A quarter of a century ago, composerJake Heggiewas working as a publicist for the San Francisco Opera, churning out press releases and waiting for his big break like some kind of operatic Lana Turner. After an early career as a pianist and accompanist, Heggie was ready to turn his hand to full-scale composition.

The break came in 2000, when the company commissioned and premiered Heggie’s first opera, “Dead Man Walking.” Suddenly, the musical world had a new titan in its midst.

Now, at 62, the San Francisco resident seems to be busier than ever. “Dead Man Walking” — now themost widely performedAmerican opera of the 21st century — is slated to open the season at the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday, Sept. 26, in a new production by the acclaimed Belgian director Ivo van Hove. (Bay Area audiences will have a chance to experience it Oct. 21, as part of “The Met: Live in HD” cinematic simulcast series.)

Heggie has also contributed one of the five movements in “The Elements,” a collaborative concerto commissioned by violinist Joshua Bell that is scheduled to open the New York Philharmonic’s season Friday, Sept. 29.

And on Oct. 20, Houston Grand Opera has planned the world premiere of Heggie’s “Intelligence,” a historical thriller based on the true story of two women — a white daughter of the Confederacy and an enslaved Black woman with a photographic memory — who worked undercover to smuggle information out of the Confederate White House during the U.S. Civil War.

It’s a lot to take on at once. But in the wake of the long COVID-19 shutdown, Heggie says he feels newly energized by all the activity — especially the opportunity to bring a full-size operatic premiere to the stage.

“I’ve done things for smaller forces,” he told the Chronicle during a recent interview at the Noe Valley condo he shares with his husband, actor Curt Branom (best known for his long run as King Louis in “Beach Blanket Babylon”). “But in terms of being in a room for a big production, it’s beenfour years, and you can start to go a little crazy. Like, ‘Do I really have something to say? Does anyone care?’

“But being back in the room is so invigorating and so inspiring. And now I feel like I’m ready to tackle the next things.”

“Intelligence” promises to be a stylistic departure for Heggie and his frequent collaborator, librettist Gene Scheer. For the first time, he says, the opera incorporates dance on an equal footing with the music and words, drawing on the work of the Brooklyn troupe Urban Bush Women and its founder, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, who will direct.

“This felt like a story that needed movement,” Heggie said. “And when we were looking for a director, I wanted to think outside the opera world, because I feel like we desperately need that fresh perspective.”

“Intelligence” features a starry ensemble cast headed by mezzo-sopranoJamie Bartonand soprano Janai Brugger as the two spies. The story was suggested to Heggie by a docent at the Smithsonian, where he was giving a performance.

“He said, ‘I have a great idea for your next opera,’ and of course that’s a line I have heard many many times. And usually it’s followed by someone’s life story,” Heggie said with a laugh.

But Heggie pursued the tale and found himself consumed with a passion that would sustain him for the next eight years.

“I started going down this rabbit hole,” he recalled. “My eyes got wide and I started feeling that shiver of like, ‘This is it. This is the story I have to tell.’ ”

For Barton, one of the rewarding aspects of the score is the way her white character code-switches depending on who she’s interacting with.

“There’s a way she talks to the enemy,” Barton said, “and then when she’s talking with the other spy or anybody who’s on the safe list, the writing changes entirely. The music shows you that dropping of the mask.”

Heggie’s ability to put individual emotion into music is central to his success, says Scheer, who wrote the librettos for “Moby-Dick,” “Three Decembers,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and a host of other smaller projects.

“The thing that Jake really gets about the art form is that the singer is at the center of the experience,” he said. “So many operas are like scripts set to music. But of course what we’re trying to do is create interesting vocal depictions of what’s at stake for the characters.”

Sometimes that can be a little hard for those involved. When he was writing “Dead Man,” based on the 1993 memoir by Sister Helen Prejean about her work in opposition to the death penalty, Heggie says he was often in tears.

大麻o-soprano Susan Graham, who originated the role of Sister Helen at the world premiere, was never able to sing the part again. At the Met, she’ll sing the role of Mrs. De Rocher, the convict’s mother, which was first sung by Bay Area legend弗雷德里卡•冯•施塔德.

“We were giving birth to this creation that was so powerful, so intense, so cathartic,” Graham said. “Every day we would have crying breaks.

“Then my father, who’d been very ill, actually passed away right after the show opened. And for 17 years, I could hear two notes of the music and it would just turn me over.

“Ever since then, every time I see Jake or I’m singing music of his that gets to me, I just go, ‘Jake! You and your f—ing feelings!’ ”

Heggie remains unapologetic about the emotional transparency of his work. During the interview, he showed a visitor the complete score and sketches for “Intelligence,” all of it written by hand.

“This is something I always tell young artists. I tell them to imagine you’ve just said something that really hurt your mom, and she’s very unhappy and upset.

“What are your options to apologize? You can call or text or send an email — or you go and find the perfect stationery and the perfect pen, and you start writing, ‘Dear Mom, I am so sorry.’

“Now, which of these resonates? That’s why I write by hand, because already you’re infusing it with emotion.”

Reach Joshua Kosman:jkosman@sfchronicle.com