With a run beginning on Saturday, November 17, San Francisco Opera at the War Memorial Opera House will present composer Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life, adapted from the 1946 film classic that starred Jimmy Stewart and Donna Read, and from Philip Van Doren Stern’s story The Greatest Gift. We cannot wait to see this opera on the holiday season favorite, especially given Heggie’s involvement.
Throughout his life, Heggie overcame numerous challenges, from the suicide death of his father to a neurological condition that cut short his high-flying career as a pianist. The openly gay musician refused to give up, and instead put his energies into composing, with notable compositions including Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick. Heggie is now one of the world’s preeminent contemporary opera composers, with both musicians and audiences appreciating his ability to explore character and drama through the various facets of his art.
His work takes him around the globe, but his base is here in San Francisco, where he shares a home with husband Curt Branom—a talented singer and actor. We are grateful that Heggie recently took time out of his busy schedule for an interview.
San Francisco Bay Times: How did you get the idea to create this work and to turn the holiday movie into an opera?
Jake Heggie: Just after the premiere of Moby-Dick in 2010, my good friend and close collaborator, the conductor Patrick Summers, invited me to write a holiday opera for the Houston Grand Opera. We considered many stories, but I was particularly interested in finding an iconic American Christmas story that people return to year after year. I’m not sure when It’s a Wonderful Life actually popped into my head, but I knew immediately it was the right one. At its core, it’s an operatic story with high stakes; iconic, beloved characters; holiday spirit and joy; as well as a great sense of redemption. It holds a universal message that is always needed and welcome: the unknowable ripple effect of good deeds in the community—and that there are always angels among us.
San Francisco Bay Times: With whom did you collaborate to make this new work?
Jake Heggie: I was fortunate to work with my closest collaborators, starting with librettist Gene Scheer. By now we’ve created five operas and more than 50 art songs together. We also worked with the fabulous Moby-Dick dream team: director Leonard Foglia, designer Robert Brill, projection designer Elaine McCarthy, lighting designer Brian Nason and choreographer Keturah Stickann. They created incredible magic with that production, and we knew that’s what it would take to transfer It’s a Wonderful Life to the stage.
San Francisco Bay Times: The movie has a rather dark side, since the character of George Bailey is contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve. Is your operatic take on the story more uplifting and hopeful?
Jake Heggie: Our goal was to show the joy, beauty, romance and possibility that surrounds George throughout his life, so that this one dark moment has particular resonance. I think many people can identify with George—someone who feels he has given and given, but can’t see or really appreciate the good things that have happened because of him. It’s a universal message that crosses all borders: every life matters, and the ripple effect of your good deeds is immeasurable.
San Francisco Bay Times: What was the difficult part of composing an opera based on such a famous film and story? How long did it take you to compose the work? Would you characterize your operatic work as melodious and accessible to the audience?
Jake Heggie: I love big arching lyricism that allows us into the hearts of the characters, where music really takes flight. My writing is tonal and accessible but full of surprises, as well as some big melodies. There are beautiful soaring arias, ensembles and even dance numbers in this opera! The toughest part in creating the opera was figuring out how to tell the story for the opera stage, because you can’t put a movie on the stage. You have to reinvent and hope the audience will go with you. We started this in 2012 and opened in Houston in December 2016. We have worked hard on the opera since, including a production last year at Indiana University. So, the opera is arriving fully formed in San Francisco. I’m thrilled with it and can’t wait to share it!
San Francisco Bay Times: Your first opera was Dead Man Walking, which was commissioned by San Francisco Opera and premiered right here. What was that like, composing for the big theater? What is your process in composing? Do you first create a piano vocal score followed by composing all of the vocal parts and finally the orchestration?
Jake Heggie: It is thrilling to write for a big theater! I love a challenge and I love opera—what it can do for a large community. There is something magical about being part of a large audience and experiencing an opera together. We set our differences aside and experience a big human drama together—laugh together, cry together—and that can open up dialogues and perspectives that weren’t there before.
In terms of process, before the words or the music is the story. That is primary. Everything has to be in service of the story and how we decide to tell our version. So, there is much back and forth between me and the librettist. Then he starts writing and sends me material. Lots of back and forth. Then I start writing. Lots more back and forth. I write everything by hand and craft the piano/vocal score first. We’ll do at least one workshop—maybe more—to hear the piece come off the page. Once we feel it’s in good shape, then I orchestrate.
San Francisco Bay Times: Which composers have influenced your style of composition? Have you felt inspired by musical theater composers as well as classical music composers? What about pop singers and artists? Have they influenced your style?
Jake Heggie: I think I’ve been influenced in one way or another by everything I’ve ever heard! That definitely started when I was growing up with movies, musicals, jazz, pop and rock. My dad was a fan of classic big band music and singers like Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. Specific composers who’ve influenced me include Sondheim, Bernstein, Gershwin, Rodgers, Britten, Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel, Mozart, Chopin, Puccini, Verdi, Janacek, Tchaikovsky, etc. It’s a long list! Certainly, I’ve been very influenced by great pop singers like Barbra Streisand, k.d. lang, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, and yes, even Lady Gaga. But also great opera stars throughout history. I didn’t find opera until I was in my late 20s, but once bitten I was forever hooked.
San Francisco Bay Times: Next summer, San Francisco Opera’s affiliate artist training program, the Merola Opera Program, has commissioned you for a new work entitled If I Were You. Can you tell us about this, explaining the story?
Jake Heggie: I’m very excited about this project because I’ve been thinking about it for almost 15 years, and I absolutely love the Merola Opera Program. It’s a perfect fit. The story is a modern take on the Faust legend, based on a French novel by Julien Green. A young man wishes he could be anyone else, so he makes a deal with the devil and by singing an ancient phrase, he can transfer his soul and essence into another person. He moves from person to person to person, a lost soul in search of a place where he feels loved, successful and powerful. But the grass isn’t always greener, so it’s a fraught journey. It is a big, rich landscape for an opera with meaty roles for singers. I just finished the piano/vocal score and am now orchestrating. It opens in August next year.
San Francisco Bay Times: We understand that you are married to your partner, who is a star performer in the long-running revue Beach Blanket Babylon. What’s it like in your home with so much music, theater, rehearsal, performance, schedules and the curtain always going up?
Jake Heggie: Curt Branom and I met almost 20 years ago on a houseboat trip on Lake Shasta! He’s an incredibly kind, smart, beautiful, generous and gifted man—the best man I’ve ever known. We have so much fun together and love to travel, spend time with friends, cook, etc. He’s the charismatic King Louis in Beach Blanket Babylon, though he has many roles in the show, including Putin, the Pope, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and on and on. We’re lucky to both be in the performing arts, but in different fields. We have great empathy and understanding for what it takes to do this work. Our home life is very quiet. We’ve got a very sweet dog, Cody, who is now 14 ½ years old. And we have a fabulous son who is now 23 and graduating from Cal State East Bay.
San Francisco Bay Times: If late night TV host James Corden picked you up for Carpool Karaoke, what would you sing?
Jake Heggie: Without question it would be “Enough is Enough”—the great Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer duet.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Performances from 11/17–12/09
Tickets start at $26
Recent Comments