Read and marvel: “The Civil War is raging, and the country is burning. Men are slaughtering each other on the battlefield, but it is two women who possess the deadliest weapon of all: Intelligence, made more powerful by its invisibility. 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 HGO-commissioned world-premiere opera Intelligence, inspired by the little-known true story of these two unlikely spies, unfolds as Elizabeth sends Mary Jane to live in the Confederate White House.” In his 10th opera, the composer Jake Heggie rejoins the librettist Gene Scheer, his partner for the epic Moby Dick. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is the director and choreographer. —Matthew Gurewitsch