Chicago Opera Theater with Music of Rememberance Presents BEFORE IT ALL GOES DARK — Preview

A spokesperson describes the event as follows:

"...This one-act opera is the organization’s fifth commission of composer Jake Heggie and his 21st collaboration with librettist Gene Scheer. The plot is based on the compelling true story of Gerald “Mac” McDonald, a gravely ill and deeply troubled Vietnam War veteran, which was first reported by Howard Reich in the Chicago Tribune. Mac grew up poor, angry, and disenfranchised in the suburbs of Chicago, his family’s Jewish ancestry hidden from him – until Reich tracked him down as part of an investigation inspired by his own family’s experiences during the Holocaust. When Mac learned that he was heir to a priceless art collection stolen by the Nazis, the two men embarked on a quest to Eastern Europe to uncover secrets of the past..."