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June 5, 2026 | Portland, OR: The visionary behind Deep Water is composer & librettist Caroline Louise Miller (they/them). Caroline has created a colorful and magical musical world in Deep Water, one infused with curiosity, grief, play, and compassion. We caught them between rehearsals for a chat about how Deep Water came to be.
Why choose opera as the medium to tell this story? Opera literally amplifies voices, and in telling a story centering queer characters, that can be a powerful thing. I also think that opera, as a theatrical medium, can have a certain playfulness about it, in characterization and movement, that makes this medium perfect for telling a story in which play is a primary theme. How does this opera speak to the world we're living in today? One of the primary themes of Deep Water is about how we persist, find ways to play and experience joy in little ways, even when things seem hopeless. Given the state of the world with climate change, fascism, etc., things can feel so devastating, even paralyzing, right now. Play, silliness, connection: these are things that can help us get through it, heal, and take action. Can you share a moment in the rehearsal process when the performers brought something unexpected to your music? There is a moment when the beachcombers (Gina and Allison) find an old license plate inside of a beached shark. The score at the time gave minimal directions for singing the letters/numbers of the plate, and it was suggested by the performers that the vibe should be like a silly made-up language or an inside joke. This was surprising and delightful, and Gina and Allison’s interpretation brings a light and mischievous dimension to this moment! What do you want audiences to know about Deep Water?
Deep Water has been such a meaningful collaboration, and every single person involved in this project has brought so much energy and joy to this project. Every rehearsal there is laughter, and everyone is always sharing amazing ideas for staging, characterization, movement, musical interpretation, etc. I am so excited to share Deep Water with everyone!
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June 1, 2026 | Portland, OR: Deep Water opens in just 17 days, and staging rehearsals are underway! We thought this was the perfect time to sit down with stage director Christine Freije and learn about her process of bringing a world premiere opera to life.
What are you most interested to discover during the rehearsal process? I’m curious to find the ways that the futuristic setting of this opera sheds light on how we live today–how we interact with the natural world, how we strive for connection with other human beings, and how we continue to show up even in the face of incomprehensible loss. Deep Water is a world premiere. How does that influence your approach? Working on a world premiere, I feel a close sense of connection to Caroline as the writer and composer. A big part of my work is to understand their intentions and impulses as a creator, and to find ways to bring their musical world to three-dimensional life onstage. Deep Water includes devised elements. For those unfamiliar with devised theatre, what is it, and what makes devised work special?
In traditional theatre-making, a director will use a script as a starting point and guide. In devised theatre, a show is built from other elements, including movement, images, non-theatrical text, and improvisatory exercises. I’m excited to bring devised theatre techniques to this opera in order to delve deeper into characters, explore physical storytelling, and build on the natural impulses of this extraordinary ensemble. May 20, 2026 | Portland, OR: Deep Water premieres June 18-21 in Portland! We sat down with Music Director and Pianist Dr. Stephen Lewis to talk about his work bringing this new opera to life!
What makes shaping opera different from shaping concert chamber music or instrumental only music? Great question! Opera involves several crucial layers not present in instrumental concert or chamber music: the human voice, the dramatic elements of character and plot, and the physicality of staging. The trickiest difference in working with singers is in tempo and rhythm: both are fundamentally shaped by breathing and the texts being sung, nuances that instrumentalists do not need to deal with. Rhythm and tempo with singers is something flexible, living, breathing, emotional, and heart-based. Opera adds on top of this the internal and external lives of the characters and their physical actions on stage, all of which needs to be accounted for in my role as music director. The immense complexity of all of these elements in opera is part of what attracts me, as a notable complexity junkie, to conducting operas. What are you most excited for audiences to hear in the score? I’m super excited for the moments in Deep Water where Caroline’s music suddenly shifts from a singer-songwriter idiom to something wildly experimental. I want the audience to feel their stomachs drop out from underneath them with the sheer audacity of Caroline’s musical juxtapositions, like being sucked into a vortex of swirling colors and sensations and then being deposited on strange new worlds.  Music Director Stephen Lewis leads the ensemble in last fall's production of Marie Curie Learns to Swim. Photo by Ary Finch Photography. How do you balance being both a performer (pianist) and a music director, in rehearsal and in performance? It’s not so different than being on the conductor’s podium: as the music director and pianist, my whole body and musical self embodies and becomes the music. As my body moves in time with the music, on the keys and in my head and shoulders movements, I transmit that information to the singers while also reacting to what the singers are sending back to me. Rehearsals are partly for me to find the best, most expressive, and truest ways to embody the music while performances are, as always, exciting, real-time adventures in holding everything together and communicating with the audience. What makes the musical world of Deep Water compelling to today’s audiences? Deep Water shows Caroline developing their musical style from the music I remember them writing years ago to incorporate more and more contemporary pop idioms into their overall style. These styles—singer-songwriter, musical theater, pop, etc.