Made famous by the 1946 Frank Capra movie, this timeless tale follows a troubled banker whose guardian angel helps us realize the lasting impact our lives can have on those around us.

FROM THE WSJ REVIEW (2/3/15):” Everest,” a remarkable first opera by the British composer Joby Talbot, which had its world premiere at the Dallas Opera on Friday, forges art from a contemporary tragedy. Based on the true story of three climbers trapped on Mount Everest in a blizzard in May 1996 , this 70-minute juggernaut makes you feel disturbingly in the moment, living—and dying—along with the characters..
Gene Scheer’s taut, streamlined libretto, drawn from interviews with survivors, focuses on two situations: Rob Hall (the expedition leader) and Doug Hansen push on to the summit even though Doug is unwell, and Beck Weathers stays behind and gets lost. The fragmentation of the narrative builds suspense, and the stories are welded together by a chorus that echoes and questions the climbers.”

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST REVIEW (8/16/15) “The odyssey of the battle-scarred warrior making his precarious way back to a lover waiting at home is the oldest story in Western literature — the stuff of epic poems, plays, novels, movies and many operas. So it is a delight to report that the newest manifestation of this oft-told tale — the opera version of the best-selling novel “Cold Mountain,” just given its world premiere in Santa Fe — captures all of its adventure, romance and pathos in a fresh, vibrant musical idiom.”

Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer have come up with what seems to be a brand new form with “The Radio Hour”: A fully staged choral opera. In 40 minutes and three parts, it tells the story of Nora, a middle-age woman having a very bad day who seeks solace by locking herself inside her apartment and turning on the radio. Nora doesn’t sing, though, or make any other kind of peep. She is played by a silent actress. The chorus represents the inner monologue of her life and the imaginative possibilities that await her.