Des Moines Metro Opera 51st Summer Festival Program 2023

On view through August 26: SUSTAINING

VISION

RECENT ACQUISITIONS FOR THE MUSEUM OF ART COLLECTION

Opening September 15:

STEPHEN APPLEBY-BARR CORRESPONDENCE

This will be the first museum exhibition in the United States for London-based Canadian artist Stephen Appleby-Barr, whose drawing, painting, and printmaking bring together influences from the history of art and literature, his European travels, and the community of friends who gather around his London studio. This exhibition will provide context for the portrait, Nimco, The Dissertation, which was acquired by the Museum in 2022.

Stephen Appleby-Barr, Nimco, The Dissertation, 2022. Oil on linen, 36 x 30 in. Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection (2022.060)

The Marshall and Judy Flapan Music Director and Principal Conductor DAVID NEELY

OUR MISSION

Create distinctive theatrical experiences and inspirational learning opportunities for artists and audiences of the 21st century.

INSPIRE diverse audiences through statewide educational programs and unique community collaborations.

ENCOURAGE established and emerging artists and administrators to produce their best work through a creative, inclusive environment.

CURATE innovative repertory from four centuries of composition presented at the highest levels of artistic and vocal achievement.

IMPACT the economic vitality of the Greater Des Moines region through programming that generates national and international tourism.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Summer Festival performances take place on and our offices occupy the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Ioway, Sauk and Meskwaki, and Sioux. We recognize that our presence here is the result of ongoing Colonialism and the forced removal of Indigenous peoples. We honor the people of these tribes and other Indigenous caretakers of these lands, the elders who lived here before, the Indigenous people today, and the generations to come. Through this acknowledgement, Des Moines Metro Opera seeks to affirm the ties and rights these Nations continue to have and will forever have to this land. You can learn more about Native lands and find links to information about the Ioway, Sauk and Meskwaki, and Sioux at native-land.ca/.

2023 SUMMER FESTIVAL CALENDAR

JUNE 3

2PM, Carmen Sneak Peek | Franklin Avenue Library

6:30PM, Apprentice Spotlight | BPAC

JUNE 9

10AM, Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure | BPAC

JUNE 10

10AM, Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure | BPAC

5:30PM, Opera Gala | American Enterprise Building

JUNE 17

11:30AM, Threads & Trills | Des Moines Embassy Club West

2PM, Fairy Tales from the Fringe | Franklin Avenue Library

4PM, Apprentice Scenes Program | ARMC, Free

JUNE 30

7:30PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 1

7:30PM, Bluebeard’s Castle | BPAC

JULY 2

2:00PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 5

2PM, Apprentice Scenes Program | ARMC, Free

JULY 7

7:30PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 8

2PM, dwb (driving while black) | Mainframe Studios

7:30PM, The Love for Three Oranges | BPAC

JULY 9

2PM, Bluebeard’s Castle | BPAC

4:30PM, Apprentice Scenes Program | ARMC, Free

JULY 11

7:30PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 12

7:30PM, Stars of Tomorrow | Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University

JULY 13

7:30PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 14

2PM, Apprentice Scenes Program | ARMC, Free

7:30PM, Bluebeard’s Castle | BPAC

JULY 15

2PM, dwb (driving while black) | Hope+Elim

7:30PM, Carmen | BPAC

JULY 16

2PM, The Love for Three Oranges | BPAC

JULY 18

7:30PM, The Love for Three Oranges | BPAC

JULY 20

7:30PM, The Falling and the Rising | Freedom Center, Camp Dodge

JULY 21

2PM, dwb (driving while black) | Viking Theatre, Grand View University

7:30PM, The Love for Three Oranges | BPAC

JULY 22

2PM, The Falling and the Rising | Freedom Center, Camp Dodge

7:30PM, Bluebeard’s Castle | BPAC

JULY 23

2:00PM, Carmen | BPAC

TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE | ALL TIMES ARE CT

ARMC Amy Robertson Music Center, 519 N Buxton St

BPAC Blank Performing Arts Center, 513 North D St

LOC Lauridsen Opera Center, 106 W Boston Ave

From the GENERAL DIRECTOR

Welcome to the 2023 Summer Festival—our 51st. We’re grateful you chose to spend your time and resources with us. As a nonprofit organization that depends on the generosity of those who believe in the value of the arts in our community, we thank you for your support!

This season five operas are part of our Summer Festival—four of them company premieres. Bizet’s Carmen returns for the first time in 16 years in a beautiful production to be filmed for later broadcast by Iowa PBS. The company premiere of two operatic rarities, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, continue our commitment to present works that both inspire operatic tourists to come to Iowa but can also delight newer attendees. The Bartók provides us the perfect canvas to work with international digital image composer and Des Moines treasure Oyoram. The demand for the Prokofiev has surprised us all with high popularity among ticket buyers. Our 2nd Stages Series again places us squarely at the intersection of art, ideas and the modern world. dwb (driving while black) features Roberta Gumbel as both librettist and performer in four performances with community partners around our city and state, while The Falling and the Rising with the Iowa National Guard at Camp Dodge tells a story of family, sacrifice and service to country. Both works exemplify opera’s ability to build understanding and create conversation around some of our nation’s most timely and pressing topics.

As Des Moines Metro Opera continues to grow and evolve, I’m bursting at the seams to tell you our plans for 2024, which feature an expanded season at the Blank Performing Arts Center. We open with a bright, hilarious production of Rossini’s razor-sharp comedy The Barber of Seville with baritone Alexander Birch Elliott in the title role and tenor Duke Kim as Count Almaviva. Next, a new production of Richard Strauss’s colossal and monumental Salome features soprano Sara Gartland as she takes on the pivotal role for the first time in her career. Then, at long last, we see Debussy’s shimmering impressionistic masterpiece Pelléas & Mélisande in its company premiere featuring the return of two company favorites, John Moore and Sydney Mancasola. Finally, as a special treat in 2024, comes the promised world premiere performances of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo in its full-length version featuring Justin Austin as Thomas Eugene McKeller and William Burden as John Singer Sargent. As this piece has evolved and developed, its placement on the mainstage seems right for many reasons. I can’t wait to share it with you! Subscribers will have first access to a limited ticket inventory. For more information on all of these shows, see pages 30-31.

As we begin the first season of our next 50 years, we’re envisioning the future of our growing company. Top of mind are the immediacy and intimacy of our theatre that have become our brand as well as the facilities that house our performances. We’re considering how we enable artists and production personnel to do their best work through facilities and accommodations that adequately support them. We’re thinking about our presence in the broader community and about how new partnerships or existing relationships can factor into our future in different and exciting ways. And finally, how do we best make room for next generation audiences and critical new donors in already full, sold-out houses? As we consider these important questions, there will be opportunities for input. We hope we’ll hear from you.

