Dies Irae, Desirée, a new chamber opera

Præmu is coming!! When Brady Walker called me about two years ago to talk about collaborating, I wouldn't have imagined we'd manifest a new chamber opera, let alone have it premiered by the incredible Third Angle New Music! I am in Portland, Oregon this week to work with the ensemble for a four show run tomorrow through Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Dies Irae, Desirée premieres tomorrow at The Vault Theater.

Let’s talk about the premiere. What is Dies Irae, Desirée?

It’s a new chamber opera exploring cults, fanaticism, and the way the internet fosters emotional vacuums where extremist belief systems can grow.

The title plays on “Dies Irae,” the Latin phrase for Day of Wrath. In our story, Desiree begins as a single YouTube personality speaking into a ring light. She believes a god-like figure is telling her that she and her followers will be spared Earth’s suffering, lifted away before the planet burns, and returned seven years later to replenish it.

At first, what she says feels almost reasonable. The world feels fractured. There are fires, polarization, conflict. You find yourself nodding along.

Then a Silicon Valley type tech bro discovers her and treats her ideology like a startup. Suddenly she’s scaling. Followers multiply. The belief system metastasizes.

It’s satirical, and audiences will laugh. But it’s rooted in very real observations of how people we know, and love get drawn into fringe systems. It’s about how the digital age makes the extreme feel normal. Part therapy, part opera.

Continue to read the full interview at Broadway World Portland.