Heggie
It’s a Wonderful Life 
Houston Grand Opera/Patrick Summers 
Pentatone PTC5186631

Political shenanigans, real estate moguls and nations on the brink of war – sound familiar? No, it’s not the latest news on CNN but the synopsis of the new opera It’s A Wonderful Life, composed by Jake Heggie of Dead Man Walking fame with a libretto by Gene Scheer. It’s based on the 1946 Frank Capra film of the same name starring James Stewart as the idealistic George Baker (sung by William Burden), who dreams of travelling the world but ends up having to run the family property business providing people with...