But for now, please sit back, enjoy the performance and accept our sincere gratitude for being with us today!

Michael Egel

The Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director

Helping secure brighter financial futures

The Principal® Foundation imagines a future where more people, especially youth, have the opportunity to learn, earn, and save more for lifelong financial security. We work on a global scale to empower people financially through research and innovation, grantmaking, volunteerism, and match giving programs.

Each year, Principal Foundation contributes more than $17 million to charitable organizations across the United States and in five countries. The goal is to benefit communities by improving individuals’ lives and creating opportunities for people to build a brighter future for themselves and their family.

From the PRESIDENT

As you settle into your seat, know that you are about to see, hear and experience something special. The 51st season of Des Moines Metro Opera has been carefully curated by Michael Egel, our General and Artistic Director, to astound, impress, entertain and transform you. I hope you will see as many of this season’s three mainstage and two 2nd Stages productions as you possibly can. Each one has been crafted to showcase the talents of world-class musicians, directors, production staff, visual artists and set and costume designers. These individuals have honed their skills over years, decades, even lifetimes, and we are so grateful that they have chosen to join us this summer.

Beyond the bright spotlight of July’s productions, DMMO is a yearround operation. Since last summer, the planning, auditioning, relationship building, fundraising, budgeting, negotiating, creating, marketing and learning continued unabated for our dedicated and wonderful professional staff at the Lauridsen Opera Center. Beginning in February, the OPERA Iowa troupe rehearsed and then educated and entertained thousands of Iowa’s school children during a tour that included 106 schools. The guilds in Ames, Des Moines, Indianola and Newton hosted more than 35 events. The board of directors engaged in a strategic planning process to identify and address the challenges ahead and to ensure that opera thrives in Central Iowa for generations to come. Many thanks to those of you who answered the call and participated in that process through surveys, focus groups and interviews.

Speaking of the future, this 51st season is exciting, not only because of the incredible talent and artistry you will see on the stage, but because it begins DMMO’s next 50 years. We start this new chapter with so much gratitude for the individuals, families, foundations and businesses who recognize the importance of the arts in our community and go above and beyond expectations to support the continuing vitality of the company. Thank you to our loyal supporters.

If you are new to opera or to DMMO, please find a friendly staff member to chat up and don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to the people around you. Everyone has a story to tell about how they were introduced to opera and what keeps them coming back. I have met the most engaging and wonderful people in this theatre, and I expect you will have the same enriching experience. We are so glad you are here!

Sincerely,

Emily Pontius President of the Board

Des Moines Metro Opera LEADERSHIP

BOARD of DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

President EMILY PONTIUS

President-elect DARREN R. JIRSA

Vice President CARRIE CLOGG

Treasurer JOHN WILD

DIRECTORS

MOLLIE BAKER

TONY BRAIDA

ELIZABETH CARTER

ELIZABETH FREESE

BRYAN HALL

SCOTT HARRINGTON

JOSHUA KIMELMAN

DYLAN LAMPE

ADRIENNE MCFARLAND *

ERIC NEMMERS

FOUNDATION BOARD of TRUSTEES

OFFICERS

President VIRGINIA CROSKERY LAURIDSEN *

President-elect EMILY PONTIUS

Treasurer DENISE WIELAND

Secretary BARBARA CAPPAERT

HONORARY DIRECTORS

PAMELA BASS-BOOKEY

MARY BEH

SUE RUTLEDGE BRENTON

PAT BROWN

FRANK R. BROWNELL III

JAMES M. COLLIER

PATTY COWNIE *

ARDENE DOWNING

SIMON ESTES

MARSHALL FLAPAN

BARBARA GARTNER *

BRYAN HALL

CHARLOTTE HUBBELL *

Secretary ANN J. MICHELSON

At-large TIMOTHY J. KRUMM, PAXTON WILLIAMS

Immediate Past President VIRGINIA CROSKERY LAURIDSEN *

Counsel to the Board ELIZABETH COONAN

CRAIG PORTER

NICK RENKOSKI

CRAIG SHADUR *

KAREN SHINN

STEPHEN STEPHENSON

JACQUELINE THOMPSON

SHEILA TIPTON *

SUSAN E. VOSS *

JULIA HAGEN (EX-OFFICIO)

TRUSTEES

HARRY BOOKEY

AUSTIN FISHER

DARREN JIRSA

NANCY MAIN

DIANE MORAIN

COLIN PENNYCOOKE

JOHN SCHMIDT

CRAIG SHADUR *

SUSAN E. VOSS *

SHIRLIE KATZENBERGER

MARY KELLY *

LINDA KOEHN *

JERILEE MACE

NANCY MAIN *

ELVIN MCDONALD

JAMES O’HALLORAN *

SUNNIE RICHER

KAY RILEY

JANIS RUAN

MARY SEIDLER *

CHÉRIE SHRECK *

JUDY WATSON

* PAST PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

Administrative STAFF

The Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director

MICHAEL EGEL

The Marshall and Judy Flapan

Music Director and Principal Conductor

DAVID NEELY

Director of Advancement

TIM MCMILLIN

Director of Business and Finance

ELAINE RALEIGH

Director of Artistic Administration

ALLEN PERRIELLO

Director of Production

J. BEARCLAW HART

Creative Director

KIM DRAGELEVICH

Marketing and Public Relations Director

SCOTT ARENS

Guest Services and Education Director

KAYLAH RUDE

Annual Fund Director and Board Liaison

ELYSE MORRIS

Communications and Engagement Director

BLAKE CARLSON

Assistant Production Manager

BRIDGET ANDERSON

Office and Company Manager

SUE HOSS

Orchestra Personnel and Operations Manager

MARK DORR

The Irene Graether Chorus Director and Director of the Apprentice Artist Program

LISA HASSON

Assistant to the General Director

MICHAEL PATTERSON

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force

KIM DRAGELEVICH

CLEMENTÉ LOVE

PAXTON WILLIAMS *

WARREN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Season IN REVIEW

American Apollo Libretto Workshop

December 19-21, Lauridsen Opera Center

The creative team for Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo braved the winter weather to spend three days at the Lauridsen Opera Center reading the expanded libretto and text to Damien and Lila’s opera.

American Apollo, which was introduced to audiences last summer in its original chamber-length version, is the untold story of Thomas Eugene McKeller, Black model and muse of American portraitist John Singer Sargent. DMMO has commissioned the composer and librettist to expand this story into a full-length opera, which will have its world premiere as a part of the 2024 Season. Next steps include a musical workshop with voices and piano scheduled for the fall.

