Portland Opera
Portland Opera has been enhancing the cultural landscape of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest since 1964.
Portland Opera 2020/2021 Season
To produce the visual direction for Portland Opera’s 2020/2021 season, I created digital collages using cut-up photographic elements, original illustrations, and scanned pieces of torn paper.
Production and studio photography rounded out the visuals, highlighting sets, costumes, and individual performers.
Role:
— Graphic Design, Art Direction, Digital Collage & Illustration, Page Layout
Portland Opera 2019/2020 Season
For Portland Opera’s 2019/2020 season, we employed abstract fine art paintings to convey the emotions and themes for each of the season’s productions, rather than the more traditional approach of using literal representations of characters, symbols, events, and scenery.
Role:
— Graphic Design, Art Direction, Digital Collage & Illustration, Playbill Page Layout & Design, Ad and Marketing Design.
Portland Opera 2018/2019 Season
Our direction for Portland Opera’s 2018/2019 season was a series of “environments” relating to each opera — symbolically and characteristically. A photo of the camellias at my family home in Cheshire, Oregon embodied the rich elegance of the grand opera, La Traviata (based on the play The Lady with the Camellias). Orange trees represented The Barber of Seville — depicting Seville’s famous oranges while evoking the brightness of the opera’s comedic action and colorful sets and costumes. A photo of an Italian garden captured the setting of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera (The Hidden Gardener), while a cold, dark room evoked the menace and brutality felt in Philip Glass’ In the Penal Colony.
Role:
— Graphic Design, Art Direction, Ad and Marketing Design.
Portland Opera 2018/2019 Season
Role:
— Graphic Design, Art Direction, Ad and Marketing Design.
Photo by Trace Downen
Photo by Garrett Downen
Toi Toi Toi magazine
We launched Portland Opera’s Toi Toi Toi beginning with the 2018 season, to serve as a full-season playbill. Not only does each issue contain information and insights into each production, it is also rich with engaging editorial content.
Role:
— Graphic Design, Page Layout, and Naming
Credits:
— Graphic Design and Page Layout (Artslandia): Jackie Tran
— Managing Editor: Silja Tobin
Toi Toi Toi is produced in partnership with local arts publisher Artslandia. Initial development and planning for the first issue, was held at Artslandia’s Portland office and the Hampton Opera Center. Our teams met to brainstorm size, content, and other details.
Why did we name it Toi Toi Toi?
Theatre has historically been steeped in superstition, and you may know it is considered bad luck to say “good luck” backstage. Actors say “break a leg!” Dancers say “merde!” In opera, we say “toi toi toi,” and we pronounce it /TOY TOY TOY/.
We don’t know exactly where it came from, but most people believe the phrase is adapted from the tradition of spitting to ward off evil spirits. The old practice has developed a modern edge, and it is now common to see the phrase as a sign off on an email or attached to a hashtag on social media (#toiX3!).”—Portland Opera & Artslandia
Resident Artists
Photo by Bethany Antikajian
Portland Opera’s Resident Artists are part of a season-long residency and training program that cultivates and supports emerging artists as they enter the professional world of opera. These young artists appear in main stage productions, community events, and solo showcases.
Role:
— Graphic Design, Art Direction, Photography