—are bridges for audiences to cross over to reach the more challenging, unusual sounds of the avant-garde. There are many potential meanings of tonality and atonality, of pop genres and classical/avant-garde genres, of highly ordered rhythms of popular music to the fecund, powerfully expressive excesses of avant-garde gestures found in Deep Water. Today’s audiences, conditioned by neo-liberal capitalism and Hollywood surface glamour, often reject avant-garde music out of hand since it confronts and challenges listeners rather than flattering or seducing them with the musical equivalent of high-fructose corn syrup. Deep Water’s music is a confident, warm, welcoming hand to pull audiences onto a wild adventure that will provoke, challenge, and edify any who have the courage to engage with it from beginning to end.  New Wave Opera premieres post-apocalyptic queer fantasy opera by Portland composer Caroline Louise Miller  April 29, 2026 – Portland, OR: New Wave Opera (NWO) presents the world premiere of Deep Water by Portland composer Caroline Louise Miller, June 18-21 at the Boiler Room Theatre in Lincoln Hall at Portland State University. Deep Water is a post-apocalyptic fantasy opera that investigates rage, grief, play, & persistence in the face of gargantuan, destructive forces. Queer teenage companions Val & Bluejay chronicle the fall of humanity during the Anthropocene, acting as witnesses and documentarians and finding resilience through love and play. Deep Water positions two queer teenagers in the role of history-creation, defining what is worth preserving. Shaping this groundbreaking opera are Portland’s leading musical and theatrical artists: stage director Chrsitine Freije, lighting designer Samantha Kemp, and music director Stephen Lewis. “The world that Caroline has conjured in Deep Water is so imaginative, surprising, and infused with deeply human grief, longing, and humor,” says Freije. Adds Kemp, “I am excited to explore the question of what our role and responsibility as individual humans is in leaving behind a legacy as a collective species, especially in the face of ecological crisis.” The production features a giant goblin shark sculpture crafted from recycled materials by artist Eli Cannon, bringing a striking fusion of visual art and opera to the stage.
The musical world of the opera includes four singers, piano, and electronics, with influences from a variety of musical styles. “Miller’s unique blend of avant-garde, musical theater, and pop styles channels a fractured legacy of meaning while being supported by a deeper consistency of feeling,” shares Lewis. The cast is led by contemporary music powerhouses soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson as Val and mezzo Lisa Neher as Bluejay, the teenage companions cursed to wander the earth and document the fall of humanity. Soprano Dru Rutledge and mezzo Allison Kim-Yok Knotts portray a variety of roles, from mysterious and powerful Time Priests to human travelers who gather materials from the ruins of society. Miller shares about their opera: “In writing Deep Water, I am continually inspired by the vast complexities of human experience, exploring entanglements of climate grief with the need for love, levity and play.” Deep Water will be performed in English with English supertitles, with a runtime of 70 minutes. The Sunday June 21 performance will be ASL interpreted, thanks to generous support from Portland Arts & Culture’s Arts Access Fund. This production is made possible thanks to generous support from Portland State University, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland Arts & Culture’s Arts Access Fund, and donors from our community. To learn more about this show and more from the upcoming season, visit NEWWAVEOPERA.ORG.  Deep Water Composer & Librettist Caroline Louise Miller AT A GLANCEWHAT: Deep Water (World Premiere) WHEN: Thursday, June 18, 7:30 pm, Friday June 19, 7:30 pm, Saturday, June 20, 7:30 pm, Sunday, June 21, 2:00 pm (includes ASL interpretation) WHERE: Boiler Room Theatre at Lincoln Hall | Portland State University | 1620 SW Park Ave | Portland, OR | 97201 TICKETS: $30 General Admission; $15 Seniors, Veterans, & Artists; $10 Students, BIPOC, Indigenous, LGBTQ+; $5 Arts for All. Free to PSU Students with ID. RUNTIME: 70 minutes with no intermission CONTENT: This production includes brief profanity FOR MEDIA INQUIRESDEEP WATER CASTVal: Lindsey Rae Johnson Bluejay: Lisa Neher Traveler 1: Dru Rutledge Traveler 2: Allison Kim-Yok Knotts DEEP WATER CREATIVE TEAMCaroline Miller, composer & librettist
Stephen Lewis, music director & pianist Christine Freije, stage director Samantha Kemp, lighting designer Eli Cannon, sculpture artist  A wide shot of pianist Stephen Lewis, singers Allison Knotts, Emilie Faiella, and Lindsey Rae Johnson, in a black box theatre during the workshop with electronic equipment around them. Composer Caroline Louise Miller runs electronics from a table. April 17, 2026 | Portland, OR: New Wave Opera workshopped Caroline Louise Miller's new opera Deep Water at the Lincoln Hall Studio Theatre, putting the score together with four singers, pianist, and electronics for the first time. The company briefly rehearsed and read through each scene of the opera, taking time for discussion with Miller about the characters, storyline, and mood of each section. Miller provided deeper context for the cast, which will guide character preparation in advance of staging rehearsals next month with stage director Christine Freije. Music director and pianist Dr. Stephen Lewis provided musical context and insights on ensemble and interpretation of the