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.

A centerpiece of Piedmont Opera's 50th Anniversary Season, this landmark production features North Carolina-based artists, with stage direction by Tonya McKinny and innovative projections by acclaimed bass-baritone Ryan McKinny. Performances take place at Hanesbrands Theatre, operated by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County—the nation's first arts council and the oldest established arts council in the United States.

Piedmont Opera is partnering with local Jewish organizations, Holocaust education leaders, Wake Forest University, and the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust to expand the experience through educational programming, panel discussions, and curriculum resources supporting Holocaust education across North Carolina.

Funding provided in part by the Tri-M Foundation.