Entrancing, Wicked, and Totally Portland

Entrancing, WIcked, and Totally Portland

8/7/2024

Three crows face different directions against a grey and black cloudy background. The event graphic reads: New Wave Opera presents Music in the Manor. Monday, August 19, 6-11pm. Raven's Manor Haunted Bar, Five-dollar cover. w,w,w, dot, new wave opera, dot, org.

On August 19th, New Wave Opera lands at Raven's Manor Haunted Bar to perform a selection of operatic works and art songs by living composers. In the coming weeks, we'll be sharing a bit more about these pieces and their writers - including a world premiere!

Today's post dives deeper into works created by Portland-based composers Lisa Neher, Dianne Davies, and Kimberly R. Osberg.

she conjures (2023) - Lisa Neher & Bea Goodwin

Two people on a large, dimly-lit stage. A man sits at a grand piano towards the back of the stage, wearing a black suit and white collar shirt. There is a woman near the front, advancing towards a black chair as she holds a large bahdran drum and mallet. she is wearing a dark green shawl over a black dress, and her brown hair is tied back away from her face.

Claire McCahan (right) performs she conjures, accompanied by Brendon Shapiro on piano for the world premiere performance in 2023.

Summary: she conjures places listeners in 1666 in North Berwick, Scotland. Grissall’s mother has been burned for witchcraft and a mysterious spell of endless snow has fallen upon the land. With the help of her mother’s feathered familiar, Caraid, Grissall seeks answers and justice, with the help of a little magic of her own.

What to Expect: With a dramatic and whimsical libretto by Bea Goodwin, this feminist tale of witches, crows, curses, revenge, and redemption is infused with Scottish folk music elements - and a bit of magic of its own. The rendition at Raven's Manor this August will include the first two movements from the work, performed by mezzo Allison Kim-Yok Knotts, and serves as a sneak peak for a fully-staged production this October!

Why We Love This Work: she conjures is a masterclass in how to tell a compelling, complete story with a single character. Bea Goodwin's libretto cleverly balancing letting listeners know the context and intentions of its main character, while still providing an air of mystery and suspense. We also love how Lisa expands this enviornment with the piano, transporting audience members to another realm and immersing listeners completely into Grissall's world.

Read more about composer Lisa Neher here. Read more about librettist Bea Goodwin here.

Sleep Saga (2024) - Dianne Davies

A woman sits on a wooden patio chair on a wooden stage. There is a periwinkle house in the background, along with an open door covered by a black curtain. The woman is wearing open-toed sandals and has her feet on the crossbar of the chair. Her legs hug closer to her body as she holds a blanket and teddy bear, nervously looking off-camera. She is wearing a grey shirt, and the chair has a light purple night robe hanging off the back.

Lisa Neher performs "Sleep Saga" at Summer Splash

Summary: Dianne Davies' takes listeners through a cycle of sleepless nights at different points in a woman's life. Beginning from the fear of monsters as a child, the perils of friendship dynamics as a teenager, the nervous energy of a wedding, and finally as a tired mom with a sleepless child of her own.

What to Expect: Performed as a staged work during our Summer Splash show this past July, mezzo Lisa Neher reprises her role as the solo character. Complete with costumes and staging, we can't wait to bring this fun and charming work to Raven's Manor for our August show.

Why We Love This Work: In only six minutes, Dianne Davies brings listeners through an entire life's worth of sleepless nights with beautifully-detailed piano writing and wonderfully expressive vocal lines. This collection of vignettes shares experiences listeners of every age can relate to, and we love the specificity of her original text.

Read more about composer & writer Dianne Davies here.

THUMP (2014) - Kimberly R. Osberg

Summary: Based on the "Tell-Tale Heart" short story by Edgar Allen Poe, this 30-minute operetta separates Poe's dynamic narrator into three distinct voices - each using text directly from the short story to shine a light on a different interpretation of the tale. Who is the narrator? What is their relationship to "the old man"? And what happened on that fateful night?

What to Expect: In this August performance, mezzo Lisa Neher will perform a solo aria from THUMP, exploring a softer, more fearful reading of the source material - providing a sneak peak of our upcoming full production of the work, which will feature Neher, soprano Lindsey Rae Johnson, and tenor Brandon Michael in our October show.

The image is a title card for a piece of music. The card is in a dark red color, and includes the title - THUMP - along with the name of the composer & publisher - Kimpositions. The graphic above the title is a red heart, sitting atop a goopy line of blood-red ooze that drips over the title of the work.

Cover art for "THUMP"

Why We Love This Work: With its quasi-Rashoman structure, THUMP allows for new interpretations of and highlights questions raised by the original text - the narrator's gender, relationship to "the old man," and true motivations for their actions are never revealed. With three explorations set side-by-side, along with some truly lush and demanding piano writing (to be performed by Stephen Lewis in August, and pianist Sequoia this October), this well-known work is made fresh once more.

Read more about composer Kimberly R. Osberg here.

Hear these works and a whole lot more at
Music in the Manor !

Event graphic that reads: Opera Night. Five dollar cover. Raven's manor Haunted Bar. Monday, August 19th. 6-11pm. New Wave Opera. The graphic is comprised of light green, pale yellow, and an accent of salmony-red, along with darker elements in dark brown. There are four people in black and white standing in a row posing with silly faces, most of which involve having their tongues sticking out.

WHEN: Monday, August 19th | 6-11pm**
WHERE: Raven's Manor Haunted Bar | 235 SW 1st Ave | Portland, OR | 97204
COST: $5 cover charge at the door
ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Ages 21+ only. No RSVP required, but reservations available via Raven's Manor. We will perform off & on throughout the evening, so come anytime! Food & Drink available for purchase from the bar. Contact Raven's Manor for full menu & accommodation information.

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