score, particularly in moments with advanced notation, extended techniques, and improvisation. Soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson plays Val and mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher plays Bluejay, two queer teenagers who have been cursed to document humanity in a post-apocalyptic future where climate change has drastically altered life on earth. Soprano Emilie Faiella and mezzo-soprano Allison Kim-Yok Knotts play Time Priests, powerful beings to whom Val and Bluejay report, as well as two travelers whom the teenagers observe and document. Faiella takes on a powerful role as the spirit of an extinct bird, singing a clarion call of sorrow and loss in crystalline tones. As a company that exclusively performs works by living composers, NWO is dedicated to giving new works like Deep Water time to develop and grow. The workshop was an important vehicle to do just this: put the music up on its feet, ask questions, provide feedback, and learn additional context to support ongoing preparation of the music. In addition, this workshop gave Miller the chance to hear their work and make adjustments as desired in advance of the formal rehearsal process. The workshop included feedback from writer and editor Audra YiHong Sim and stage director Christine Freije. The full rehearsal process for Deep Water begins next month, with performances June 18-21 at Portland State University Lincoln Hall's Boiler Room Theatre. This workshop of Deep Water was made possible by generous support from Portland State University, Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), Portland Arts and Culture's Arts Access Fund, and donors to New Wave Opera. To learn more about Deep Water, visit our event page.  The Deep Water Team is all smiles after our workshop. From L-R: composer Caroline Louise Miller, music director & pianist Stephen Lewis, mezzo Allison Kim-Yok Knotts, soprano Emilie Faiella, mezzo Lisa Neher, and soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson.
New Wave Opera to preview queer fantasy opera Deep Water, a new opera by Caroline Louise Miller, at free concert at TOC Concert Hall  March 1, 2026 – Portland, OR: New Wave Opera (NWO) presents Rising Tides, an exploration of our warming world, the beauty of nature, and the fight for social justice through opera and song, in collaboration with The Old Church Concert Hall’s Free Lunchtime Concert Series. Audiences will hear previews from Caroline Louise Miller's new queer fantasy opera Deep Water, which features teenage oracles Val and Bluejay as they wander a post-apocalyptic world to document the fall of humanity. "The Vapour" is a haunting meditation on the destruction of forest fires. In "Immortality Becomes Tedious, " Val and Bluejay lament how depressing the work is, arguing over the point of it all. New Wave Opera is proud to be performing the world premiere of Deep Water in June 2026. This is your chance to hear excerpts of this compelling and timely opera in advance of the premiere. Miller says about the upcoming performance: “In writing Deep Water, I am continually inspired by the vast complexities of human experience, exploring entanglements of climate grief with the need for love, levity and play. In this upcoming performance, I am especially excited to share the excerpt Immortality Becomes Tedious, in which Val and Bluejay reminisce and lament on the difficulty of remaining the same over centuries while the earth experiences devastating changes. ” Composer Caroline Louise Miller. Complimenting selections from Deep Water are works inspired by the natural world, social justice, and the climate crisis. Renowned Portland soprano and voice teacher Susan McBerry narrates Upon a Broken World, by Lisa Neher and various poets, contemplating the end of wars, the struggle to maintain hope, and the beauty of day to day interactions. The concert features a bouquet of Portland’s most accomplished composers, including works by Stacey Philipps, Lisa Marsh, Drew Swatosh, and William Campbell. The performing arts play a crucial role in confronting the climate crisis,” says NWO President Lisa Neher. “Statistics and daily obligations can overwhelm and distract us, but the arts bring people together to pause and feel, and that shared experience drives sustained collective action.” In addition, Rising Tides features selections from operas in progress by Pacific Northwest composers. Dianne Davies' "A Solemn Promise," based on the novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, is a dramatic showdown between the stern and powerful Mrs. Thornton and the strong-willed outsider Margaret. In Lisa Neher and Bea Goodwin's "No, Nancy! You Can't Say That!" Carolyn Keene, author of the famous Nancy Drew novels, bursts into Nancy's world to stop her from being so independent. Her editors insist that she make Nancy more ladylike. But Nancy fights back and wants to know why she should be anything other than herself. Rising Tides features a team of Portland’s leading performers of contemporary music: soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson, mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher, pianist Stephen Lewis, and renowned soprano and voice teacher Susan McBerry as narrator, with Caroline Louise Miller on electronics. Free Admission, no advance pre-registration required. To learn more about this show and more from the upcoming season, visit NEWWAVEOPERA.ORG.  Stephen Lewis, Lisa Neher, and Lindsey Rae Johnson performing selections from Deep Water at Portland State University in January 2026. Photo by Dianne Davies. Event Info at a GlanceWHAT: Rising Tides
WHEN: Wednesday, April 15, at Noon WHERE: The Old Church Concert Hall, 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201 and Livestreamed COST: Free RUNTIME: 60 minutes  February 16, 2026 | Portland, OR: New Wave Opera is honored to be one of 274 Portland-based artists and arts organizations awarded a Portland Arts Project Grant from the City of Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC)!
