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A quick overview of Jake Heggie’s 2010 opera based on the novel by Herman Melville.

Premiered

2010

Music by

Jake Heggie

Libretto by

Gene Scheer

Language

English

An opera based on Moby-Dick? About as impossible as chasing an elusive white whale, you may say. Still, despite the challenging nature of the project, creators Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer believed this famous story and its complex characters were worthy of song. Together, they spent years editing and re-arranging Melville’s difficult plot and finding just the right musical sound to enhance the human drama behind this great American novel.

For many centuries, the mysterious whale was an essential part of human life and the global economy. This was mostly because the fatty oil gathered from whale blubber was used to light lamps in the days before electricity. Many whaling ships sailed out of the small Massachusetts island Nantucket, which became a headquarters for sailors bent on catching whales. From there, men journeyed around the world for years at a time, risking life and limb to capture these colossal whales.

The need for whale oil reached its peak in the 1800s, and the whale trade became so popular it prompted many 19th-century authors to write about whale hunting on the high seas. Novelist Herman Melville drew upon his own experiences as a whaler as well as true tales of violent encounters with the gigantic animals to create his 1851 masterpiece, Moby-Dick—a powerful story of friendship, ambition, and revenge.

The opera, Moby-Dick, takes place on a whaling ship known as the Pequod. On board, newcomer Greenhorn (later known as “Ishmael”) and his fellow sailors struggle to survive a perilous journey complete with treacherous seas and seemingly vicious whales. However, the men soon realize the greatest danger they face is their vengeful captain, the peg-legged Ahab. As the hunt drags on, the captain threatens to bring down the whole crew in his attempt to capture a white whale known as Moby Dick, the very animal responsible for the captain’s missing leg.

Music-writing team Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer have created several song cycles and musical dramas as well as another opera, Three Decembers. Though composer Jake Heggie began his career as a pianist, his operas are now in high demand across the globe. Mr. Scheer, a renowned lyricist, is also a composer, and his music can be heard on both stage and screen.

Act I

The Pequod, a Nantucket whaling ship, has sailed for one week without any word from its captain. Greenhorn, a novice whaler, watches as Queequeg, an Indigenous harpooner, chants a prayer. At dawn, the crew arrives and chief mates Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask chat about the mysterious captain. As the crew sings, the peg-legged Captain Ahab finally arrives. He tells captivating stories of Moby Dick, a dangerous white whale that chewed off his leg, and promises a gold doubloon (coin) to the first man to spot the whale. Despite doubts from Starbuck, the crew vows to capture and kill the creature.

Three months later, the restless crew dances aboard the Pequod, but a fight soon breaks out. The scuffle is interrupted, however, when Greenhorn spies a pod of whales. Ahab gives permission to begin the hunt and the whaling boats are launched. The hunt is successful, but Pip, the cabin boy, falls overboard. Back aboard the Pequod, the men gather oil from a whale carcass. Ahab and Starbuck have a violent disagreement about the fate of the ship, and the captain threatens Starbuck at gunpoint.

Elsewhere, Queequeg daringly rescues the cabin boy, and Greenhorn is impressed by the harpooner’s bravery and kindness. Below deck, Starbuck approaches Ahab yet again but finds the captain asleep. Because of their combative relationship, Starbuck considers murdering the captain. He decides against it, however, and the Pequod sails on.

Act II

A year has passed and Queequeg and Greenhorn have become great friends. Yet, as a storm looms on the horizon, Queequeg unexpectedly collapses. The harpooner announces he is dying and asks Greenhorn to help build a coffin for the burial. On deck, Ahab rages at the storm and tells his crew to remain steadfast.

After the storm, the voice of Captain Gardiner, commander of the nearby ship the Rachel, is heard asking for help finding his son—a boy adrift at sea. Pip, who has lost his mind, cries out to Gardiner in sympathy. In his madness, Pip cuts himself and his blood splashes onto Ahab. Ignoring Captain Gardiner, Ahab prepares to do battle with Moby Dick by baptizing his harpoon in Pip’s blood.

Later that day, Ahab and Starbuck consider all they have sacrificed in their pursuit of this terrible whale. Yet, just as Ahab seems moved by Starbuck’s impassioned plea to return home, the captain sets eyes on Moby Dick. A wild chase begins—but can the men survive? Will Ahab’s all-consuming quest succeed in destroying him at last?

Read the Rehearsal Guide

Read the Look-In Guide

Listen to the Story

J. Hill, Capturing a Sperm Whale, 1835, colored engraving.

Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of Jake Heggie’s 2010 opera based on Herman Melville’s novel, Moby-Dick.

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