Renegade Opera’s Mission

Collective Voices | Immersive Performance | Innovative Opera

Renegade Opera creates thought-provoking and intimate musical performances that engage audiences and multifaceted artists, reclaiming narrative power for the traditionally underrepresented and championing institutional reform in opera.

About

Renegade Opera was founded in January 2020 by Madeline Ross, Danielle Jagelski, and Elliot Menard in order to make work that reflected their values as artists, advocates, and activists. Renegade’s first season produced The Secret Diaries of Pennsylvania Avenue and the first annual Holiday Song Swap. In the company’s second season, the Renegade Team was joined by Claire Robertson-Preis. Renegade’s second season featured Artists in Conversation: Deconstruct and Orfeo in Underland. In 2022, Renegade virtually produced Artists in Conversation: Contemporary Storytelling in Classical Music, held an inaugural fundraising Renegala, and presented Tito, a modern adaptation of La Clemenza di Tito at Historic Alberta House. Renegade also added team member Abigail Krawson and Creative Company members Madeleine Tran, Jesse Preis, and Joellen Sweeney. In 2023, Renegade produced Bird Songs of Opera, Adam’s Run and an in-person Artists in Conversation Festival featuring She Loves You Back and American Patriots. Hannah Kelly and Emily Way joined the Creative Company in 2024.

Renegade Opera strives to dismantle systems of racism, patriarchy, homophobia, ageism, ableism, sexism, and financial gatekeeping in the opera industry. Renegade Opera advocates for the fair treatment and compensation of artistic collaborators (local Portland and emerging artists) and rejects the inequitable and discriminatory practices in the opera industry. Renegade’s work addresses the financial inaccessibility of the arts for audiences and artists by implementing ethical producing practices and offering accessible performances and events to the public. The leadership of Renegade Opera represents a part of the next generation of artists bringing institutional reform to the performing arts industry. Renegade Opera is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax deductible.

Land Acknowledgement

The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River creating communities and summer encampments to harvest and use the plentiful natural resources of the area.” (Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable, 2018) 

We thank the original caretakers of this land. We also want to recognize that Portland today is still a home of many diverse Native peoples who live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, and future.