Listen Up: Heggie Holds Forth

Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, To Hell and Back, Out of Darkness, and The Radio Hour, a choral opera. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as chamber, choral and orchestral works. Upcoming are two new stage works: Great Scott for The Dallas Opera, starring mezzo Joyce DiDonato, and an opera based on It’s A Wonderful Life for the Houston Grand Opera.

Heggie’s operas – most created with the distinguished writers Terrence McNally and Gene Scheer – have been produced extensively on five continents. Dead Man Walking (McNally) has received 40 productions since its premiere, as well as two live recordings. Moby-Dick (Scheer) was telecast in 2013 as part of Great Performances’ 40th Season and was recently released on DVD (EuroArts). It is also the subject of the book Heggie & Scheer’s Moby-Dick: A Grand Opera for the 21st Century (UNT Press).

Heggie, a Guggenheim Fellow, has served as a mentor to Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative for young composers and librettists for the past three seasons. He is a frequent guest artist for colleges, universities and festivals throughout North America. He has lived in San Francisco since 1993.

On January 21, he will join the amazing Sister Helen Prejean (author of the book Dead Man Walking), beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and several others at Temple Emanu-El for a preview and discussion of Opera Parallele’s bold production of Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking, to be performed in San Francisco February 20-22. On January 25, he will perform his composition Coward/Cabaret with cellist Emil Miland at Noe Valley Chamber Music. The Berkeley Symphony will perform new orchestrations of Heggie’s song cycle Camille Claudel: Into the Fire with mezzo Sasha Cooke and conductor Joana Carneiro on Feb 26.

Here in an exclusive interview with Bay Crossings, Heggie shares some of his latest insights:

Bay Crossings: Given the highly eclectic nature of your musical legacy, where do you find your inspiration? Any aspects of The Bay that have been of particular interest?

Heggie: I find tremendous inspiration living in San Francisco – a city that is energetic, mysterious, filled with light, motion and great beauty. My husband and I live in the Castro, but my studio is in the Haight and I can’t really compose anywhere but there. I am filled with anticipation every time I head to work, knowing something magical will emerge: a new tune, a new ensemble, a new idea. The music I write grows from the stories I’m setting and the characters that inhabit those worlds. My job as a theater composer is to empathize with the characters, listen to them, then illuminate their emotions, actions and lives with music. It’s fascinating, very challenging, often exhausting, and unbelievably rewarding. I’m lucky to write for some of the great singers and opera companies in the world.

Bay Crossings: When our readers are not attending musical events, they are generally “plugged in” on their commute. Any recommendations for their their playlists?

Heggie: I listen to a range of music, from classical and musical theater to big band, swing, and world music … I love k.d. lang, Audra McDonald, Nellie McKay, and have recently discovered Punch Brothers, featuring the amazing mandolinist Chris Thile, who has also recorded Bach Partitas and Sonatas. I’m a sucker for big band singers Jo Stafford, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee and – eternally – Ella Fitzgerald. Of course, I’m also very proud of the music of mine that’s been recorded, especially my recent Here/After: Songs of Lost Voices (on PentaTone Classics) featuring performances by Joyce DiDonato, Talise Trevigne, Stephen Costello and Nathan Gunn. We recorded it up at Skywalker Sound, and the instrumentalists are all from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bay Crossings: Very interesting. And what are you reading these days? Any tips?

Heggie: I recently read Donna Tart’s The Goldfinch and loved it. It’s a rollercoaster of a journey and I found myself in tears at the end. I’ve also been on a kick to read all of Fannie Flagg’s books. It started with Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, and has moved from there to I Still Dream Of You, The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, and on and on … she’s very prolific! There’s a wonderful transparency and immense heart in her work that touches me deeply. It reminds me of San Francisco’s own brilliant Armistead Maupin. And speaking of Armistead, you MUST read his latest books Mary Ann in Autumn and The Days of Anna Madrigal.

Bay Crossings: As a world traveler, you have been exposed to a great many cultures. Where do you go in the Bay Area when you have a nostalgic impulse to relive those experiences?

Heggie: I’m fond of looking out at the water, so I adore walks along the Embarcadero and out at Crissy Field over to Fort Point and the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. That is just breathtaking – and unlike anything you’ll see elsewhere in the world.

Bay Crossings: And of course, we also live in one of the World’s greatest vacation destinations? Where do you take friends and colleagues when they come to visit?

Heggie: I drive them all over the city – up to Twin Peaks, through Golden Gate Park and out along the coast. We visit museums and the California Academy of Sciences. Sometimes they want to rent bikes and ride across the Golden Gate to Sausalito – then take the ferry back. And then there’s shopping at Union Square and all the restaurants we have. I’m particularly fond of Waterbar, Slanted Door, Gary Danko, North Beach Restaurant and Firefly. And then the highlight is always a performance at the opera, symphony, ballet, A.C.T., or everybody’s favorite: Beach Blanket Babylon, which celebrated its 40^th anniversary last year!

Bay Crossings: You have lived here for quite some time. What has changed about the Arts scene? Positive trends…negative ones?

Heggie: The Arts have always been celebrated and embraced in San Francisco. It’s an essential part of the pulse of this community. It’s why I wanted to move here and why I feel so at home . The Arts always struggle for funding – but that’s what also forces them to stay active, vital, connected and current. There is more variety and range now than I’ve ever seen. It’s thrilling.

Bay Crossings: Finally, please tell our readers what you are up to next? Any ground-breaking work in the making?

I’m working on a new opera, Great Scott, based on a brilliant, original story by the great playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, It’s Only A Play), and I think it’s going to be extraordinary: very funny and deeply touching. The director is Tony Award-winner Jack O’Brien (The Full Monty, Hairspray) and it takes us on an emotional journey about the sacrifices we make, whether for love, family, the arts or even professional football. It opens at the Dallas Opera in less than a year – so I need to get it finished soon! Back to work.