“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Fans of It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra’s beloved classic of 1946, know that pearl of wisdom from Clarence Odbody, Angel Second Class, who after 200 years has yet to earn his wings. And they won’t need to be told how it goes when Clarence is sent down to poky Bedford Falls to keep the desperate banker George Bailey from jumping into the river on Christmas Eve. In Gene Scheer’s libretto, the raffish old celestial codger morphs into a she-angel of more conventional attributes, with ear-caressing implications for Jake Heggie’s music. It might be early days for the appealing young tenor Frederick Ballentine (in high demand as the charismatic dope peddler Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess) to be taking on George Bailey’s midlife crisis, but let’s trust in the transformative powers of his artistry. The soprano Danielle de Niese—enchanting in roles as diverse as Ravel’s spellbound child of L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges and Massenet’s Cinderella—is Clara, the angel. This being the 21st century, her key line has been tweaked. It’s “each person’s life” that touches so many other lives. Point taken. —Matthew Gurewitsch