Heggie & Scheer’s Another Sunrise & Before It All Goes Dark

Heggie & Scheer’s Another Sunrise & Before It All Goes Dark
November 12-22, 2026

Piedmont Opera presents the North Carolina premieres of two powerful one-act operas by Grammy Award–winning composer Jake Heggie and Pulitzer Prize–winning librettist Gene Scheer. Performed together in one unforgettable evening, Another Sunrise and Before It All Goes Dark explore memory, resilience, hope, and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Another Sunrise tells the extraordinary story of Holocaust survivor and resistance writer Krystyna Żywulska, whose poems and songs became acts of defiance inside Auschwitz-Birkenau. Before It All Goes Dark follows Vietnam veteran Gerald “Mac” McDonald as his search for his family’s past uncovers a stolen Holocaust-era legacy, inspired by the reporting of Chicago Tribune journalist Howard Reich.

Adding a particularly meaningful dimension to these performances, a member of the orchestra will play one of the Violins of Hope, a restored instrument connected to the experiences of Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. This special instrument serves as a powerful symbol of remembrance, resilience, and the enduring voice of music.

Both operas are performed in English, making these moving stories accessible to audiences. Performances take place at Hanesbrands Theatre.