Orfeo in Underland

Cast

ORfeo | Claire McCahan

Mezzo soprano Claire McCahan has been applauded for her unique tone and captivating stage presence. She has performed in Colorado with Boulder Opera, Opera Steamboat, Eklund Opera, the Boulder Bach Festival, the Longmont Symphony, the Rocky Mountain Chorale, and Cantabile Ensemble. She received first place in the 2020 World of Bach and Denver Lyric Opera Guild competitions, and was a finalist at the 2019 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition. A proponent of new works, she has sung with the Pendulum New Music Ensemble, CU New Opera Workshop, and the NEST studio for the arts. She is grateful to be singing with Renegade and to explore new expressions of opera.

Euridice | Madeleine Tran

Madeleine Tran was born in Tacoma, WA but currently lives in Portland, OR, where she obtained her degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Portland in 2018 and continues to study with Dr. Nicole Hanig. She was an avid performer growing up, participating in theater locally in Tacoma and Portland and throughout her educational career. Locally, highlights include performances with Mock’s Crest Productions, PSU’s Queer Opera, and Artist’s Repertory Theater.

Amore | Madeline Ross

Madeline Ross is an award-winning performer and creator of opera and concert experiences who made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019, and “effortlessly nail[ed]” her 2020 performance as Queen of the Night with Lark Opera’s production of Die Zauberflote (Oregon Arts Watch). She was named National Champion of the National Association of Teachers of Singing classical voice competition in 2020, and was a finalist at the Washington District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2021. She has performed with Portland Opera, Opera on Tap (Portland and Boston), Emmanuel Music, Aquilon Music Festival, Opera Theater Oregon, Renegade Opera and Promenade Opera Project. After founding Promenade Opera Project in Boston, MA, she has returned home to Portland to found Renegade Opera. Madeline is a firm believer in the power of expression through music and its ability to foster compassion, understanding, and innovation. She is a founding member of In the Pocket, a choral ensemble, and is the Music Administrator at First Presbyterian Church. She also holds a leadership role with Our Song Artists, a feminist classical music non-profit in Portland, OR.

Norah (Alto) | Claire Robertson-Preis

Mezzo-soprano Claire Robertson-Preis is a musicmaker and teacher — and now healthcare worker — originally from Missoula, MT and Boerne, TX. Claire holds double Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music and Russian from the University of Montana in 2016, studying abroad in both St. Petersburg, Russia (FINEC) and Graz, Austria (The American Institute of Musical Studies). With a M.M. Vocal Performance earned from West Virginia University in 2019, Claire's academic focuses include vocal pedagogy, perspectives in musicology, and twentieth-century music theory. While at WVU, Claire worked as a lecturer teaching private voice lessons and served as a Choral Intern with Suncrest United Methodist Church. Currently, Claire teaches voice to young singers at the Hoffman Academy in Portland, additionally working as a Life Enrichment Coordinator for the Springs Living during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Claire is passionate about making the opera industry a more accessible space now and for future singers. Most recently, Claire appeared as Second Lady in Aquilon Music Festival’s production of The Magic Flute.

Perry (Tenor) | Jesse Preis

Jesse Preis is a tenor/pianist from Emblem, Wyoming. As an undergraduate student, Jesse attended Northwest College in Powell, WY and the University of Montana in Missoula, MT, where he earned double Bachelor of Arts degrees in Piano Performance & Pedagogy and Vocal Performance. Jesse studied voice abroad in Vienna and Graz, Austria (AIMS) during the summers of 2015 and 2016. In 2019, Jesse completed an M.M. Vocal Performance at West Virginia University. His recent vocal performances include a complete staged recital of Winterreise, performed in 2018, and a chamber rendition of Vaughan Williams Four Hymns, performed in 2019. Jesse has also appeared as the First Priest and Armored Guard in WVU’s production of The Magic Flute, Parpignol in Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s La boheme Warhola, and roles in numerous opera scenes productions. After relocating to Portland, Jesse works as a piano teacher at Hoffman Academy in Beaverton and the Director of Musical Ministry at Prince of Life Lutheran Church in Oregon City.

Lucy (Soprano) | Elsa dougherty

Elsa Dougherty, soprano, is an alum of Lewis & Clark College where she received her Bachelor’s degree in music. At Lewis & Clark, Ms. Dougherty studied voice with Susan McBerry and served as soprano section leader in Cappella Nova chamber choir. Outside of her classical music interests, Ms.Dougherty has trained at the Institute for Contemporary Performance in Portland, Oregon. As a performer, she enjoys investigating the power of the breath and voice as a means of expressing personal and shared histories. She seeks to challenge societal expectations of how one expresses joy, grief, and love.

Chryse (Alto) | Elliot Menard

Elliot Menard is a mezzo-soprano, grant writer, and opera-maker from Brooklyn. She is passionate about democratizing opera: performing and producing works that create space for diversity and accessibility, advocating for artists, and dismantling financial gatekeeping in the industry. She holds a BA in Classics from Reed College and will start her MFA in VoiceArts at the California Institute of the Arts in the fall of 2021. Most recently, she has performed with Renegade Opera, Big Mouth Ensemble, Aquilon Music Festival, and at various performances and concerts at Reed College.

