New Wave Opera Shines at Shine the Light!

NWO Artists Timothy Lafolette, Lindsey Rae Johnson, Jena Slater, and Stephen Lewis backstage at the Reser Center

June 8, 2025, Beaverton, OR - New Wave Opera shines with entertaining and light-hearted operatic excerpts at the Patricia Reser Center's Shine the Light!

On Saturday, June 7, NWO performed audience favorites from contemporary operas for an audience of families of all ages. The performance, part of the Reser Centers Shine the Light Community Celebration, shared excerpts of Pepito (Nicolás Lell Benavides & Marella Martin Koch), in which a lonely shelter dog finally finds a forever home with Camilla, Meow & Forever, (Jodi Goble & Basil Considine), in which two bored cats lament the struggles of their life, and a preview of New Wave Opera's fall performance of Marie Curie Learns to Swim (Jessica Rudman & Kendra Preston Leonard), in which Madame Curie's daughter Irene wonders how to tell her mother about her growing concerns about the radium in their research. Plus, the artists performed NWO resident composer Lisa Neher's How Doth the Little Crocodile? a sly and playful setting of Lewis Carroll about a crocodile that lures fish into its smiling jaws!

The music was brought to life by New Wave Opera board members and resident artists Lindsey Rae Johnson, soprano, and Stephen Lewis, piano, joined by guest artists Timothy Lafolette, baritone, and Jena Slater, mezzo-soprano. 

Over 600 people attended the Shine the Light at the Beaverton, Oregon Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, enjoying New Wave Opera's performance alongside music, theater, and dance performances! Thank you to the Patricia Reser Center for hosting us!