American composer Jake Heggie is best known for Dead Man Walking (2000), the most widely performed new opera of the last 25 years, with a libretto by Terrence McNally, and his critically acclaimed operas Moby-Dick (2010), Three Decembers (2008), Intelligence (2023), and It’s a Wonderful Life (2016), all with libretti by Gene Scheer. In addition to 10 full-length operas and numerous one-acts, Heggie has composed more than 300 art songs, as well as concerti, chamber music, choral, and orchestral works. His compositions have been performed on five continents, and he regularly collaborates with some of the world’s most beloved artists as both composer and pianist.

In the 25/26 season, Dead Man Walking celebrates its 25th anniversary with performances across the globe, including a new production at English National Opera, the Western Australia premiere at Freeze Frame Opera, a student production at CU Boulder, and a special run at San Francisco Opera, which originally commissioned the work. Elsewhere, Heggie’s opera Intelligence receives a new production at Virginia Opera, as well as a world premiere album release by Houston Grand Opera on the LSO Live label. “Fire,” commissioned by violinist Joshua Bell for his concerto The Elements, travels to Houston Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and new commissions appear with London Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. This season also marks a new chapter in legacy-building, as Heggie joins the faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music as the Diane B. Wilsey Distinguished Professor of Composition.

Banner image by James Niebuhr