San Francisco Opera for The Star-Ledger

I got to work for my old friends at The Star-Ledger in Jersey over the past couple weeks for a 9/11 anniversary story.  The San Francisco Opera premiered an opera based on the story of a 9/11 hero from Jersey.  Rick Rescorla lost his life on 9/11 after he led thousands to safety out of the WTC.  The guy was a character, he sang for everyone to calm them down as he made sure they got out safely.  Then he went back in to do one last sweep, and never came out.  He was a security guard in the towers, and had warned they were susceptible to an attack.  The opera, "Heart of a Soldier", tells the story of his life, from wanting to be a soldier as a child, to fighting in Vietnam, to the meeting of his wife, now widow.  I don't know much about opera, but I'm sure this is nothing like the average subject matter.  It's a true story, for one, with a very modern set, and a love story set way later in life.  It was extremely intense to watch, and even more so when I went back and looked at the video after I shot it.  I got to shoot one of their rehearsals, then one of their dress rehearsals at the opera house minus the orchestra.  Watching the video now and hearing soprano Melody Moore, who plays his widow, gives me chills.  It ended up running on A1 on 9/10/11.  Here's a couple of photos from the shoot, and a link to the story and a couple short videos here and here from the Ledger's website.