Heart of a Soldier

About

Francesca Zambello’s production of Heart of a Soldier spans a half-century in just over two hours, maintaining briskness and clarity throughout. The staging employs dynamic projections by S. Katy Tucker and sharply defined physical action by Rick Sordelet to navigate shifts from Cornwall to Vietnam to the World Trade Center. Peter J. Davison’s sets and Jess Goldstein’s costumes situate the action across changing eras, from mid-20th-century England to contemporary corporate spaces. Theofanidis’s score mixes propulsive march rhythms with broad orchestral textures that reflect the protagonist’s emotional trajectory. The visual and musical languages work in tandem to underline the opera’s military and human themes. The production culminates in a harrowing, theatrical depiction of September 11, using video, falling papers, and smoke to evoke the towers’ collapse.