 November 26, 2024 - PORTLAND, OR - On January 18th and 19th, New Wave Opera presents a double-bill of two family-friendly "o-paw-ras" that focus on animals and found family: PEPITO (Nicolás Lell Benavides & Marella Martin Koch) and MEOW AND FOREVER (Jodi Goble & Basil Considine). The program will take place at the Mago Hunt Recital Hall at University of Portland. "We couldn't be more proud to present these two works, both written by living composers and librettists," says NWO president & resident mezzo, Lisa Neher. "We are so grateful to Nicole Hanig and her department at University of Portland for providing this space for us to share these two fantastic operas." Pepito follows the story of a lonely shelter dog (Timothy Lafolette) who is - at last - being considered for adoption by a young couple (Brandon Michael and Lindsey Rae Johnson). However, as Pepito begins to bond with one partner more than the other, tensions arise to the point where the shelter owner (Lisa Neher) asks them the hard question: are they sure they are ready for this? Meow and Forever features two cats (Lisa Neher and Dru Rutledge) looking on at their owner's love life (Gina Adorno). As their owner gets swept away in a whirlwind romance with a newfound love (Lindsey Rae Johnson), she neglects her best friend (Henriët Fourie) - and her cats! One misunderstanding leads to another, but - as the librettist promises - "happy ending guaranteed!" The productions will be directed by Jeffrey Puukka, with Susan McDaniel at the piano. "It has been a dream of mine to direct opera," shares Puukka, who brings over 20 years of experience directing theatrical productions, ranging from classics to immersive performance art projects, to world premiere productions of new plays. "I am delighted to collaborate with New Wave Opera for the first time!" The production is supported by RACC (Regional Arts and Culture Council), which provided support for ASL interpreting services (available on the Saturday evening performance), as well as support for live-captioning for both performances. "We are especially thankful to RACC for supporting this project," says NWO resident soprano and board treasurer Lindsey Rae Johnson. "Thanks to their help, we are able to provide this programming to a wide array of families, first-time attendees, and audiences often overlooked by standard productions. We are proud to be providing the captions and ASL services as part of this run of performances." WAGS & WHISKERS: TWO O-PAW-RAS ABOUT FAMILY
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