![Commonwealth Club of California Podcast show](https://d3dthqtvwic6y7.cloudfront.net/podcast-covers/000/068/414/small/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast.jpg)
Summary: Composer Jake Heggie, conductor Nicole Paiement and dramaturg Clifford Cranna share insights into the creation of Heggie’s "If I Were You,” a Faustian story that delves into issues of identity and a quest for one’s place in the world that are at once timeless and very relevant to the world today. As the hero, Fabian becomes a wealthy older man, a young handsome brute and eventually a young woman. The opera deals with issues of age, power, sexual politics and gender identity. Commissioned by the renowned Merola Opera Program, the world premiere of "If I Were You” is on August 2019 at Herbst Theatre. MLF Organizer: Anne W. Smith MLF: Arts