2 her extraordinary mix of vibrancy, gravity and exacting nuance amounted to a portrayal that easily ranked with her finest work”. DiDonato, a Kansan embraced by Houston audiences as a hometown heroine, first sang the role of Sister Helen at New York City Opera, whose keen, effective Leonard Foglia production was staged here. Instead, the opera is told from the perspective of the angel Clara (in the film, it’s Clarence, played by Henry Travers).“Ms. The world premiere isn’t a straightforward reprise of the Christmas drama starring Jimmy Stewart as the depressed George Bailey, who’s shown a fantastical reality check after he wishes he’d never been born. Unquestionably, Jake’s is identity , so it is unsurprising that this miraculous story about a man being shown his life as though he’d never lived would appeal to Jake.” “Almost every composer has themes to which they constantly return. When he and I were discussing ideas for holiday operas, this work came to the forefront of our imaginations,” says Summers. “Jake Heggie is one of the greatest musical dramatists, and in opera it is the composer who must be the leading dramatist. Those synergistic creative relationships are very rare in this world, and we all know it,” says Summers, about the four-person collaboration that has successfully executed premieres of Three Decembers and Moby-Dick, and this season, debuts It’s a Wonderful Life, a re-imagining of Frank Capra’s 1946 film.

Houston grand opera dead man walking