which has not made life easy on her adult children Beatrice (Bea) and Charlie, especially since their father died in a car accident while they were very young. Charlie is bitter towards his mother because she barely acknowledges his lover who is dying of AIDS. When Bea travels to New York to see Maddy perform in a new Broadway production, she tries to convince her mother that Charlie needs their help and support, but Maddy focuses on her own struggles instead. Soon afterwards, Bea goes to San Francisco to see Charlie, and together they evoke the few memories they have their father.

PART 2: Ten years later
Charlie's lover has died, but not before Maddy reached out to reconcile with them both. Maddy has been nominated for a Tony Award, and she is anxious for both of her children to attend the ceremony with her. Bea goes to her mother's apartment to find an appropriate outfit for the occasion, and she enjoys several glasses of wine while waiting for Maddy. Charlie arrives first, and when Maddy finally appears, she tells them that she plans to address the tragedy of AIDS in her acceptance speech. Horrified that Maddy would exploit Charlie's grief, Bea lashes out at her mother. In response, Maddy breaks down and reveals the truth behind their father's death: he was not killed accidentally but committed suicide.

PART 3: Ten years later
Bea and Charlie address the audience at Maddy's memorial service. Charlie is shocked when Bea admits publicly that Maddy loved the theater more than she loved her children, but Bea understands now that the theater gave Maddy freedom. Bea and Charlie take the opportunity to lay both of their parents' souls to rest.

Written by Hannah Smith