Wine, Food and Beer Showcase

March 3, Downtown Des Moines Marriott

The opera’s popular tasting event broke fundraising records and drew near-record attendance as guests enjoyed samples from over 40 Iowa restaurants, caterers, wineries, breweries and distilleries. Attendees were also treated to pop-up aria performances by soprano Lindsay Ohse, baritones Isaiah Feken and Chad Sonka and pianist Allen Perriello.

Leah Hawkins in Concert

March 19, Plymouth Church

Soprano Leah Hawkins, who wowed audiences in her role debut as Serena in DMMO’s Porgy and Bess, brought her soaring soprano to Des Moines for an afternoon concert with pianist Allen Perriello that featured selections by Samuel Barber, William Grant Still, Jasmine Barnes and Aaron Copland.

The program was held at Plymouth Church in Des Moines as part of the Des Moines Chapter of the DMMO Guild’s 2023 event lineup.

Patron Trip to Europe

April 1-10, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary

In April, a group of intrepid art and music lovers journeyed to Zurich, Vienna and Budapest for a patron trip with DMMO and the Des Moines Art Center. Travelers saw three operas— Wozzeck at the Vienna State Opera, Parsifal at the newly renovated Hungarian State Opera, and Lakmé at Zurich Opera House, where the group met superstar soprano Sabine Devieilhe after the performance (pictured)—and enjoyed day tours of numerous museums and private collections both large and small. Plans are already underway for future patron trips!

Opera Gala

June 10, American Enterprise Group

The American Enterprise Group’s national headquarters, one of downtown Des Moines’ iconic buildings, was “the talk of the Midwest” after being featured in a 1966 issue of LIFE. The workplace, which houses an extraordinary art collection, provided an exquisite setting for the 2023 Opera Gala.

Des Moines Metro Opera celebrated the opening of the 2023 Festival Season with a retro-themed evening featuring a cocktail hour, plated dinner, stunning performances by mainstage artists and an unforgettable afterglow party.

dwb at African American Museum of Iowa

June 16, Cedar Rapids Public Library

DMMO and the African American Museum of Iowa partnered for a free performance of the opera dwb (driving while black) as part of AAMI’s Juneteenth observance. A moderated panel discussion followed, which included moderator Karl Cassell, Betty Johnson, James “Corye” Johnson and Sha’Nell Young.

The African American Museum of Iowa is the only statewide museum devoted to preserving African American history and culture. They educate over 30,000 people each year through tours, exhibits, research services, education programs and community and fundraising events.

OPERA IOWA PRESENTED BY THE COONS FOUNDATION

10 weeks

6,038 miles traveled

93 performances

70+ classroom workshops

6 masterclasses

More than 24,000 students and families reached!

Any way you calculate it, Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2023 OPERA Iowa tour added up to be a resounding success! Each spring for the past 37 years, DMMO has cultivated the next generation of musicians and opera lovers through the OPERA Iowa program, offering public performances, workshops and access to cultural experiences for children and families in urban and rural schools across the state.

Each year the OPERA Iowa program brings together a resident ensemble of emerging professional singers, a music director, a stage director and technical staff who spend the spring together creating musical magic in classrooms, gyms, cafeterias and community theatres across the state of Iowa and beyond. The 2023 troupe— including soprano Alyssa Barnes, baritone Logan

Dell’Acqua, technical supervisor Brandon Hearrell, tenor Nicholas Huff, music director Dura Jun, soprano Sarah Rosales, mezzo-soprano Ariana Warren and technical assistant Micah Zimmerman—arrived in Indianola on February 1. Under the guidance of stage director Joshua Borths, the troupe spent four weeks rehearsing for the tour, which included school productions of the beloved children’s opera Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing, evening community performances of a new version of Beauty and the Beast created by Joshua Borths with music by André Grétry, masterclasses and arias concerts in nearly 50 communities across the state.

The tour began on February 27 with a three-day residency at Des Moines Public Schools, where the troupe performed for every third grader in the DMPS system. From there, the tour continued through May 5 as they crisscrossed the state, reaching students and families in rural districts like Harris Lake Park, with a PK-12 total enrollment of only 350 students, and urban districts like Linn-Mar in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City Schools. With elaborate sets complete

with costumes and lighting, the troupe can turn virtually any school gym or cafeteria into a viable and exciting performance venue. OPERA Iowa educational activities begin with training materials that support teachers as they prepare for the troupe’s time at the school, continue with curriculum-based classroom workshops conducted by the troupe and culminate with a live performance of the year’s opera. After their performance, teachers receive follow-up activities to enhance student learning and solidify concepts introduced during the troupe’s workshops. It’s a unique format that sets OPERA Iowa apart from any other arts education program in the area.

DMMO is acutely aware of the expanding gap of experience, opportunity and world view in a state with densely populated urban “islands” amidst a broad swath of rural communities who have limited access to various types of cultural activities—activities that can serve as connectors to unite an increasingly divided world. Our belief is that music and live performance help build a common language that allows people from various backgrounds and with different perspectives to come together. That’s the beauty of OPERA Iowa: by utilizing a tour format, children in schools across the state—no matter the size or location of their hometown—have the opportunity to engage with a live professional arts organization. Most attendees have limited, if any, access to other in-person professional performances. Because of a generous gift from the Principal Foundation® to increase accessibility in

programming at DMMO, we are currently working to offer OPERA Iowa to more schools by reducing or eliminating the residency fees for districts where the cost represents a significant financial barrier.

Next year’s troupe will continue the proud tradition of OPERA Iowa with another tour of Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing and Beauty and the Beast for schools and community audiences across Iowa and the Midwest. As Iowa’s largest and most expansive program in arts education and one of the most innovative programs of its kind, OPERA Iowa has introduced live operatic performance to more than one million people, creating a whole new generation of music-lovers—one student at a time!

2023 OPERA Iowa troupe members (l to r): Nicholas Huff, Alyssa Barnes, Logan Dell’Acqua, Dura Jun, Micah Zimmerman, Brandon Hearrell, Ariana Warren and Sarah Rosales

TOP Ariana Warren and a volunteer put together the set for a performance of Sid the Serpent.

BOTTOM Alyssa Barnes and Logan Dell’Acqua present a workshop to Goodwill Day Program attendees.

HOW Sid the Serpent BECAME A World-Wide Singing Sensation!

BY BLAKE CARLSON*

“Sid the Serpent went away, sent a postcard every day!’ and the letters, cards, and colorful thank-you notes rolled in as the OPERA Iowa troupe made thousands of friends across the state” read the opening line of the new OPERA Iowa section in the 1987 summer festival program.

OPERA Iowa began as a three-year pilot experiment launching that year with Fox/Vilé’s popular children’s opera Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing. By 1989 it was clear this touring troupe who brought opera to elementary school gymnasiums was truly something special. And there was one group of characters to thank—Sid the Serpent and his circus friends.

