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Thérèse Raquin

Tobias Picker


An American Tragedy

Tobias Picker


Moby-Dick

Jake Heggie


Everest

Joby Talbot


Cold Mountain

Jennifer Higdon

Thérèse Raquin

"A meaningful opera infused with searing reflection and luxurious sensuality."
Opera Now 

Tobias Picker's third opera, Thérèse Raquin, adapted by Gene Scheer from Émile Zola's novel of the same name, is a taut, psychological thriller probing the line between love and murder. The opera explores the dark side of human nature, specifically the descent into guilt and madness experienced by lovers who commit murder to be together. 

An American Tragedy

“The work’s theatrical good sense is remarkable. Few modern operas are paced as effectively as this.”
Philadelphia Inquirer

Based on a true story, Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy is one of American literature's great, universal subjects. The central character Clyde Griffiths is Everyman, and his dilemma is at the heart of the American experience, then as well as now. The people upon whom Dreiser's characters were based also echo throughout the pages of the entire opera. The heartbreaking handwritten letters of Grace Brown, the tragic real life factory worker Dreiser brings us so painfully close as they are projected onto the stage in all their endless optimism and sorrow.

Moby-Dick

“A triumph. It captures the elemental forces of the sea and Ahab's obsession with the great white whale that has maimed him. Scheer seamlessly tunes his own prose and poetry to Melville's.”
Dallas Morning News

An adaptation of Herman Melville’s sea-drenched, heaven-storming epic. Set in 1820, the opera tells the story of Ahab, captain of the ill-fated whaleship Pequod, and the crew he commands. Having lost one of his legs to the white whale called Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is obsessed with finding and destroying him at any cost. Only the ship’s first mate, Starbuck, sees the deadly implications of Ahab’s obsession.

Everest

“Everest makes you feel disturbingly in the moment, living—and dying—along with the characters. Scheer’s taut, streamlined libretto expresses the complexities and joys of human resilience...”
Wall Street Journal

Based on the true story of climbers stranded during a blizzard in 1996. Bad weather has affected this year's climbing season, and now multiple expeditions are attempting to summit on the same day. A bottleneck of climbers at the notorious Hillary Step has delayed the progress of Rob Hall's group and he finds himself near the top of the mountain with his client Doug Hansen, long after the agreed turnaround time has passed. Unbeknownst to the two mountaineers, a ferocious storm is brewing below. Meanwhile, further down the mountain, another of Rob's clients, Beck Weathers, lies unconscious as the storm rages around him.

Cold Mountain

“The carefully constructed libretto by Scheer could very well turn out to be his masterpiece. An astonishing triumph, destined to enter the operatic canon.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Set during the American Civil War — the pivotal conflict in our nation's history — this is the story of a soldier who wonders whether the violence he has endured has in some way ruined him and made him unworthy of love. In the struggle to answer this question, Inman is forced to examine where his real allegiance lies. Is it to his country? Is it to a cause? What is at the center of his soul? What are the core principles that he needs to abide by to feel essentially human again? Like The Odyssey, on which the novel is loosely based, it is at its center a transformative journey.

It’s A Wonderful Life

“A lithe, streamlined libretto by Gene Scheer... It re-creates both the mood and the underlying message of the original with loving fidelity. The pleasures of this operatic version emerged unbridled on opening night. A deeply pleasing addition to the roster of holiday entertainment.”
San Francisco Chronicle

Based on the true story of climbers stranded during a blizzard in 1996. Bad weather has affected this year's climbing season, and now multiple expeditions are attempting to summit on the same day. A bottleneck of climbers at the notorious Hillary Step has delayed the progress of Rob Hall's group, and he finds himself near the top of the mountain with his client Doug Hansen, long after the agreed turnaround time has passed. Unbeknownst to the two mountaineers, a ferocious storm is brewing below. Meanwhile, further down the mountain, another of Rob's clients, Beck Weathers, lies unconscious as the storm rages around him.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

“One of opera’s superpowers is its ability to speak inner thoughts aloud, and Diving Bell fully embraces and explores that potential. Mr. Scheer’s tight libretto wastes no time on self- indulgence.”
Wall Street Journal

Based on the book “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the celebrated editor of Elle magazine. Husband, father, and a man with a very complicated personal life, he's a major player on the Paris social scene. His life shatters when a devastating stroke leaves him paralyzed and unable to speak­ – "locked in" like a diver at the bottom of the sea, who can only watch the world go by as he yearns for bygone pleasures. Bauby's spirit is indomitable, and he blinks with the only muscle he can control to "write" his book with the help of an assistant. Although physically incapacitated, he still has a brilliant mind that can wander and fly like a butterfly, freeing him to travel through time and space where nothing is impossible.

Intelligence

“Houston Grand Opera has a hit with Intelligence. Heggie, Scheer, and Zollar have delivered a gorgeous, nuanced, layered and suspenseful masterpiece that deftly balances drama and wit.”
Houston Chronicle

Inspired by the little-known true story of two unlikely spies. Who would guess that Elizabeth Van Lew, from a prominent Confederate family, is running a secret pro-Union spy ring? That Mary Jane Bowser, born into slavery in the Van Lew household, not only has been taught to read and write, but is also possessed of a photographic memory? The opera unfolds as Elizabeth sends Mary Jane to live in the Confederate White House. As Mary Jane uncovers the secrets of the Confederacy to share with Union military commanders, she also uncovers the secrets of her own history and identity.

Before It All Goes Dark

“The impact could hardly have been more potent. Thanks to Scheer’s tightly focused libretto, the wounds Mac suffers resonate long after we leave the theater. The opera’s impact stems from the intimate simplicity of Heggie’s music and Scheer’s straightforward prose.”
Musical America

The compelling true story of Gerald “Mac” McDonald, a gravely ill and deeply troubled Vietnam War veteran, which was first reported by Howard Reich in the Chicago Tribune. Mac grew up poor, angry, and disenfranchised in the suburbs of Chicago, his family’s Jewish ancestry hidden from him – until Reich tracked him down as part of an investigation inspired by his own family’s experiences during the Holocaust. When Mac learned that he was heir to a priceless art collection stolen by the Nazis, the two men embarked on a quest to Eastern Europe to uncover secrets of the past.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

World Premiere
September 21, 2025

Based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, two Jewish cousins invent an anti-fascist superhero and launch their own comic-book series, hoping to recruit America into the fight against Nazism. Incorporating scintillating electronic elements and a variety of musical styles, composer Mason Bates’ eclectic score moves seamlessly among the three worlds of Gene Scheer’s libretto: Nazi-occupied Prague, the bustling streets of New York City, and the technicolor realm of comic-book fantasy.