great scott spotlight
at the head of the company. He really was an adventurer, who was always looking for new talent—wherever it might be—it just so happened that he found it in his PR/Marketing department. Whereas a lot of people would say, “No way, I can’t promote someone from that department to composer in residence, with an opera on the main stage...” He said, “Why Not?” I will be forever grateful for the chance. The first piece ended up being Dead Men Walk-
ing, which has gone on to have a remarkable life. It’s incredibly gratifying and surprises me every day that my first effort in this difficult art form has become a part of opera’s repertoire. To have it done fairly regularly not only here, but in Europe as well…It’s just amazing. It’s such a hopeful, remarkable story. Your sensibility around composition and your comprehension about how the human voice functions, is something that I find very unique. It really comes through in your work. When I compose, the first thing I think about is
the voice. It’s why I know I’m supposed to be in the theatre, it’s storytelling through voice, first and foremost. Then trying to find stories that resonate for a large audience in a large venue—in the operatic form—so that the emotional journey of it is big enough for someone to sing about it rather than just speak it. I find all of that incredibly inspiring, challenging and engaging and it’s always been that way for me. When I knew nothing about opera, I was still interested in voices as a kid. Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and all the great musicals and TV shows that were on, that storytell- ing was what interested me. Was Dead Man Walking the first time you collaborated with Terrence McNally? Yes, that was our first time. When Lofti Mansouri
sent me to New York to work with him he had a comic piece in mind, based on an old French film and Terrence could not have been less interested. (Laughs) I thought the whole thing was going to fall apart, but then he called me and said, “I really want to do something with you, we just need to find something that inspires the both of us.” Out of the blue he came up with Dead Man Walking and every hair on my neck and arms stood up, because I knew that it was the right story. He’s been involved in one way or another with
every single piece of mine. My second opera was The End of the Affair, which he suggested, even though he didn’t write the libretto. Three Decem- bers, my third opera was based on a script that he
30 RAGE monthly | MAY 2016
wrote and Moby Dick was Terrence’s idea too, though again he didn’t write the libretto because he had to withdraw for personal reasons. Great Scott was again a Terrence McNally original idea. He has been a real guide, mentor and friend all along the way to me. He’s a great man of the theatre and of human nature, as well as understanding the stage so well. Where did the concept of Great Scott come from? Terrence had been meditating a lot on how the arts had been sidelined and that there had been
a kind of war played against them for a while along with the people who had devoted their lives to them. You wonder at some point if what you have done really matters. “Why am I doing this and not out doing something else where you can make so much more money...Why do I struggle in the arts, why does it matter?” I think he wanted to create a conversation around that and the juxtaposition of the arts versus sports and those differences. This was all happening at the same time the San Diego Opera was going through it’s transition and we realized that the things we were asking were really relevant questions. We all want to know if what we’re doing matters, if we’re leaving a legacy behind. I’m reading a book right now called When Breath Comes Air by a 36-year-old man who was a neurosurgeon. It is his meditation on going from being the doctor who diagnoses to being the one who is diagnosed with cancer. It’s about having to decide how precious your life is. One of the things he wondered at 36 was, “Did the choices I made matter?” It’s a big question that we ask no matter what we do in our lives. It really grew from there, that’s where it all started. I’m fascinated by the concept of Great Scott. I can’t remember, is this its premiere? The premiere was in Dallas, so this is the second time out. Half of the original cast is coming
to San Diego and the other half is brand new to the piece. It will be really interesting for Terrence and I to see it with a new cast. We’ve made some changes and cut about 15 minutes from the piece. We’ve rearranged and rewritten a couple things, so it will be our chance to see it in a different theatre, with a new cast in its shorter format. We may even make some changes during rehearsals here. It’s really fascinating to watch a project move and grow, because like any theatre, it really
only exists when it’s being performed. That’s why musicals will do out-of-town previews and make changes. We don’t really get to do that in opera. You can change things and see how the audience responds and reacts to them, whereas opera, you’re basically shot out of a cannon at an audience. (Laughs) The last theatre character in any theatre piece is the audience and until you have that final character, you really don’t know what you’ve got.
Great Scott will be performed with the San Diego Opera Saturday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, May 7, 10, 13 and 15. For tickets and more information, call 619.533.7000 or go to
sdopera.org.
For more about Jake Heggie’s other performance dates and new works, go to
jakeheggie.com.
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