Former elementary music teacher, Malcolm Fox, designed Sid to be used as a teaching tool while also entertaining audiences with its delightful music and cast of colorful characters. Sid is a slithering serpent in a traveling circus, but what he really wants to do is sing. He travels the world, trying a different style of singing wherever he goes. After “trying and failing at everything,” Sid learns that he’s been singing all along, in his own style, and that is what really matters. The show emphasizes the value of individual expression and teaches the importance of accepting people for who they are. It has been performed over 3,000 times throughout the Englishspeaking world.

Bruce Brown played the role of the Strongman on Sid’s first tour across Iowa in 1987: “Who wouldn’t love some soft shoe dancing with canes and straw hats at 8AM? The story has a compelling message which made it enjoyable to tell over and over again at each school we visited,” Brown said. “Walking down hallways and into classrooms, the kids would be so excited—often greeting us by imitating an opera singer’s vibrato.”

After his first three-year tour, Sid made his return to DMMO in 1992 and 1993 when the OPERA Iowa troupe was invited to perform in ten middle schools in Kofu, Japan. Over 5,000 excited students heard opera for the first time through the troupe’s performances. “We’d arrive to kids hanging out the windows— waving, cheering and screaming with excitement. They absolutely loved the character of Sid. We signed thousands of autographs,” said Dawn Pawlewski Krogh, who played Sally Sue and the Clown as part of the program’s first international tour.

The OPERA Iowa troupe called on their friend Sid and the traveling circus once again in 1999 and 2000 when they traveled to Shijiazhuang, China, where they gave seven performances to over 10,000 people.

In 2011 DMMO celebrated 25 years of the OPERA Iowa touring troupe. The summer festival program that year declared Sid the Serpent OPERA Iowa’s “most popular children’s piece among music teachers and students alike.”

“There’s something special because it’s not just an adaptation. In opera you’re always having to take things away to make them fit for children. This was written specifically for kids,” said Alexander Birch Elliott who played the Strongman on the 2012 OPERA Iowa tour. “Every piece of that serves a purpose. Musical terms, voice types, it’s fun and educational without hitting the kids over the heads with it.”

In the opera the audience learns that “letter ‘f,’ letter ‘u,’ letter ‘n’ spells fun for you”—and DMMO has certainly had fun with Sid the Serpent over the years. Not only has the show contributed to the success of the OPERA Iowa program, but it has also inspired the careers of many singers who’ve had the opportunity to sing with him along the way.

In 2023 Sid hit the road once again with a new band of artists and will return in 2024 for his 11th trip across the state of Iowa for OPERA Iowa’s 38th annual tour.

*Sid the Serpent could not be reached for comment. In a prepared statement, representatives for Mr. Sid explained he’s currently traveling the world learning to sing.

Des Moines Metro Opera GUILD

Comprised of over 350 dedicated opera enthusiasts, the Des Moines Metro Opera Guild provides critical volunteer, educational and financial support to the company both during and in the months preceding the summer festival season. With chapters in Ames, Des Moines, Indianola and Newton, Des Moines Metro Opera enjoys a volunteer reach that spans over 80 miles from its administrative headquarters.

The volunteer efforts of these four chapters are robust and vital to the success of the company’s operations. The Guild and its members frequently act as official greeters during events, offer valuable adult learning events, sponsor OPERA Iowa performances for communities each Spring, assemble welcome baskets for our festival artists, prepare bulk mailings in the office and much more. This year the chapters hosted the return of many popular annual events, such as the Champagne Brunch & Bingo Benefit in Indianola, the Guest Artist Recital in Des Moines, the Arias in Ames concert and the popular Christmas Carol party in Newton, while adding innovative new events to their calendar like the In-Home Concert Series in Des Moines and opera-themed parties in Indianola.

In 2023 the Guild Council and its four chapters concluded and celebrated its fundraising efforts at the Threads & Trills Costume Show & Luncheon on June 17. At the event, the Guild presented General and Artistic Director Michael Egel with a $42,500 donation in honor of Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2023 Festival Season.

At the event the Guild Chapters also recognized the recipients of its Volunteer of the Year award: Ames Chapter Co-Presidents John Hill and Fay Gish Hill.

To learn more about the Des Moines Metro Opera Guild and how to become a member, visit dmmo.org/guild or call the DMMO office at (515) 961-6221.

VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

FAY GISH HILL & JOHN HILL

The 34th year of the Ames chapter began with the return of the Overture Potluck event, which featured a performance by current DMMO apprentice artist and ISU student, Cole Stephenson. The monthly lectures on various opera-related themes included “Wagner without Fear” by Chad Sonka, “Perspectives from an Audio/Video Engineer” by Eric Weber, “The Making of an Opera” by DMMO production director Bearclaw Hart, a program by the ISU Opera Studio, and previews of Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle and The Love for Three Oranges from DMMO staff. Additionally, the chapter was thrilled to host a robust audience for OPERA Iowa’s Arias in Ames concert. Through the efforts of its intrepid members, the chapter once again secured a grant from the City of Ames Commission on the Arts for an opera shuttle, enabling opera lovers from the Ames area to ride a shuttle to the mainstage operas presented during the Festival Season.

Indianola Chapter

The Des Moines chapter hosted an impressive number of special events and programs that impacted new and returning audiences. Kicking off the season was a special event at Noce jazz club that featured performances from Drake and ISU music students. In October members put their knowledge to the test at Trivia Night with Nick Renkoski at Confluence Brewing Company. The annual holiday party brought members together to celebrate both the holiday and opera season. After a star-turn as Serena in DMMO’s Porgy and Bess in 2022, soprano Leah Hawkins presented a spectacular program at Plymouth Church in March with DMMO’s Allen Perriello at the piano. Later that month, the chapter kicked off the inaugural concert of its In-Home Concert Series, which featured eight intimate concerts in unique venues around the metro. Each program consisted of two singers and a pianist performing an hour of opera, musical theatre, jazz and folk favorites.

The Indianola chapter kicked off the season with a wine and cheese meet and greet at the historic home of the late DMMO founder, Robert Larsen. Members thoroughly enjoyed three opera-themed parties—Bluebeard’s Halloween Bash, Orange You Curious? and Carmen and Cocktails—which featured delectable treats and informative previews of the 2023 mainstage operas. Picnic & Puccini provided children and families with a behind-the-scenes peek at live theatre and a fun-filled performance of Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing. The annual Champagne Brunch and Bingo Benefit in November raised near-record funds for the chapter. A wonderful crowd enjoyed the OPERA Iowa Spotlight Concert in April. The chapter celebrated the kick-off of the festival season with a shindig at the home of Guild Council president, Julia Hagen. Chapter members also provided welcome dinners and gift bags for the OPERA Iowa troupe and the apprentice artists, helped with mailings in the opera office and set up artist living quarters.

