Virginia Opera is readying its production of Intelligence (Norfolk, January 30, February 1; Richmond, February 6, 8; and Fairfax, February 14, 15); this will be only the second production of this opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. This team collaborated on five previous full-length operas, including Moby-Dick and Three Decembers, as well as many shorter works and songs. Mr. Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking, with librettist Terence McNally, is arguably the most popular contemporary opera. They are considered leaders in their fields today. Intelligence also has another hook for Virginians besides the stature of its creators – it is based on a true story that happened in Richmond during the Civil War, a tale about spies inspired by real events, women spies who formed a team, one a wealthy white woman and the other was her black slave; what happened, you say? The opera premiered with Houston Grand Opera in 2023 and has been nominated for best opera recording for the 2026 Grammy Awards. Intelligence was a success with both audiences and critics, who considered it a significant new American opera.
Ashley Dixon as Elizabeth Van Lew and Jacqueline Echols McCarley as Mary Jane Bowser as Civil War spies in Virginia Opera’s production of Intelligence. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.
The storyline about the bravery and under-appreciated intelligence of a wealthy, white, union-favoring owner and her educated, black, union-favoring slave, operating an intelligence gathering ring in the capital of the Confederacy, is certainly compelling, and there is another side to this story that might hit even harder than the dangerous intelligence gathering espionage. However, this is an opera, so what about the music? Who better to ask than Virginia Opera’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Adam Turner, so I arranged to call him, and ever gracious, he took the time to chat. I offered some questions to help focus the discussion.
Adam Turner, currently in his eighth season as Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of Virginia Opera (following four seasons as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor),
What makes you decide to attend a new opera? What questions are you considering when you attend?
Artistic Director Turner said he was always scouting for new stories and performers he might bring to Virginia audiences. He is also especially interested in having Virginia Opera produce operas with connections to Virginia, either storyline, composers, or performers. He had received a grant from Opera America’s New Works Exploration Fund which provided travel funds, so he started checking around for what might have promise. He saw that Houston Grand Opera was presenting a new opera titled Intelligence in 2023. The story sounded interesting, and the composer and librettist were friends whose work he greatly admires, having performed many of their works and worked in a workshop with the team. He had selected Three Decembers for performances in Virginia in 2024. He knew that attending Intelligence would put him in good hands. When he found out that this Civil War story took place in Richmond, he said to himself, why Texas?! This opera should be performed in Richmond he thought, one of Virginia Opera’s three performance venues. Okay, but what about the music?
What was your first impression of the music in Intelligence?
Maestro Turner said that once he heard the music, he became excited to perform it. He prepared to hear Intelligence by asking his friends, Jake and Gene, for a copy of the score and libretto; then, he played as much as he could on the piano before attending. He felt at the time that this was one of the team’s best works, and being a Virginia story, he felt it needed to be presented in Virginia. He said that he is most impressed with the use of harmony and use of rhythmic patterns in Heggie’s music. He had loved the music in Heggie’s Three Decembers, which VO performed in 2022 (I agree). He says the music in Intelligence is melodramatic, with strategic use of dissonance, and melodies that became earworms for him, difficult to shut off when he went home at night. Sometimes the music is reminiscent of musical theater. When I mentioned that I had enjoyed the arias in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking that had more of a New Orleans blues sound and wished for more, he said Intelligence was Heggie’s bluesiest opera yet.
He said that while operatic, it is also frequently cinematic in its use of music. He noted that the cinematic element of the score for Intelligence was perhaps especially exemplified in the music played during scene changes. He also stated that in a sense the score included a percussion concerto, providing rhythms for African dance and interesting sounds throughout, adding an eerie mood to some scenes. “Percussion instruments used throughout the score include Timpani, Crotales, Chimes Xylophone, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Congas, Tom-toms, Tamtam, Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Hi-Hat, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Tambourine, Claves, Anvil, Slapstick, Triangle. There are several effects indicated throughout the score which add to the eeriness of certain moments – brushed cymbals or brushed Tamtam evoking a haunting “swish” sound, cymbals played with hard and soft mallets, bowed Vibraphone, etc.” Something I will look forward to hearing.
