Composer Jake Heggie is accustomed to shoulder taps and “excuse me’s” from patrons attending publicity events promoting his work.
Next comes the recommendation for the next great opera. Rarely does Heggie give those ideas more than a polite listen.
“Intelligence,” inspired by the relationship between an enslaved woman and a prominent socialite from a Confederate family in Richmond, is the exception. Virginia Opera will present the commonwealth premiere of the Grammy-nominated opera at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Harrison Opera House, followed by a matinee on Sunday.
San Francisco-based Heggie and New Yorker Gene Scheer, arguably today’s most acclaimed composer-librettist team, recall the moment in Washington when a docent asked, “Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Jane Bowser?”
Neither knew the names of the Richmond women, whom the docent said were spies for the North during the Civil War. Sharing an Uber to their hotel, they turned to their phones for a Google search. What they found intrigued them.
“I couldn’t believe I didn’t know the story,” Heggie said.
Van Lew was an abolitionist despite growing up in the Confederate capital. Her affluent family owned slaves, though paid them and gave them some means of independence.
Bowser was born into slavery and baptized in Van Lew’s church. She was sent north for school and spent five years in Liberia as a missionary before asking Van Lew if she could return home to Richmond. A year later, the two women formed a spy ring when Bowser went to work in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Several historical accounts mention Bowser’s photographic memory, which enabled her to relay conversations about military strategy to Van Lew, who then fed the information to the Union army. Verification of Bowser’s role is unconfirmed, which is one of the reasons Scheer refers to “Intelligence” as historical fiction.
“This isn’t a documentary,” Scheer stressed.
“There’s a lot we do not know and that’s the thing in opera,” Heggie said. “In opera, it’s kind of mythology. We did have to invent a lot but it’s all plausible and a way to honor their work, their lives, so it can be part of the discourse.”
Van Lew would later be named postmaster general of Richmond and inducted into the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame. Bowser, using various surnames, went on to teach the formerly enslaved. Though she returned to Richmond multiple times in her life, there is no record of her living there after the Civil War.
Scheer speculates that a rift created a permanent estrangement between the two, who were possibly half-sisters, information that Van Lew might have hidden. While some historical accounts dismiss that idea, others embrace it.
“You have the political espionage story, but the opera explores this personal story of the relationship between these two women,” Scheer said. “I thought it was interesting to focus on the relationship of ‘good’ white people trying to do their best who were unaware of their own racism woven into their life stories and experience.”
Scheer refers to “Intelligence” as “emotional archaeology.”
“What does it sound like when a white person is trying to understand why this Black person is not doing everything they’re told to do?” Scheer said. “When I’m being so ‘good’ to you, what does that dynamic feel like musically?”
“They had a partnership, but Elizabeth was always in charge,” Heggie said. “That has to do with the racial inequality. I thought that was important to portray for audiences today because it’s still there. I wanted to capture that elusive inequity as the piece went on and deal with it honestly.”
No spoilers, but the ending makes a powerful statement and Scheer is hopeful the opera, 10 years in the making because of delays caused by the pandemic, will resonate with audiences in Virginia, particularly in the southeastern region.
“Intelligence” debuted in Houston in 2023. After its run in Norfolk, “Intelligence” travels to Richmond for a pair of performances and then Fairfax.
“The Civil War is everywhere in America but especially in the South,” he said. “The names of the streets, the statues that are up or taken down. It’s part of the drinking water.”
Adam Turner, Virginia Opera’s artistic director and chief conductor, will lead the Norfolk performances. Soprano Jacqueline Echols McCarley stars as Bowser in her Virginia Opera debut. Mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, a 2018 Grand Finals Winner at The Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition, sings the role of Van Lew.
Scheer will attend the dress rehearsal and Norfolk performance before flying to Los Angeles on Saturday to reunite with Heggie for the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
“Intelligence” has been nominated for Best Opera Recording.
Visit Virginia Opera for more information.