The Newton chapter celebrated the return of in-person events during the 2023 season. Festivities kicked off in October with a house party that featured piano selections by DMMO’s marketing director, Scott Arens. In December members enjoyed a Swedish-themed Christmas party complete with a carol sing-along around the fireplace and a basket of presents for attendees. The spring months saw the return of an OPERA Iowa Spotlight Concert and a fascinating preview of Bluebeard’s Castle and The Love for Three Oranges presented by DMMO staff members Elyse Morris and Allen Perriello.

Newton Chapter

Des Moines Chapter

Ames Chapter

Des Moines Metro Opera GUILD MEMBERS

GUILD COUNCIL

President

Julia Hagen

Treasurer

Chris Urwin

Council Members

Melody Clutter

John Hill and Fay Gish Hill

Matt Huth

Joan Tyler

AMES CHAPTER

Co-Presidents

John Hill and Fay Gish Hill

Co-Vice Presidents

Berne and Kathy Ketchum

Programs

Carol Weber, Jaime Reyes

Secretary

Barbara Brown

Treasurer

Sue Ravenscroft

Publicity

Connie Ringlee

Membership

Jane Farrell-Beck

Refreshments

Hanna Gradwohl

Members

Roberta Abraham

Janet Anderson-Hsieh

Achilles Avraamides and Dilys Morris

Tom and Betty Barton

Jane Farrell-Beck and Marvin Beck

Kay and Roger Berger

Deanne Brill

Pat Brown

James Michael Ching

James Cornette

Peggy Faden

Douglas Finnemore

Katherine (Kitty) Fisher

Jodi Goble

Marge Gowdy

Barbara Gurganus

Marcia Imsande

Marilyn Johnson

Margaret (Marg) Junkhan

Patrick Kavanagh

Jane W. Lohnes

Jean E. Lory

David and Jean Meek

Paul and Martha Miles

John B. and Kathryn Miller

Margie Schaefer Moore

Shellie Orngard

Marlys Potter

V.V. and Marilu Raman

Alvin and Sue Ravenscroft

Justin Remes

Jaime and Daphne Reyes

Shirley M. Riney

Steve and Connie Ringlee

Anita Roti

Joseph Rude

Kenneth and Shirley Shaw

Doris Snyers

Chad Sonka

Edward Stephens

David Stuart

Jan Tibbetts

Marcia Thompson

Paula Toms

Skip Walter

Carol and Eric Weber

Marlene Weisshaar

Bernie and Linda White

David Wilcox

Maureen Wilt

Mary Jo Winder

Anna Wolc

Don and Kay Zytowski

DES MOINES CHAPTER

President

Matt Huth

Treasurer

Wendy Samuelson

Membership

Dennis P. and Melinda Hendrickson

At-Large

Marcia I. and Robert Auerbach

Meghan Klinkenborg

Emma Krull

Nancy Main

Meredith McLean

Sara Speaks

Chris Urwin

Members

Brandon Akamine

Bob and Jill Anderson

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Catherine and Gary Broadston

Jan Broers

Joan Burke

Eric Burmeister and Casey Smith

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Emily Chafa

Janine Clark

Thomas and Sharon Clarke

R. Keith Cranston

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Sara Ghrist

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Michelle McGovern

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Paul J. Meginnis II and Jo Sloan

Sheila A. Meginnis

Ann and Brent Michelson

Joan Middleton

Claire Dietrich Miller

Kathleen Milligan

Diane Morain

Devon Murphy-Petersen

Bill and Pauline Niebur

Janelle Nielsen

Nancy Ann O’Connell

Jim and Jeanne O’Halloran

Muriel A. Pemble

Melanie Porter

Lettie Prell and John Domini

Genevieve Radcliffe

Nick Renkoski and Liz Lidgett

Seth Robb and Tim McMillin

Sherry Robinson

DelRae Roth

Lorenzo Sandoval and Robin Heinemann

Kelly and Kurt Schall

Kellen Schrimper

Ken and Leslie Schrimper

Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Kay Shapiro

Elizabeth Shonts

Chérie and Bob Shreck

Sue Slater

Jane Sondall

Michael and Elizabeth Stamper

Stephen and Martha Stephenson

Kayla Stratton

Theresa (Terry) Taylor

Jacqueline Thompson

Dr. Beth Triebel

Linda Vanderpool

Susan E. Voss

John and Peggy Wild

Deb Wiley and John Schmidt

Dolores “Dee” Willemsen

Renee Winegardner

Eleanor Zeff

INDIANOLA CHAPTER

President

Melody Clutter

Vice President/Program Chair

Becky Hastie

Treasurer

Arlen Schrum

Membership

Chari Kruse

Members

Patti Abild

Kerry Anderson

Betty Augspurger

Nancy Baethke

Katherine Bendon

Karey Bishop

Gordon and Martha Bivens

Daniel Burden and Beth Mack

Richard and Katheen Clarke

Christine Clogg

Melody and Jeffrey Clutter

Ann Comeaux

Darrin and Jaime Conrad

Denise Core

LouAnn Corrigan

John P. Crouch

Mary Lou Davenport

Ardene Downing

Amy Duncan and Mark Davitt

Michael Egel

Jessica Faith

Kathie and Al Farris

Caroline Freese

Bob and Betsy Freese

Joyce Godwin

Marylin Gorham

Brad and Jaci Green

Janella Guilford

Julia Hagen

Melissa Hanson

Dr. Gary and Kamie Haynes

Jan Hereid

Nick and Kiersten Johnson

Richard and Annette Kerr

Dr. James and Mary Ellen Kimball

Robert and Susan Kling

Matt and Chari Kruse

Karen Langstraat

Susan Lanning

Bill Larson

Nancy Lickiss

Diana Ludovici

Jenn Pfeifer-Malaney and Shawn Malaney

Teresa McDonough

Dru McLuen

Peg and Jim Mikulanec

Mary Jane and F Michael Miller

David and Rita Moeller

Hannah and Carsten Moeller

Mary Morgan

Christine Neumeier

Jean Newman

Lisa Parker and Rod Hanze

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

Marcia and Ron Peeler

Mary Donaghy Richards

Jill Rossiter and Dennis Lamport

Mark F. and Leila Schlenker

Gwen and Jeff Schroder

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Paula Schultz

Catherine Simon

Ray Songayllo

Mike and Rene Staudacher

Vickie and Darrell Till

William Tomlinson

Jon and Margaret Vernon

Phil and Judy Watson

Gaye Wiekierak

Tim Wilson and Heidi Levine

Elizabeth and Craig Winjum

Janet Wood

NEWTON CHAPTER

President

Joan Tyler

Vice President

Virginia Bennett

Secretary

Jane Ann Cotton

Treasurer

Eric Lindberg

Members

Dr. Edward and Margot Bennett

Mary Jo Bennett

Linda Blatt

Randal and Margaret Caldwell

Linda Campbell

John Carl

Meghan Davis-Brass

Warren and Linda Erickson

Carol Farver

Kay and Joseph Fisher

Kimberly Gooch

Peggy Krong

Joanne Lami

Eric Lindberg and Steve Farver

Judy Manusos

Robert and Joan Matheson

Sharon Mayers

Catherine Rickers

Jeannette Shannon

Nancy Shields

Shane Swanson and Susan Bennett

Camilla Wisgerhof

Carleton and Barbara Zacheis

As a child, I watched my father perform on stage playing great characters such as Atticus Finch, Ebenezer Scrooge and Captain Hook before earning roles of my own. I will always be grateful for the confidence and collaboration skills learned in the theatre and am proud that three generations of my family have been part of these special experiences.

