Intelligence, which premieres at Houston Grand Opera on 20 October, tells the story of Mary Jane Bowser and Elizabeth Van Lew, real people who played pivotal but underrecognised roles that helped the Union win the war and abolish slavery.
Read MoreAmid the U.S. Civil War, as men took to the battlefield, two women set out to help the war effort from home… behind enemy lines in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
Read More“In opera, women so often have been relegated to the muse, the love interest, the beauty, those sorts of things,” Barton says. “In this one, not only are both of the women, Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Jane Bowser, absolutely, by definition, heroes, they are strong.”
Read MoreHouston Life’s Melanie Camp went backstage at rehearsals and spoke with soprano Janai Bruger who plays Mary Jane and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton plays who plays Elizabeth about what it means to be part of this HGO-commissioned opera.
Read MoreMezzo Jamie Barton brings her unique gifts to a new Jake Heggie opera at Houston Grand Opera.
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