This generous support will help bring to life the world premiere of Deep Water, a futuristic fantasy opera by Portland composer Caroline Louise Miller, debuting in June. The work follows two queer teenagers navigating a post-apocalyptic Earth, exploring themes of climate grief, resilience, and hope. "We are grateful to have the City of Portland and RACC's continued support of our work," says New Wave Opera President Lisa Neher. "Thanks to this grant, we can pay artists fairly for their work and offer ticket discounts for students, seniors, veterans, BIPOC, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and Oregon Trail Card holders. We're thrilled to bring Caroline Louise Miller's timely and powerful opera to Portland-area audiences." Read more about Portland Arts Project grants and the full list of recipients on the Regional Arts and Culture Council Website.  December 4, 2025 – Portland, OR: New Wave Opera (NWO) presents Currents of Change, an examination of our warming world through opera, in collaboration with Portland State University’s Music @ Midday concert series. This free lunchtime concert features exclusive previews of Portland composer Caroline Louise Miller’s opera Deep Water, which NWO will premiere in June 2026. Deep Water is a post-apocalyptic fantasy opera that investigates rage, grief, play, & persistence in the face of gargantuan, destructive forces. Queer teenage companions Val & Bluejay chronicle the fall of humanity during the Anthropocene, acting as witnesses and documentarians and finding resilience through love and play. Deep Water positions 2 queer teenagers in the role of history-creation, defining what is worth preserving.
“The performing arts play a crucial role in confronting the climate crisis,” says NWO President Lisa Neher. “Statistics and daily obligations can overwhelm and distract us, but the arts bring people together to pause and feel, and that shared experience drives sustained collective action.” Audiences will hear arias from Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Proving Up, a sharp critique of the American Dream, and from Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers, which dramatizes the 1950s persecution and mass dismissal of gay U.S. government employees. Currents of Change features a team of Portland’s leading performers of contemporary music: soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson, mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher, tenor Brandon Michael, and pianist Stephen Lewis, with composer Caroline Louise Miller running electronics for Deep Water. Currents of Change will be performed in English, with a runtime of 60 minutes. Admission is free and open to the public. This performance is made possible by Portland State University. To learn more about this show and more from the upcoming season, visit NEWWAVEOPERA.ORG. Event SummaryWHAT: Currents of Change
WHEN: Friday, January 16, 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm WHERE: Lincoln Recital Hall | Portland State University 1620 SW Park Ave |Portland, OR | 97201 COST: Free and open to the public RUNTIME: 60 minutes For Media Inquiries, Contact Lisa Neher, President, New Wave Opera
 Alice Tierney cast & creative team. Photo by Ari Finch. New Wave Opera wrapped up a weekend of performances of Atoms & Artifacts, our double bill of operas about the experiences and perceptions of historical women, to enthusiastic crowds at the Mago Hunt Center in Portland, OR. The shows were a double bill of west coast premieres. First on the program was Marie Curie Learns to Swim, by Jessica Rudman and Kendra Preston Leonard, about Madame Curie and her daughter and research partner, Irene, followed by Alice Tierney by Melissa Dunphy & Jacqueline Goldfinger, about a team of archeologists trying to unearth the truth about an 1800's murder victim.
"Both the operas had relatable stories and accessible yet sophisticated music," shared one audience member. Another audience member raved, "I love how much depth the women and queer characters in both operas had. I appreciate how they didn't shy away from expressing real world frustrations in their lives." New Wave Opera broke new ground with Marie Curie Learns to Swim, marking our first production with a full chamber ensemble, directed by Dr. Stephen Lewis. Rudman's evocative and colorful score wowed with shimmering colors suggesting radium and sweeping lines that brought the seashore to life. Alice Tierney's team of modern-day graduate student archeologists brought chuckles to the audience with their opening number, peppered with curse words one might expect from a frustrated team of students. These comical moments were balanced by poignancy, especially in Lindsey Rae Johnson's aria "I might be Alice Tierney," which painted a picture of a woman who never could satisfy society's expectations.
Atoms & Artifacts was made possible through generous support of Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), Portland Arts and Culture Arts Access Fund, the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition (MCCC), Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, the University of Portland, and the support of our donors. Alice Tierney was produced through arrangement with Mormolyke Press.
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