Brett (Bass) | Matthew Bishop Burn

Known for his interpretations of both new and old works, bass-baritone Matthew Bishop Burn holds undergraduate degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory in both voice and music history and a master’s degree in historical performance from the Longy School of Music. A frequent performer at the Miami Music Festival, Burn has performed the roles of Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), the Parson (Cunning Little Vixen), Rambaldo (La Rondine), and the English Ambassador (Ghosts of Versailles). Burn was a part of the second-ever performance of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning opera Angel’s Bone, and while studying for his master’s Burn was a frequent collaborator with both Emmanuel Music and the Boston Camerata. Burn has also performed several times in Italy, at both the Casa Verdi in Milan and the Teatro Petrarcha in Arezzo. Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, Burn is currently based in Portland, Oregon.

Orchestra

Cello II | Philip Kettler

Philip Kettler was recently appointed as the Second Cellist of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, making him the organization’s youngest member. He has also performed with the Sarasota Orchestra and serves as the Associate Principal Cellist of both the Terre Haute Symphony and Carmel Symphony. Recently, Philip has been featured at the Chevy Chase Concert Series (Washington, DC), Blair Concert Series (Nashville, TN), and Chamber Music Evergreen (Evergreen, CO). Philip is currently pursuing the Doctor of Music degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He previously studied at Vanderbilt University and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Keyboard | Rebecca Stager

Rebecca Stager is a collaborative pianist and vocal coach residing in the greater Portland area. She received her bachelor’s degree in Music from Oregon State University and her master’s degree in Vocal Accompanying from Manhattan School of Music. Having accompanied professionally for over 15 years, she enjoys everything from Schubertian Lieder to contemporary instrumental works, from Brahms trios to Broadway classics. After nearly a year of being unable to collaborate live with other musicians, Rebecca is especially grateful to be part of this production. One musician can make beautiful things. But put us together and we can make pure magic!

Salem String Quartet

Caius and Sigrun Oprea, violin | Brandon Correa, viola | Katherine Couch Parks, cello

Music has brought us together. The string quartet is one of the most musically satisfying ensembles to be a part of. We have been performing for years together and have truly become a family. We want to share our love and passion for music. We are the quartet in residence for the Camerata Musica Society in Salem Oregon.

Creative Team

Stage Director | Joellen Sweeney

Joellen Sweeney is a director, actor and teaching artist from Portland, Oregon. Recent credits include work with Artists Repertory Theatre, Anonymous Theatre, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Renegade Opera, Shaking the Tree Theatre and Northwest Children's Theatre. She is a co-founder of Bedrock Theatre, a performance collective that combines storytelling, live music and hiking in parks and wilderness areas. Joellen is currently pursuing an MFA in Acting through the University of Washington. Many thanks to the incredible cast, orchestra, and Renegade Team for this joyful journey.

Costume Designer | Ophir El-Boher

Ophir El-Boher is a fashion designer fully committed to using only excess materials to help get read of the world’s trash. Through creative upcycling, she challenges fashion conventions of material use, production and consumption cycles, as well as beauty itself. Her art and educational work canter innovative creativity and limitless joy.

Mask Designer | Elliot Menard

Music Director | Danielle Jagelski

Danielle Jagelski is a conductor and composer based in New York City. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Danielle is the Music Director and co-founder of Renegade Opera, an immersive opera company based in Portland, OR. At home in both choral and instrumental realms, Danielle serves as cover conductor at Manhattan School of Music, and has recently conducted at Hallowed Halls (Portland, OR) and Aquilon Music Festival (McMinnville, OR). Danielle is a fierce advocate for equity in musical spaces, and has presented her research in mixed-race studies and classical music throughout the US and Canada. Danielle began her musical studies in music composition at Hamline University with Jannika Vandervelde, and conducting studies at Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She is currently pursuing further studies in Orchestral Conducting at Manhattan School of Music with Maestro George Manahan.

Puppet Designer | Arcadia Trueheart

When I was five, my late godmother, Ellie (an artist) told me, “If you’re bored, that’s your own fault, there is always something to be making or doing.” She then pulled out a jar, crammed with saved twisty ties, and together we built a castle across her kitchen counter. I try to live my life by her example. Drawing, painting, sculpting, and storytelling challenge “boredom,” a state I now recognize as apathy and isolation. What ties together my many creative disciplines, is a desire to be an active participant in this world. I want to really see what is around me, to listen with my heart, and to respond with my whole body. I practice seeing by drawing or painting the land and the people around me. Interpreting my surroundings allows me to touch with my eyes, to feel the roughness of distant mountains or the intensity of someone’s gaze. I practice listening when I illustrate words, interpret an abstract experience with form and color, or open up to the story someone shares with me in an interview. I practice responding by painting public murals, creating performances with masks and puppets, and facilitating workshops that encourage connection and community.

Stage Manager | Brooke Larson

Brooke is very excited to be working with Renegade Opera for the first time on Orfeo in Underland. She has previously worked with PSU’s Queer Opera, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, and George Fox University, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre. She would like to thank her family and friends for their support and love through everything.