The mission of Opera Theater Oregon is to create, develop, and produce new operatic work, with an emphasis on projects that engage the community on issues of environment and social justice. With an emphasis on contemporary and English language opera, we inspire new and traditional audiences to experience opera in diverse ways respecting tradition and innovation, and creating enjoyable performances of high artistic integrity. We invite you to join us!

Short Bio:

Under visionary leadership, Opera Theater Oregon presents intimate, extraordinary new operatic experiences that refresh the genre while highlighting environmental issues and social justice. With an emphasis on creating, developing, and producing contemporary music and English language opera of the highest quality and integrity, OTO respects tradition and embraces innovation, delivering performances that are “thoroughly entertaining,” (The Oregonian) at once “marvelous… [and] emotionally satisfying.” (Northwest Reverb) OTO productions offer timely messages and reflect Portland’s signature maker mindset with uniquely stylized and abundantly charming attention to detail that together, attract new and younger audiences. Celebrated for their “expression and clarity,” (Oregon ArtsWatch) OTO’s singers represent the region’s finest and most versatile talent. Recent recognition and funding includes support from the National Endowment of the Arts, New Music USA, and the Oregon Community Foundation’s monumental Creative Heights Grant. 

Join OTO and experience socially conscious, operatic excellence, at the frontier!

Full History

Under visionary leadership, Opera Theater Oregon presents intimate, extraordinary new operatic experiences that refresh the genre while highlighting environmental issues and social justice. With an emphasis on creating, developing, and producing contemporary music and English language opera of the highest quality and integrity, OTO respects tradition and embraces innovation, delivering performances that are “thoroughly entertaining,” (The Oregonian) at once “marvelous… [and] emotionally satisfying.” (Northwest Reverb) OTO productions offer timely messages and reflect Portland’s signature maker mindset with uniquely stylized and abundantly charming attention to detail that together, attract new and younger audiences. Celebrated for their “expression and clarity,” (Oregon ArtsWatch) OTO’s singers represent the region’s finest and most versatile talent. Recent recognition and funding includes support from the National Endowment of the Arts, New Music USA, and the Oregon Community Foundation’s monumental Creative Heights Grant. 

OTO’s newest project reflects its dedication to intercultural exchange. Nu Nah-Hup: Sacajawea’s Story is a historic collaboration with Rose Ann Abrahamson, a descendant of Sacajawea, the Agai-Dika/Lemhi-Shoshone woman who was a crucial member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Shoshone-Bannock flutist and composer Hovia Edwards. This work is made possible with support from National Endowment for the Arts and the Native Voices Endowment of the Endangered Language Fund, along with a Creative Heights grant from the Oregon Community Foundation. 

Other recent highlights include the commission of Damien Geter’s Invisible (2020) as a virtual production; the Portland premiere of Academy Award-winning English composer Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince (2018) at Portland 5’s Winningstad Theater in three sold-out performances; and the World Premiere of Justin Ralls’ outdoor opera, Two Yosemites: A Environmental Opera (2017).

Founded in 2005 by Angela Niederloh and Amy Russell, OTO initially gained a reputation for out-of-the-box operatic concepts and small productions, including “mash-ups” with film and tv, and presentations in novel venues such as the Star Theater. Subsequent directors Katie Taylor and Erica Melton developed OTO’s identity and mission further through collaboration with Filmusik, and new commissions such as  Patrick Morganelli’s Hercules vs. Vampires (2015) (later produced by LA Opera), You’re Still as Beautiful, an original production synthesizing Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (2012) with French New Wave cinema, and Giasone and The Argonauts, a high-brow/low-brow fusion of 17th-century Venetian opera and 1960s mythic fantasy cinema at the Hollywood Theater. 


Our Team…

Lisa Lipton / Executive Director

Lisa is the Executive Director of Opera Theater Oregon and recently appointed Executive Director of the Newport Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Clarinetist for the Salem Orchestra. Having produced operas and song cycles such as The Little Prince by Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright, Two Yosemites by Justin Ralls, Songs for Joe Hill by Michael Lanci, and This Land Sings: Songs of Wandering, Love and Protest Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie by Michael Daugherty, Lipton often promotes and premieres new works on the West Coast; most recently she is curating Study Sessions, a series of jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical premieres and events at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. She worked at Ethos Music Center for four years as their roaming band director visiting over eight schools a week, and serving as summer camp director, strengthening her skills in community building and educational outreach. Of her chamber music performance for the March Music Moderne festival, Sam Reising wrote for I CARE IF YOU LISTEN: “Lipton…played clarinet in the piece, showcasing a wonderful sense of delicacy and awareness of the sound in time.”

Lipton studied Performance at Portland State University and attended the Central Chinese Conservatory. She is the recipient of awards and grants from New Music USA, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, The Herbert Templeton Foundation, and Portland State University.

 

Justin Ralls, Ph.D / Artistic Director

Justin Ralls, composer, conductor, writer, and educator hails from the Pacific Northwest and is inspired by the beauty of the natural world and elemental forms of creativity. An award winning composer, Ralls has conducted his works at the Lucca International Youth Orchestra Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Britt Festival at Crater Lake National Park, the Newman Scoring Stage in Los Angeles, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, as well as other venues in Salzburg, Rome, Portland, Boston, San Francisco and beyond. His music is featured on the Sierra Club and National Parks websites and NPR. SF Examiner remarked of Ralls’ orchestral work, Tree Ride, as “a whirlwind of thick orchestral textures…definitely establishing his own voice…” John Adams spoke of Tree Ride as “impressive…showing a mastery of orchestral technique,” also stating “your analogy to natural forces was done very well, your thunderstorm basically better than the Pastoral.” He has been described by artslandia.com as “a gifted melodist…[his music] a beautiful blend of natural and human-made music.” Ralls’ works have been performed by a variety of soloists and ensembles including Albany Symphony (NY), Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, Third Angle Ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, Fear No Music, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Jarring Sounds, Eugene Opera, Opera Theater Oregon, San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra, Esteli Gomez, Molly Barth and more. As a composer he explores an eclecticism encompassing many styles including natural soundscapes, improvisation, electronics, vocal, chamber, film, jazz, folk and orchestral forces. Ralls is an Artist-in-Residence at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, an Old Growth forest research site. His education includes The Boston and San Francisco Conservatories and as well earning a Ph.D from the University of Oregon.


Board of Directors

Lisa Lipton, Chair

Justin Ralls, Co-Chair

Anne Polyakov, Secretary 

John Lipton, Treasurer 

Christine A. Richardson


OTO is a 501c(3) tax exempt non-profit organization. The company was founded in 2005 by Angela Niederloh and Amy Russell, followed by Katie Taylor and Erica Melton. We rely on donations to continue to present new opera in Oregon, proudly featuring local talent and nurturing the careers of emerging artists. Find out more about making a tax deductible donation to OTO today!