SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE

SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE SERIES

DR. NAOMI ANDRÉ

Scholar-in-Residence

Des Moines Metro Opera is thrilled to welcome Dr. Naomi André as our Scholar-in-Residence for the 50th anniversary season. Dr. André is Professor in Women’s Studies, the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, and the Residential College Arts and Ideas in the Humanities program at the University of Michigan. She received her BA in music from Barnard College and MA and PhD in musicology from Harvard University. She is the author of Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement which has quickly become a leading work in the opera field. She is also author of Voicing Gender: Castrati, Travesti, and the Second Woman in Early-Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera and coeditor of Blackness in Opera. During her residency she will create and participate in a series of podcasts and previews for DMMO patrons as well as a series of public events focused on her research on opera and issues surrounding gender, voice, and race.

Then and Now: Porgy and Bess in 2022

June 2, Turner Jazz Center, Drake University

Dr. André led a courageous conversation with Director Tazewell Thompson and Conductor Michael Ellis Ingram at Drake University’s Turner Jazz Center as they discussed topics central to why Porgy and Bess has been a challenging opera since it first opened in 1935. The panel provided perspective on the role of Porgy and Bess today, and how it might assist the opera community in its efforts to make the artform more inclusive. Selections from the opera were also performed.

Only hours before the opening night and world premiere of A Thousand Acres, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley reflects on the novel 30 years after its publication. She joins members of the creative team in conversation with Dr. André to reflect on the musical and dramatic setting of her book.

Creators in Conversation: An Afternoon with Jane Smiley

July 9, Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University

Singing Black Stories: A Concert of Selected Scenes

July 16, Franklin Jr. High

In a specially curated performance, Dr. Naomi André and members of the DMMO Apprentice Artist Program come together for a lecture and performance of selected works by Black composers including Terence Blanchard, William Grant Still, Shawn Okpebholo and Nkeiru Okoye. Selections presented represent historic importance, contemporary compositions and personal significance for the performing artists.