Opera lovers in Houston and beyond should mark their calendars for August 29. That’s the day Houston Grand Opera’s full recording of the company-commissioned world-premiere opera Intelligence will be released. The recording is the first release from the new Houston Grand Opera label, created with London Symphony Orchestra’s pioneering label LSO Live, as part of a new distribution partnership announced earlier this year.
Houston Grand Opera will release the recording of its world premiere opera, Intelligence, on August 29. Photo courtesy of Houston Grand Opera
Intelligence, by composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer, and director/choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zoller, made its season-opening world premiere at Houston’s Wortham Theater Center in October 2023 to great critical acclaim. The opera tells the story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Southern woman, who ran a Union spy ring with her enslaved servant, Mary Jane Bowser, during the Civil War, and is based on real events.
“This is a story of gripping power, shared through a sweeping, genre-defying, unmistakably American score by the brilliant Jake Heggie — arguably the most influential living composer shaping today’s operatic repertoire,” said HGO general director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “It is fitting that Intelligence will be Houston Grand Opera’s first release with LSO Live, as we have established this new partnership with the objective of sharing world-class recordings of American masterpieces with global audiences.”
On July 25, HGO released the opera’s first single, “Elizabeth Aria: Look Me in the Eye” on its social media platforms and for streaming. It’s sung by globally acclaimed mezzo-soprano and HGO Studio alum Jamie Barton, who originated the role of Elizabeth. Barton shared the aria on her own socials, commenting, “It was the honor of a LIFETIME to create a role in Jake Heggie’s Intelligence.”
Barton and soprano Janai Brugger (Mary Jane) lead the cast, which includes mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges as Lucinda, baritone Michael Mayes as Travis Briggs, soprano Caitlin Lynch as Callie Van Lew, bass-baritone Nicholas Newton as Henry, and tenor Joshua Blue as Wilson.
“I’m overjoyed that this magnificent recording of Intelligence will soon be available to listeners everywhere,” said Heggie. “Drawn from our unforgettable world premiere performances at Houston Grand Opera, the album captures a dream cast and the exceptional HGO Orchestra under the baton of Kwamé Ryan. This opera was eight years in the making, and HGO believed in it every step of the way — investing in a story that’s not only urgent and uplifting, but vital to our national conversation. Thanks to HGO’s bold vision and leadership, Intelligence can now reach audiences around the world as part of the broader cultural dialogue about who gets remembered, and why.”
The album will be available in both physical and digital formats, with streaming offered via HGO’s partner platform, Apple Music Classical — Apple Music’s dedicated app for classical music fans — as well as major platforms including Amazon Music and Spotify.
Intelligence is part of the company’s renewed focus on building and sharing its catalogue of recordings — both new and remastered — of major performances and company-commissioned additions to the repertoire. Several more albums are already planned for release by the Houston Grand Opera label, including Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain’s HGO-commissioned opera Florencia en el Amazonas, the first-ever recording of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Breaking the Waves, and Javier Martínez and Leonard Foglia’s HGO-commissioned mariachi opera El Milagro del Recuerdo.