Jacqueline Echols McCarley as Mary Jane Bowser and Cierra Byrd as Lucinda, with dancers Noelani Corey-Barr, Amaya Weston, and Christine C. Wyatt. Photo by Dave Pearson Photography; courtesy of Virginia Opera.
If you heard a work that you didn’t know, would something make your think it might be Heggie?
He said that Heggie’s composing voice had a catchy quality to it that it made it easy for him to identify the composer’s work. He used an example of two other composers, “Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim in Conversation – JRB sent a melody (no harmony or tempo/style indication provided) to SS who re-harmonized the piece by Brown; in the concert JRB played his original harmonization first, then Sondheim played his ‘re-harmonization’ after Brown, and it sounded more like Sondheim’s music. (This entire exchange can be heard on the Jason Robert Brown/Stephen Sondheim Live in Concert album - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCUeumgAjb8). The whole point of this exchange implies that much of a composer’s ‘voice’ can be identified by harmony and rhythm”.
Did the singers find it easy or difficult to make the vocals theirs?
Conductor Turner said that Heggie was very attuned to voice and composed vocals in a way that allowed leeway for interpretation. His singers had risen to the occasion. His role was to tailor the musical expression to fit the singer’s voices. Some of the singers were familiar with the music because they had served as covers in the previous production: mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon covered the role of Elizabeth Van Lew for HGO; tenor Edward Graves covered the role of Wilson.
What changes are made for VO’s production?
Maestro Turner said that there are no musical changes to the score for VO’s production and only a couple of words for the libretto. He said there would be around 40-50 players for this production, only slightly fewer strings than used in the Houston production.
He added that “the Houston Grand Opera’s stage is larger than VO’s venues. A completely different production (scenic design, costume design, staging, and choreography) would be needed. VO veteran director Kyle Lang came on board for this production, his 11th VO opera. Adam also sought out scenic designer Steven C. Kemp to contribute, who did such an excellent job for him with VO’s production of Carmen. Mr. Lang (the director) also has dance experience useful for this production which has an important element of dance. The dance is being choreographed by Christine Wyatt, a DMV based choreographer, performer.”
How was Intelligence received in its first performance?
“Very well. Enthusiastically, there was frequent spontaneous applause, for the dancers as well as the singers. The story offered high drama. It pulled at the heartstrings. The action was fast and exciting. The music was romantic and lyrical.” That’s good enough for this blogger to look forward to attending.
I’d also like to add a closing note on that other thing, the one that might hit harder (ok, here is a hint: it involves the relationship between the two women, owner and slave). I listened to VO’s virtual book club discussion about the primary source for the opera’s storyline; to use Virginia Opera’s own words: “Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy by Elizabeth R. Varon, a riveting account of a remarkable Richmond woman who built a covert pro-Union intelligence network during the Civil War”. Author Varon was in attendance and so was librettist Gene Scheer who used these characters to create the storyline in Intelligence. Author Varon, a professor of history at UVA, offered many interesting details about her book, its time, and events in the lives of the real two women after the war. Librettist Scheer added a perspective that was also enlightening. He stated that his goal was not necessarily to have the libretto report what happened accurately but to get the feelings right! History doesn’t record the feelings. He used a term I loved: he said that he and Jake were “emotional archeologists”.
So, when we attend Intelligence, we shouldn’t expect to just see and hear what these emotional archeologists have excavated, but importantly, look forward to experiencing it.
The Fan Experience: Virginia Opera has scheduled performances of Intelligence for Norfolk, January 30, February 1; Richmond, February 6, 8; and Fairfax, February 14, 15. The opera lasts around two hours and is sung in English with English subtitles with one intermission.
If you are interested in a deeper dive, there are several online programs you might access:
“Let’s Talk Opera: Intelligence“by Joshua Borths - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCF27UTcGvI
OV’s Virtual Book Club discussion on Southern Lady, Yankee Spy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUtuuGTzyuk
Recording of the opera music and singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1utN36wufg&list=OLAK5uy_nY4Y21iyKlAVpsoBDVuODnFqRbmPjP_h4