Poster design by Jason Miranda, donated by big-giant.

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PERFORMANCES
February 17, 19, 20, 24, 26 and 28, 2010, 7:30 pm, Clinton Street Theater. Leitmotif Bingo every night at 7:00!

Generously supported by a grant from The Autzen Foundation.

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The first opera in Richard Wagner's 'Ring Cycle' rescripted as a 'Baywatch' episode and wailed out by 20 spray-tanned opera singers and a big, noisy, half-electric orchestra. All played out at the Portland home of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clinton Street Theater, where the beer flows and the pizza is cheap and tasty. Don't know 'The Ring?' Picture 'Lord of the Rings' in Malibu, with David Hasselhoff as Frodo. The Perfect Tan corrupts...perfectly.

THE PLOT

Follow the mad career of deejay Larry Loomin' Large (Alberich), whose lifelong Napoleon complex has driven him to a dark obsession with obtaining the Perfect Tan (The Ring) and, with it, ultimate control over everyone and everything.

Can Mitch (Wotan) stop him in time, or will he too succumb to the unholy allure of the magical Tanhelm? CJ, Matt, Hobie, Stephanie and Caroline join in a race against time to stop the Perfect Tan, once enjoyed in innocence, from becoming the destroyer of all.

Maestro Erica Melton leads our big, half-electric orchestra (thanks to the generous folks at The Autzen Foundation): brass quartet, grand piano, clarinets, harp, percussion, electric guitars and bass.

COME AT 7:00 FOR LEITMOTIF BINGO!

Wagner's operas are known for their many leitmotifs (theme songs) for characters, feelings and ideas. The evening starts with a rousing round of Leitmotif Bingo, designed to give the audience a fighting chance at figuring out just what the hell Wagner is trying to say (visual aids provided - and teutonic prizes!).

STARRING...

With special guest stars Electric Opera Company and Festival Brass.

Written/directed by OTO Artistic Director Katie Taylor (loosely adapted from the "Baywatch" Season 5 ep "KGAS The Groove Yard of Solid Gold" by Gregory J. Bonnan and Deborah Bonnan).

Music directed by OTO Music Director Erica Melton and arranged by Erica Melton, Ben Landsverk, Bobby Ray and Brad Bleything.

Technical direction by Robin Greenwood.

Presented by kind permission of 'Baywatch' creator Gregory J. Bonnan.

Sponsored by Portland State University and Sherman Clay Pianos

Watch an exciting clip from the original movie (it will be even better as an opera)!

PERFORMANCES
May 2010 at the Hollywood Theater, dates TBA

Generously supported by funds from Regional Arts & Culture Council and WorkforArt.

OPERA IN TECHNICOLOR

Opera Theater Oregon presents the newest installment in our Opera Cinema Series, in collaboration with Galen Huckins of Filmusik. "Hercules Vs. Vampires" syncs the gorgeously gaudy 1961 Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Fashion House of Death) sword and sandals epic with live performance of a new opera by film composer Patrick Morganelli, commissioned by OTO.

This gorgeously-produced Technicolor gem is action-packed and wildly operatic in scope. The film follows a quest through hell by Hercules and Theseus - the object to rescue the beautiful Daianara from eternal enslavement by the vampire-master. Commissioned with kind support from Portland Opera, Vigil-Agrimis, Inc. and Oregon HEAT.

Directed by Katie Taylor. Music direction by Erica Melton. Technical direction by Galen Huckins.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

An artist whose music critics have described as "stirring" and "haunting," Patrick Morganelli has worked with distinguished filmmakers such as Oscar-nominee Randall Wallace (BRAVEHEART, PEARL HARBOR, WE WERE SOLDIERS) and producer Stephen Zapotoczny (WE WERE SOLDIERS, FIGHT OR DIE) and composers like Christopher Young (SPIDERMAN 3) and Michael Giacchino (LOST, STAR TREK).

Patrick graduated with highest honors from the USC Thornton School of Music with degrees in Classical Piano and Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, Patrick specializes in dramatic orchestral scores and unusual combinations of instruments.

He is also a former military officer with over 3000 flight hours and 650 carrier landings in jet fighter aircraft.

Patrick lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

BEGGAR'S TUBE

FREE AUDIO

Song of Redemption
from OTO's "The Beggar's Opera"
Music by Michael Herrman
Lyrics by Stephen Marc Beaudoin

PERFORMANCES
October 22-25, 7:00 pm at Someday Lounge (21+) and October 30 + 31, 7:00 pm at The Woods (21+)

Generously supported by a grant from the Herbert A. Templeton Foundation.

In the midst of a 21st century Great Recession, Portland drowns in homelessness, joblessness, gang violence, sexcapading politicians and booming art, music and sex industries. Drop a genre-busting chamber-pop band into the mix, and you've got Opera Theater Oregon's world premiere production of "The Beggar's Opera."

Based on John Gay's landmark 18th century ballad opera of the same name, OTO's "Beggar's Opera" is written by Portland performer and writer Stephen Marc Beaudoin (script/lyrics) and Buoy LaRue's Michael Herrman (music).

"We want to celebrate and send up what a wonderful, screwed up city this place is," says Beaudoin. "Just as in Gay's original, we'll lampoon and give a middle finger to the peculiar culture of our time and place, but we also hope the themes of faith and redemption will be universal."

Directed by Stephen Marc Beaudoin. Music direction by Michael Herrman. Technical direction by Robin Greenwood. Starring Scot Crandal (Mack), Beth Madsen Bradford (Mrs. Peachum), Leah Yorkston (Polly), Bobby Jackson (Lockit) and Emily Zahniser (Lucy). Buoy LaRue as the "Beggar's" house band.

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