Bankers Trust’s commitment to community represents a different kind of character and is what attracted me to join the company. We help communities grow and thrive, not only through banking and lending, but also through volunteerism, employee engagement and charitable giving. It’s part of the Bankers Trust Difference.

Emily Abbas

EVP, Chief Consumer Banking and Marketing Officer

bring your meeting home to place on earth!

announcing the 2024 SeaSon

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE BY GIOACHINO

ROSSINI

Get ready for a rollicking fiesta of sunny Seville madness as Rossini’s celebrated, razorsharp comedy The Barber of Seville returns in riotous technicolor. Dashing Count Almaviva has lost his heart to the feisty Rosina. But Rosina’s guardian is determined to marry her himself.  Cue Figaro—also known as the Barber of Seville—with a series of hare-brained schemes. Featuring some of opera’s most familiar and show-stopping tunes in a bright, hilarious production, The Barber of Seville is a must-see treat for the eyes and ears!

Featuring baritone Alexander Birch Elliott as Figaro, tenor Duke Kim as Count Almaviva, conductor Gary Thor Wedow and director Lindy Hume.

SALOME BY RICHARD STRAUSS

The premiere performance of Strauss’s Salome in 1905 was a night of spectacular triumph and scandal, prompting wild ovations and 38 curtain calls for an opera that was only 100 minutes in length. Based on Oscar Wilde’s sensational play whose vivid characters are drawn from only brief mentions in the Bible, Salome took the world by storm with princess Salome at its center whose growing obsession with the imprisoned prophet John the Baptist leads the story to its dramatic and stunning conclusion. Featuring music and an orchestra that is both colossal and dazzling, this new production of Salome will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Featuring soprano Sara Gartland as Salome and conductor David Neely.

PELLÉAS & MÉLISANDE BY

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Claude Debussy’s only completed opera—Pelléas & Mélisande—shimmers with Impressionist color like a Monet painting and is accompanied by a mesmerizing score. Lost in the forest, Golaud encounters an ethereal beauty with a mysterious past. After he brings Mélisande home, she begins to grow close to his handsome younger brother, Pelléas. Debussy’s exquisitely nuanced opera casts a hypnotic spell, capturing a world of dreams where forbidden love blossoms. This long-awaited company premiere will be a visual and musical sensation.

Featuring baritone John Moore as Pelléas, soprano Sydney Mancasola as Mélisande, bassbaritone Brandon Cedel as Golaud, conductor Derrick Inouye and director Chas Rader-Shieber.

AMERICAN APOLLO BY DAMIEN GETER & LILA PALMER

American Apollo gives voice to a pivotal figure in American art: Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker who served as a model and muse for famous portraitist John Singer Sargent. McKeller posed for most of the figures in Sargent’s murals at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, but the painter transformed McKeller’s figure into white gods and goddesses. Themes of erasure, the white gaze and the nature of the relationship between the two men are explored in this powerful new work. DMMO has commissioned composer Damien Geter and librettist Lila Palmer to expand the original 20-minute version of American Apollo into a full-length opera, which makes its anticipated world premiere on July 13, 2024 on the Blank Performing Arts Center stage.

Featuring baritone Justin Austin as Thomas Eugene McKeller, tenor William Burden as John Singer Sargent, soprano Mary Dunleavy as Isabella Stewart Gardner, conductor David Neely and director Shaun Patrick Tubbs.

American Apollo:

The chamber opera makes its full-length debut on the mainstage in the 2024 season.

BY JOSHUA BORTHS

Damien Geter COMPOSER

Lila Palmer LIBRETTIST

WHEN AMERICAN ARTIST John Singer Sargent died in 1925, only one portrait was hanging in his private studio. But it was not one of his famous paintings that defined the Gilded Age in New England; it was a spare, nude portrait of a Black man: monumental, vulnerable and pulsing with life. His name was Thomas Eugene McKeller.

Poised at the crossroads of race, sexuality, class, celebrity and history, the lives of these two men will intertwine when American Apollo makes its full-length world premiere at Des Moines Metro Opera in 2024.

Sargent was a Boston celebrity, and with support from the pioneering art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner, he was a titan of the art world. Known for his striking contrasts and subtle brush strokes, Sargent’s portraits seem to be alive, simultaneously beckoning the viewer to come closer while withholding important secrets. It’s not surprising, therefore, that prominent institutions would commission Sargent to create works of public art—gods and heroes—to adorn their temples to civic life.

However, in 2017 an important discovery was made. While exploring the archives of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, curator Nathaniel Silver came across sketches that resembled the most prominent poses in Sargent’s public paintings, and soon Silver realized that the model for the white figures on display was a Black man, Thomas Eugene McKeller.

McKeller moved to Boston from Wilmington, North Carolina, as part of the Great Migration from the American South. A contortionist and soon-to-be WWI soldier, McKeller found a job as an elevator operator at the Hotel Vendome where he fatefully met Sargent, a frequent guest of the hotel. Over a period of several years, McKeller became Sargent’s principal model, and the two developed a close— even intimate—relationship.

Opera librettist Lila Palmer was fortunate to see the art exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that explored the relationship between McKeller and Sargent, and when she was paired with composer Damien Geter as part of Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, this story became the foundation of American Apollo, which premiered as a 20-minute chamber opera in 2021, conducted by DMMO’s own Music Director and Principal Conductor David Neely. General Director Michael Egel quickly commissioned a full-length version of the work, expanding both the size and scope of this powerful story.

Since DMMO’s fully staged production of the chamber version last season, librettist Lila Palmer, known for her “impeccable dramatic construction,” has diligently expanded the work to fit the larger canvas. Palmer has used the historical record and her imagination to craft a rich history for McKeller and Sargent, with a vibrant cast of supporting characters. Beginning at a Boston boarding house as McKeller gets ready for work, American Apollo cuts across time and space. The opera is now “equal parts portrait and romance,” Palmer explains, and “a bittersweet, strikingly contemporary story of love, creativity, and friendship that reaches across what divides us.”

