Jake Heggie News

Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents San Francisco Opera: Girls of the Golden West on Thursday and Friday, September 21 and 22, 2017 at 7:30pm.

The New York premieres and world premiere production of Gordon Getty's Scare Pair, a double-bill by the San Francisco-based composer, pairs his two one act-operas -- Usher House and The Canterville Ghost - together for the first time on October 19 and 21 (7:30pm) at The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (located at East 68th Street, between Lexington and Park Avenues).

Since our resident opera critic, Steve Callahan, was appearing in one of the pocket operas produced this past weekend (September 8-9, 2017) by the STL Opera Collective, he asked if I would cover the shows, and I was happy to do so. This is a group that is just in their second season, but judging by the quality of the performances presented they show a great deal of promise. Two short operas were showcased on this occasion; TESLA'S PIGEON (by Melissa Dunphy) and TO HELL AND BACK (music by Jake Heggie and libretto by Gene Scheer). Both are striking, artful productions that move and challenge an audience, and I found them both to be highly engaging and superbly performed.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, announces its 2017 2018 season of Onstage at the Opera Center, which begins on Thursday, October 5, 2017, and runs through May 2018.

Thinking himself worldly and experienced, Don Alfonso decides to relieve his young friends, Ferrando and Gugliemo, of their faith in sexual fidelity. He challenges them to a bet, promising that within 24 hours their fiancees will prove unfaithful. Outraged, they accept, but find the challenge too painfully revealing and too difficult to withstand. Dressed in clown's clothes, these young men break their own hearts and the hearts of their fiancees. A comedy that is a tragedy underneath is the perfect stuff for the uncanny genius of Mozart, so clearly revealed in this dazzling score.

STL Opera Collective is thrilled to present the St. Louis premiere of Tesla's Pigeon by Melissa Dunphy and To Hell and Back by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer on September 8 & 9, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Kranzberg Arts Center Studio Theater, 501 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63103. Tickets are $18 and are available at 314-545-1111 or at www.metrotix.com.

The New York premieres and world premiere production of Gordon Getty's "Scare Pair," a double-bill by the San Francisco-based composer, pairs his two one act-operas -- Usher House and The Canterville Ghost -- together for the first time on October 19 and 21 (7:30pm) at The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (located at East 68th Street, between Lexington and Park Avenues).  Both works, with the libretto and music by Mr. Getty, will be sung in English and have a running time of 60 minutes each.

STL Opera Collective is thrilled to present the St. Louis premiere of Tesla's Pigeon by Melissa Dunphy and To Hell and Back by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer on September 8 & 9, 2017 at 7:30pm at the Kranzberg Arts Center Studio Theater, 501 N Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63103. Tickets are $18 and are available at 314-545-1111 or at www.metrotix.com.

The New York premieres and world premiere production of Gordon Getty's "Scare Pair," a double-bill by the San Francisco-based composer, pairs his two one act-operas -- Usher House and The Canterville Ghost -- together for the first time on October 19 and 21 (7:30pm) at The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (located at East 68th Street, between Lexington and Park Avenues).  Both works, with the libretto and music by Mr. Getty, will be sung in English and have a running time of 60 minutes each.

On September 11th at 4 PM, Utah Opera in partnership with the University of Utah School of Music hosts world-renowned soprano Renee Fleming at Libby Gardner Hall in an eye-opening free lecture exploring the connections between music, health, and the brain. "Music & The Mind" is an hour-long multimedia presentation with Renee Fleming and Norman L. Foster, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Senior Investigator of The Brain Institute at the University of Utah and Director of the Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging and Research. Tickets are not required but seating is limited and first come first served - doors open at 3:30 pm.

From hot air balloons to chocolate and wine, Utah Opera begins its 40th anniversary season with '40 Days of Opera,' community events from September 1 through the opening production of the season in October as a way of honoring the voices of the past, present, and future of opera in Utah.

21C Media Group has announced highlights from its 2017-18 selection of opera, vocal and choral music, featuring concerts, special events, broadcasts and recordings. Scroll down for details!

The Garry Marshall Theatre is proud to present the Tony Award-winning Master Class, the first production of its Inaugural Season. Written by Terrence McNally, directed by Artistic Director Dimitri Toscas, and starring the Emmy-winning Carolyn Hennesy, this rich and vivid comedic play the New York Times calls "zestfully entertaining" will play a limited run September 22 through October 22.

From hot air balloons to chocolate and wine, Utah Opera begins its 40th anniversary season with '40 Days of Opera,' community events from September 1 through the opening production of the season in October as a way of honoring the voices of the past, present, and future of opera in Utah.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City opens its 60th Anniversary season with Tchaikovsky's compelling masterpiece, Eugene Onegin (oh-nyeh-gin with hard 'g') Sept. 30, Oct. 4, 6 and 8 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The production will be sung in Russian with English subtitles.

Stephen Costello, having "risen rapidly to claim a place among the world's best tenors" (Daily Express, UK), steps up his European presence in the coming season. September sees the Tucker Award-winning tenor make his Paris Opera debut with his first German-language account of Camille in The Merry Widow.

Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that three composers, three librettists, and one dramaturg have been selected as Resident Artists to participate in the tenth anniversary season of the company's nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). The artists selected for this prestigious residency and training program are composers Shuying Li, Andy Tierstein, and Liliya Ugay; librettists Lorene Cary, Julian Crouch, and Lila Palmer; and dramaturg Antigoni Gaitana.

Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that three composers, three librettists, and one dramaturg have been selected as Resident Artists to participate in the tenth anniversary season of the company's nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). The artists selected for this prestigious residency and training program are composers Shuying Li, Andy Tierstein, and Liliya Ugay; librettists Lorene Cary, Julian Crouch, and Lila Palmer; and dramaturg Antigoni Gaitana.

The Atlanta Opera's Discoveries series brings Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's The Seven Deadly Sins to Atlanta for the first time. Brian Clowdus, Artistic Director of Serenbe Playhouse, makes his Atlanta Opera directorial debut.

Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that three composers, three librettists, and one dramaturg have been selected as Resident Artists to participate in the tenth anniversary season of the company's nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). The artists selected for this prestigious residency and training program are composers Shuying Li, Andy Tierstein, and Liliya Ugay; librettists Lorene Cary, Julian Crouch, and Lila Palmer; and dramaturg Antigoni Gaitana.