Janai Brugger (left) and Jamie Barton in Jake Heggie’s “Intelligence.” (Photo by Michael Bishop)
Barton is one of the leads in the opera about two extraordinary Civil War-era women and their efforts to end slavery.
::
When internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton first heard “Look Me in the Eye,” one of the big arias in Jake Heggie’s opera Intelligence, the power of the music left her in tears.
The aria reflects the troubled conscience of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Southern woman of privilege during the Civil War who is musing on the evils of slavery and trying to fathom her own family’s support of the institution.
“She’s trying to understand how people she loved, including the father she adored, were a part of this system of slavery that is hurting and killing people,” Barton said. “She realizes that she can’t stand by and do nothing.”
A few years after hearing the aria for the first time, Barton would participate in the 2023 world-premiere performance of Intelligence, singing the leading role of Elizabeth.
A live recording of that world premiere by Houston Grand Opera is being released on August 29 by HGO and LSO Live.
The opera, with a libretto by Gene Scheer, is based on a little-known but true story of two women — Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Jane Bowser — who infiltrated the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia, and ran a Union spy ring.
In the opera, Elizabeth is a wealthy matriarch of a Confederate family, while Mary Jane is a woman who was born into slavery in the Van Lew family.
Heggie, perhaps the most often-performed living composer of operas, wrote the role of Elizabeth with Barton in mind.
“He put my personality into the role,” Barton said, with a laugh. “So I got to say ‘Bless her heart’ several times, and I got to use my Georgia accent.”
ArtsATL recently chatted about Intelligence with Barton, a Georgia native and longtime Atlanta resident who spoke by phone from her living room. Barton’s lively conversation was frequently punctuated by her joyful laughter.
ArtsATL: How did you get involved in this opera?
Jamie Barton: I was sitting in San Francisco, having dinner with Jake and his husband and another friend, and Jake started to tell me a story about how he had been at the Smithsonian in a concert with (mezzo-soprano) Susan Graham, and a docent said that he had a story that was going to be the next topic of his opera. So the docent told him about these two women who had provided intelligence to the North during the Civil War. I had never heard the story. By the time Jake got through with the story, I said, “Oh, this is amazing. I’m so glad you’re going to write this opera.” And he said, “Yep, and I want you to sing Elizabeth.”
ArtsATL: How did you prepare for the role?
Barton: I spent a long time getting to know the character by reading Elizabeth’s journals, which is the only documentation we have. What these two women did was extraordinary. Elizabeth, in her day, was a real character. After her parents passed away, she started to pretend like she was a bit of a nutter so that people wouldn’t come around her house and realize that she was part of the underground railroad. It was very much a choice of hers to act toward her neighbors in a way that would make people not want to knock on her door.
ArtsATL: You’ve said that the real hero of the story is Mary Jane Bowser, sung in the world premiere recording by soprano Janai Brugger. Is that right?
Barton: She’s the most extraordinary part of the story. She was already a free woman within the Van Lew household. She was educated, she had traveled a great deal, she had gone back to Africa, she purportedly had a photographic memory and she was a very skilled seamstress. She went back into slavery as a spy to help free so many people in a country that demonized her because of her skin color. It’s a remarkable tale of two women, but the hero is Mary Jane Bowser.
ArtsATL: You’ve often collaborated with Heggie. What do you love about his music?
Barton: Jake, in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest living composers. His music is very accessible, although it’s not always easy to sing! He really understands the voice. He gets to the emotional heart in whatever he’s composing, elevating the text in a meaningful way. He’s very picky about the stories he chooses, because he wants to compose things that really touch the human heart. I often send him voice memos when I’m learning his music, saying, “Jake, you’re making me cry again!” And I knew this role was going to be perfect for me. When I sat down and started to learn it, I knew it was really written for me, for every nuance of my voice. It was such a gift. Jake really knocked it out of the ballpark with this opera.
ArtsATL: This seems like a fascinating story that might appeal to regular opera-goers and newcomers alike. Is that true?
Barton: Yes, so many people who were coming to see the show had never even set foot in an opera house. Houston Grand Opera was keeping data on this. The response was incredible. It was unlike what I experience in most of the classic operas I do. In the second act, for instance, Mary Jane ends up killing one of the characters who is truly evil. Often, the audience would absolutely cheer. It was so refreshing to have an audience react that way to the story.
ArtsATL: What are your upcoming opera engagements?
Barton: I’m off to San Francisco for the 25th anniversary performance of Dead Man Walking. (Barton plays the leading role of Sister Helen Prejean in Heggie’s celebrated opera. She sang the same role in Atlanta Opera’s production of the opera in 2019.) The original conductor, Patrick Summers, will be leading. It’s going to be a really incredible celebration of the piece, one of the most-often performed operas of the 21st century. Then I’ll return to Houston Grand Opera for Puccini’s Il Trittico and Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. I’m so excited about that. Hansel and Gretel is one of my favorite operas in the entire world. I’ve never sung the Witch as a professional opera singer. I’m absolutely delighted to sing my first Witch!
::
Paul Hyde is a longtime arts journalist and English instructor in Upstate South Carolina. He writes frequently for the Greenville Journal, the South Carolina Daily Gazette and Classical Voice North America.