While Geter has preserved every note of the original opera, the musical soundscape has changed and shifted as the work has grown. “It’s jazzier,” muses Geter, whose music has been called “spectacular” by national critics. “I’m excited for people to get to know Thomas McKeller. As a composer, I’m committed to unearthing Black stories and honoring Black individuals who have contributed to the arts, whether we’ve been allowed to see them before or not.” Geter went on to confide, however, that, “I have more questions than answers—questions about power and the many barriers and bridges that existed between these two men.”

Following a successful reading of the libretto in December 2022, American Apollo will receive a piano-vocal workshop in the fall of 2023. But with the premiere still one year away, American Apollo has already garnered national attention, a sign that audiences are eager to explore this newly uncovered story. For almost a century, Thomas McKeller has been hiding under someone else’s skin, but now he gets to be seen and his voice finally heard.

Justin Austin as Thomas McKellar and Mary Dunleavy as Isabelle Stewart Gardner in DMMO’s 2022 chamber version of American Apollo.

Simpson has proudly hosted the magnificent Des Moines Metro Opera since 1972.

At Simpson, making beautiful music is a tradition like no other:

• 2 fully-staged undergraduate operas

• 5 vocal and instrumental ensembles

• Summer internships at DMMO

• Majors in Music Performance and Music Education

• Master of Music in Choral Conducting

Learn more at simpson.edu/music

OCT 27 & 29, 2023

FEB 16 & 18, 2024

MAY 3 & 5, 2024

DON PASQUALE

LA TRAVIATA

EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO (The last dream of Frida and Diego)

OPERAOMAHA.ORG/23-24

Carmen

Music by GEORGES BIZET / Libretto by HENRI MEILHAC and LUDOVIC HALÉVY

JUNE 30, JULY 7, JULY 11, JULY 13, JULY 15 / 7:30PM

JULY 2, JULY 23 / 2:00PM

Based on the novella, Carmen, by Prosper Mérimée

First performance: Opéra-Comique, Paris; March 3, 1875

Previous performances at Des Moines Metro Opera: 1978, 1994, 2007

Performed in French with English supertitles

Estimated run time: 3 hours, 15 minutes with one 20-minute intermission

Scenery designed by David P. Gordon for the Sarasota Opera and reimagined for Des Moines Metro Opera

Scenery constructed by Asolo Scenic Studio, Sarasota, FL; Opera San Jose; and Des Moines Metro Opera

Scenic backdrop painted by Michael Hagen, Inc., South Glens Falls, NY

Production made possible by a production gift from Linda and Tom Koehn

The engagement of guest conductor Kelly Kuo is supported by Sunnie Richer and Roger Brooks

STORY Seville, Spain, around 1820

ACT I

The brigadier Moralès and his soldiers pass the time watching the townspeople in a public square in Seville. A young woman from the country, Micaëla, enters, looking for Don José, a corporal in the regiment. She is told that he will come when the guard arrives and to return later.

The guard detail arrives when the factory bell rings. The women come out to the plaza on their break and among them is the beautiful Carmen. Despite the entreats of the men that she should love them, Carmen stays true to herself, warning them about the consequences if she actually loved them. When presented with a flower, Carmen selects Don José—the one man seemingly uninterested in her—and throws him the flower.

After the crowd departs, José is troubled by the flower, but his reverie is interrupted by Micaëla who brings a letter and a kiss from his mother. Micaëla leaves while José reads the letter and promises to marry Micaëla as his mother wishes.

Suddenly screams are heard from the factory and José is sent inside to learn the cause. Carmen is accused of fighting with another worker. The officer orders that she be imprisoned. Left under the guard of José, Carmen invites him to accompany her to the inn of Lillas Pastia if he allows her to escape. José loosens her bonds, and as they set out for the prison, Carmen pushes him to the ground and escapes.

ACT II

At Lillas Pastia's inn, Carmen and her friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, sing for the patrons. The officer Zuniga tells Carmen that José was imprisoned for allowing her to escape but was released a few hours ago.

The bullfighter Escamillo appears, hailed by the crowd. He is fascinated by Carmen and asks if she will ever love him. The revolutionaries Dancairo and Remendado arrive and try to convince Carmen and her friends to join them on a smuggling venture. She refuses, telling them that she has fallen for the soldier who released her and must wait for his return. They insist that she must help in order to move their smuggled contraband.

José arrives at the inn. Carmen sings and dances for him, but when the bugle retreat is sounded from the barracks, José says he must leave. Carmen invites him to desert the army and join the revolutionaries, but he refuses. Before leaving, José professes his love for Carmen, and then begins his flight back to his regiment. Zuniga, returning in hopes of spending the evening with Carmen, stops him. The men fight, and the jealous José strikes his superior officer. Now an outlaw, José has no choice but to join Carmen and her friends.

INTERMISSION

ACT III

The revolutionaries are moving the smuggled contraband over the mountain pass as per Dancairo’s venture. Carmen, tired of José's jealousy, decides to join her friends and reads her fortune with cards. Carmen sees her future, and repeatedly only discovers death in store for her.

The revolutionaries head out to distract the three officials guarding the pass. José is left on guard. Micaëla arrives, searching for José to give him news of his mother. She hides when she sees José fire at a lone figure, who turns out to be Escamillo. The bullfighter has journeyed to find Carmen with whom he is in love and whom he has heard has become disenchanted with her soldier friend. José makes his identity known. They fight but are separated. Escamillo leaves but invites Carmen and the revolutionaries to Seville for his next fight. José is plunged into a jealous rage.

Remendado stumbles upon the hidden Micaëla. She tells José that his mother is dying. Carmen urges José to go to his mother. Before leaving with Micaëla, José tells Carmen that she belongs to him and that they will meet again.

ACT IV

Crowds are preparing for the festive Corrida at the Plaza de Toros in Seville. After the procession in which Escamillo is the star attraction, Frasquita and Mercédès warn Carmen that José has been spotted in the crowd. Carmen ignores their warnings and bravely remains for a final encounter. José appears and desperately pleads for her love. As the crowd celebrates Escamillo’s triumph in the bullring, Carmen tells him she can never love him again. Realizing that he can never possess her, José grabs Carmen, wringing the life out of her.

PRODUCTION

Conductor

KELLY KUO *

Stage Director

BRENNA CORNER *

Scenic Designer

DAVID P. GORDON

Costumes

SARASOTA OPERA ASSOCIATION, INC.

