Dies Irae, Desirée at Bag & Baggage

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, 2026 at 7:30PM
March 14, 2026 at 2:00PM & 7:30PM
March 15, 2026 at 2:00PM
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 “New Elyrhans,” 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.

SINGLE TICKETS

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