MDTheatreGuide.com
Jeannette Mulherin
February 20, 2026
During the past several decades, American opera has seen an outpouring of new works that blend eclectic musical styles with uniquely American themes. “Intelligence,” which premiered in 2023, is evidence that America’s golden age of opera is still upon us.
The cast featured world-class vocal artists with equally notable acting ability.
Inspired by real events, composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer recount the story of two Civil War spies who risk their lives to save the Union. Plantation owner and secret abolitionist Elizabeth van Lew (Mezzo-Soprano Ashley Dixon) and the enslaved Mary Jane Bowser (Soprano Jacqueline Echols McCarley) work together to infiltrate the home of Jefferson Davis. Once inside, Bowser collects intelligence on confederate troop movements, unsuspected by the home’s residents because they wrongly assume that she is illiterate. Her work is effective, and the tide of the war turns, but not before other deeply buried secrets come to light reflecting the complexities of life in a time and place built on the brutal injustice of slavery.