Latest News & Reviews

Epic Season at Houston Grand Opera Begins with Intelligence

“For the first time in its history, the company will launch its season with a world premiere, the HGO-commissioned opera Intelligence, co-created by superstar American composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer, and director/choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, 2021 MacArthur Fellow and founder of Urban Bush Women, the galvanizing Brooklyn-based dance company centering the voices of Black women.” 

— Sherry Cheng

World Premiere of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly & More Set for Dallas Opera 2023/2024 Season

““We are thrilled to bring three new-to-Dallas productions and a long-awaited world premiere to our audiences, both near and far, in the 2023/2024 Mainstage Season,” said General Director and CEO Ian Derrer. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of a man whose determination leads to one of the most poignant memoirs ever written. We are honored to bring this story to our stage for the first time anywhere…”” 

American Anthem — the picture book!

The song American Anthem featured on the National PBS Memorial Day Concert from Washington, DC is being published as an inspirational children’s picture book! Based on the song that President Joe Biden quoted in his inaugural address, this book celebrates the beauty and diversity of this country and the legacies on which we build our future. Order American Anthem: A Song of Our Nation now from Amazon.com.

Pulling at heartstrings: ‘Violins of Hope’ live at Kohl Mansion

“The world premiere of Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope, by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, forms the powerful center of the new Pentatone release . . . emotionally devastating and cathartic.” 

Announcing the CD release of Violins of Hope.

“American Anthem” quoted in President Biden’s inaugural address

“In his inaugural address, President Biden quoted Gene Scheer’s song, a patriotic hymn championed by the opera star Denyce Graves and recorded by Norah Jones for a Ken Burns soundtrack.” 

— Abby Ellin

Read the full feature article in The New York Times about the history of this beloved song.

Three Decembers Opera San Jose Production Now Available to Stream

World-renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham leads the cast of Opera San José’s first fully-staged digital production, Jake Heggie’s THREE DECEMBERS, based on Tony Award winning playwright Terrence McNally’s unpublished play “Some Christmas Letters”.

Denyce Graves, one of Justice Ginsburg’s favorite opera singers, performs for her one last time.

Justice Ginsburg was a passionate opera fan from her youth, and one of her favorite singers, the American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, sang for her one last time on Friday at the Capitol ceremony. Ms. Graves, her voice reverberating off the marble of Statuary Hall, performed the spiritual “Deep River” and Gene Scheer’s “American Anthem.”” 

— Zachary Woolfe