“Arguably the world's most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer…”
The Wall Street Journal
Jake Heggie is the American composer of ten full-length operas, including Dead Man Walking and Great Scott with librettos by Terrence McNally; Moby-Dick, Three Decembers, It’s a Wonderful Life, Intelligence, If I Were You, and Two Remain with librettos by Gene Scheer; and numerous one-acts. He has also composed nearly 300 art songs, as well as chamber, choral, and orchestral works.
In the 24/25 season, he re-teams with choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Urban Bush Women for the world premiere of Earth 2.0, a monodrama commissioned by Fort Worth Symphony, with Robert Spano conducting. Heggie’s acclaimed collaboration with Margaret Atwood, Songs for Murdered Sisters, appears at Carnegie Hall and Marian Anderson Hall with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. A new commission for fast-rising countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen also appears at Carnegie Hall before touring to Houston and Washington, D.C. , and following the highly acclaimed Met premiere of Dead Man Walking, the Metropolitan Opera welcomes a stunning Leonard Foglia production of Moby-Dick.
Portraits by James Niebuhr
Next Engagement
Earth 2.0
Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra
World Premiere
Key’mon Murrah, Urban Bush Women
December 6, 7, 8, 2024
Fort Worth / USA
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Featured Works
Moby-Dick
Proclaimed an “undeniable success” by The New York Times, this opera tells the story of Captain Ahab and the ill-fated whaleship Pequod, based on the famous novel by Herman Melville.
The world premiere was presented in 2010 by the Dallas Opera, and was quickly followed by performances across the United States and Australia.
The 2012 production at San Francisco Opera was featured on Great Performances’ 40th Season, telecast nationally in 2013 and subsequently released on DVD.
Songs for Murdered Sisters
This 28-minute song cycle for baritone and piano or orchestra — with searing words by Margaret Atwood – was created to wake people up to the global epidemic of gender-based violence.
Already an album and a film, the work received its fully orchestrated world premiere in February 2023 with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and baritone Joshua Hopkins, for whom the work was composed.
Overture
This chamber piece for string orchestra was commissioned by John and Paula Gambs for the New Century Chamber Orchestra musicians and Daniel Hope, Music Director and Concertmaster, in celebration of the Orchestra's 30th anniversary season.
The world premiere was presented in February 2023 by the New Century Chamber Orchestra led by Daniel Hope.
A recording of this performance will be available in June 2023, released by Deutsche Grammophon.
Offstage
Jake Heggie is a frequent collaborator with educational institutions and other performing arts organizations, undertaking artist residencies, serving as mentorship faculty, and offering master classes to performers and creators.
For more information on offstage appearances, contact Jake using this form.
Production Images
