40th anniversary concert series
Third angle and Bag&Baggage Productions present
Dies Irae, Desirée
A Chamber Opera by Maria Finkelmeier & Brady Evan Walker
March 13 - 15, 2026
The Vault Theater
350 E Main St, Hillsboro, OR 97123
Dies Irae, Desirée is a new chamber opera that explores cults, fanaticism, and how the internet fosters an emotional vacuum where extremists can plant, nourish and accelerate fringe belief systems.
The narrative unfolds in the fictional world of “The Kinship,” a UFO cult led by charismatic YouTube streamer Desirée who claims to communicate with a cosmic emissary from the distant solar system of Elyrha. Her eclectic band of followers known as “The Kinship” includes “Cassie,” a cyberpunk toting twenty-something, “Jack Noel,” a Silicon-Valley mogul, “Astrid,” a fragile, self-effacing follower and “Tadd,” an underachieving college dropout. As the group prepares for their promised ascension, they grapple with hope, faith, disillusionment, and public scorn.
75-minute production without intermission.
Dies Irae, Desirée
Maria Finkelmeier / Composer / Co-Director / Conductor + Electronics
Brady Evan Walker / Librettist / Co-Director
Supreetha Krishnan / Interactive Visual Designer / Animator
CAST
Sarah Beaty, Desirée
Quinton Gardner, Jack Noel
Madeline Tran, Cassie and Sunny St. Cloud
Sarah Tiedemann, flute and Astrid
William Pyle, saxophone and Tadd
Valdine Ritchie, cello
Chris Whyte, percussion
