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Throughout his career, opera composer Jake Heggie has taken on big American stories. His first evening-length work, “Dead Man Walking,” was based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir of working with death row inmates. “Moby-Dick” followed, adapted from Herman Melville’s leviathan novel. “I like taking on big projects that terrify me,” Heggie, smiling, remarked in a recent interview.
Oct 21, 2018 Oh what a wonderful life Oi Debbie downer what’s your problem? Don’t wanna be here, still call shotgun You got the fomo coursing through my veins. This is not a drill no, this is the real world.
“And I don’t like to repeat myself.” Still, opera lovers everywhere were surprised — OK, stunned — when Heggie announced a few years back that his next opera would be “It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra’s beloved 1946 film, an American holiday classic, seemed untouchable. Yet Heggie and his frequent librettist, Gene Scheer, took it on.
Now, with the opera set to make its West Coast premiere at San Francisco Opera, Heggie says it was the right choice. “It’s a story about the ripple effect of good deeds,” said Heggie. “I think that’s a message we need always — and especially now.” Talking about the opera, Heggie said it began at Houston Grand Opera soon after the premiere of “Moby-Dick.” Patrick Summers, HGO’s music director, mentioned that the company was going to commission a series of holiday operas. “He suggested a couple of ideas,” said Heggie, “but none of them really registered. I started thinking about iconic Christmas stories — ones that hadn’t been treated as an opera yet.
The minute ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ popped into my head, I was locked in and focused on it. It has a kind of mythological feel; it has beloved characters.
It’s part of our national identity.” Capra’s film, which was based on a story by Philip Van Doren Stern, finds everyman George Bailey approaching the holidays in crisis — the kind of crisis that takes the character to the brink of suicide. “He’s wondering about his own place on Earth,” notes Heggie.
“He starts out so optimistic, but little by little, he sees his dreams disappearing.” It takes an intervention by the angel Clarence to convince George that his life has value. The opera departs from Capra’s film in significant ways: Heggie and Scheer turned Clarence into the high-singing Clara. “In opera, vocal casting is everything,” says Heggie. “I didn’t want two men singing together all night. A soprano and tenor together is much more interesting to the ear.” Yet Heggie and Scheer took pains to capture the essence of the story. “We really tried to get the sense of magic realism in these two worlds colliding,” said Heggie, “a musical language that would represent the heavens as well as the town of Bedford Falls — and how those worlds commingle.” Conducted by Summers and directed by Leonard Foglia, who reprise their roles in San Francisco, the opera premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2016 and went on to performances at Indiana University. Since then, Heggie and Scheer have tweaked the production, cutting almost 15 percent of the score, beefing up arias and adding duets.
One thing hasn’t changed: Tenor William Burden, who sang the role of George Bailey in both previous productions, returns to it in this one. “He was the right choice from the beginning,” said Heggie. “He’s got that bright, optimistic sound in his voice. The minute you see him onstage, you care about him, so when things go wrong, you really feel for him.” For Burden, whose past S.F. Opera appearances range from Tom in “A Rake’s Progress” to Laca in “Jenufa,” George has become a signature role. “It’s a Wonderful Life” has always been one of his favorite holiday movies, and he says the opera takes it to another level.
“It is, on its face, a somewhat dark piece,” Burden explained. “But it’s the redemption that we always take from the film. Jake and Gene wrote it with such a sense of grace. It’s always this wonderful music that lifts it out of those dark moments. That’s one of the most endearing things about Jake’s music. He’s not afraid to write a tune that you will just fall in love with and leave the theater humming — beautiful melodies that are truly transformative.” For Heggie, who is already at work with Scheer on a new opera — “If I Were You,” which will premiere next August as part of Merola Opera’s summer season — “It’s a Wonderful Life” is finally complete. “It’s funny,” he said.
“When I first started telling people I was going to do ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ they said ‘Oh, a comedy!’ “Yes, there is laughter and joy in it. But I think that sense of redemption is what people take away. It’s powerful.
When that happens, there’s just this amazing feeling. That’s why I thought it would be operatic. The stakes are so high – it’s really life and death. Sometimes, we forget about that, but it really is the core of this piece.” Contact Georgia Rowe at [email protected]. ‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’ By Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, presented by S.F. Opera When: Nov.
9 Where: War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco Tickets: $26-$398; 415-864-3330; RELATED EVENTS Inspired by themes in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” San Francisco Opera has announced a new initiative designed to promote civic engagement. In conjunction with the community organizations Community Housing Partnership and Compass Family Services, the company’s “Earn Your Wings” program hopes to promote essential work with homeless and at-risk families in the city’s Civic Center and Tenderloin neighborhoods. The company will extend these partnerships into the future, but here are few of the initiative’s activities the public can join now. “Learn, Give and Share”: Share stories about work that has made a difference by members of Community Housing Partnership, Compass Family Services and their clients on the #EarnYourWings webpage at sfopera.com.
WonderfulSF: Join each organization’s holiday giving program in the form of holiday gifts and household donations. Visit the #EarnYourWings page for details. Celebrate the Angels: Post about those who make a difference in the community on the #EarnYourWings Facebook group. Opera will feature selected stories on the #EarnYourWings page. SPECIAL EVENTS Nov. 16: Public Panel discussion on social impact themes from “It’s a Wonderful Life: visit the #EarnYourWings webpage for details. 24: Family Day Celebration from 11:30 a.m.
– 2 p.m., War Memorial Courtyard at Franklin and Fulton Streets, outside the War Memorial Opera House. Crafts, food trucks, family activities and more. Information at.
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