Costume Design for Taylor Raven

JACOB A. CLIMER

Lighting Designer

KATE ASHTON

Make-Up/Hair Designer

BRITTANY V.A. RAPPISE

Choreographer

TODD RHOADES

Combat Director

BRIAN ROBERTSON

Intimacy Director

KATHERINE COYL *

Chorus Director

LISA HASSON

Youth Chorus Co-Directors

SANDY MILLER *, MARY CRAVEN BARTEMES *

Associate Conductor

DONALD LEE III

Musical Preparation

TESSA HARTLE

French Diction Coach

MARIE-FRANCE LEFEBVRE

Assistant Stage Director

NORA WINSLER *

Chorus Rehearsal Pianist

CONNOR BUCKLEY *

Stage Manager

LAUREN WICKETT

* DMMO debut

‡ Current DMMO Apprentice Artist

NOTES

CAST in order of vocal appearance

Moralès

SANKARA HAROUNA ‡

Micaëla

YUNUET LAGUNA *

Zuniga

ALLEN MICHAEL JONES *

Carmen

TAYLOR RAVEN

Don José

MATTHEW CAIRNS *

Frasquita

EMMA MARHEFKA *‡

Mercédès

IMARA MILES ‡

Escamillo

CHRISTIAN PURSELL *

Dancairo

RYAN WOLFE ‡

Remendado

DANIEL ESTEBAN LUGO *‡

Lillas Pastia

CHRISTOPHER FUSCO

Youth Chorus

BEN BJORKLUND

ZOEY CLARK *

CADENCE DAMON *

HATTIE GREEN

CORA GRIFFITH *

EZRA HANSER *

CALLEN KLEENE

MELINDA KRUMM *

ANSLEY MASON

LILLIE MCMANUS *

ALEX MILLER

EVA MILLER *

LUCY MILLER

ISABELLA RINKS *

CATHERINE ROODNITSKY *

MAE STOA *

MARA STOA

NIHARIKA UDIPI *

Supernumeraries

LANIE ANTHAN

QUILL BROSTAD

JOVON EBORN

LAWRENCE HEJTMANEK

AMELIA HENDERSON

MICHAEL J. KLEENE

JESSE KNEISLER

ELYSA KOSS

MELISSA KRUMM

SHEA LUENINGHOENER

EVAN MCFADDEN

MEREDITH MCLEAN

MAX MEYERS

OWEN NEUMANN

TANNER SMITH

JANE TUCKER

SEAN WHITSON

Flag Spinners

ABBY COLLINS

ALYSSA GERDES

RHIANNA WEEMS

by Brenna Corner, Stage Director

There is something about Carmen that continually attracts audiences. Perhaps it is the widely recognized melodic lines or the rousing orchestral arrangements? Or maybe it is the universal themes within the story?

For me, it is the characters. It is the story of a young woman in a world at war, driven by her desire for freedom, and a young man fighting his way through that world, driven by his desire for love. It is the story of hearing, but not listening. The story of Carmen is of communication between people.

The titular role of one of the most famous operas in history is a fascinating character. Carmen remains uniquely steadfast throughout the entire piece to the philosophy of life as expressed in her opening aria. Her honesty and selfawareness are among the most extraordinary elements of any character in opera. She is, in many ways, what we would call a modern woman in a world that has not caught up.

Unlike Carmen, Don José is plagued throughout the story. He is constantly changing and trying to adapt to the world, but is always one step behind. He tries to be a good soldier, lover, smuggler and son—yet with each reiteration of himself, he degenerates and collides with the world around him. Carmen’s determination and independence do not fit within the world he understands. José is excited by her fierce independence, yet it is this very strength that comes into conflict with his ideals. He fights against her, trying to force her to conform to his view of love; and by force, he takes her voice, her freedom and her life.

They are two immensely complicated characters, flawed and imperfect, and so real and human, each struggling to survive and thrive in a world not attuned to them. Through Mérimée’s novella, Meilhac and Halévy’s libretto, and Bizet’s music, Carmen manifests a truth about humanity brilliantly captured.

DIRECTOR'S

MATTHEW CAIRNS

CHRISTIAN PURSELL

TAYLOR RAVEN

ALLEN MICHAEL JONES

YUNUET LAGUNA

BRENNA PETERSON-FARNSWORTH

Carmen’s Freedom

Is the heroine a victim of a judgmental society or a feminist icon?

Or something far more complex?

BY MARTHA C. NUSSBAUM

IN ANY LIST OF THE MOST-PERFORMED OPERAS, Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875) ranks at or near the top. It has even been called a “perfect opera,” and this seems justified. The work has everything: daring, melodically and harmonically complex music, with superb orchestration and intricate ensembles; local color and a vivid sense of place and time; and, perhaps above all, compelling characters who have fascinated audiences for many decades—ever since its disastrous first night, when it was denounced on all sides for immorality. It has won the admiration of composers as diverse as Brahms (who saw it 20 times), Tchaikovsky, Massenet and even Wagner, who exclaimed, “Here at last for a change is someone with ideas!” The philosopher Nietzsche, meanwhile, thought it the best antidote to what he took to be Wagner’s otherworldly pieties about love. Unfortunately its creator died before he could see the success his wonderful creation attained, after the initial shock it delivered to a conservative Paris music world.

Carmen got its start when Bizet, a musical prodigy and defiant anti-conservative, along with his librettists, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy (nephew of the composer Fromental Halévy, who had been Bizet’s

teacher), proposed to the directors of the Opéra Comique an opera based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (1845). One director approved, but his more conservative partner objected. Halévy placated him (so he reported 30 years later) by promising a “softer, tamer” heroine, and the inclusion of a virtuous young girl, not in the Mérimée, as a counterpoise to the shameless Carmen. He also promised that Carmen’s death would be “glossed over” by a noisy public celebration. Whether he was insincere, or whether Bizet successfully fought with them for his own ideas, neither of these promises was kept. The death of Carmen is searing, its effect only heightened by the contrasting offstage music of the bull ring. And, as we shall see, Micaëla’s character and function are more complicated than the librettist revealed, or, perhaps, knew.

In many respects, the opera followed its source, emphasizing Carmen’s transgressive insistence on freedom, though with significant changes that heighten the allure of its heroine and weaken the character of Don José. In Mérimée, we learn the story of Carmen and Don José through a male narrator, a detached intellectual who is doing research on the history of the Roman Civil Wars. He meets up with a

“Outside the Arena: the Fruit Vendor” from The Opera Carmen, 1970, by Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904-1989), courtesy of the Des Moines Art Center.

band of Roma people and eventually hears from Don José himself the story of his tragic obsession, as the outlaw lies in prison after having killed Carmen. Thus the story is mediated through two layers of male narration. In the opera, by contrast, we are confronted by the characters with no filter, and we respond to their immediacy with our own complicated emotions. Carmen becomes more dangerous, her insistence on freedom more threatening. She certainly does not seem “softer, tamer.” Indeed, the libretto removes some details that serve to soften her (her skill as a healer, her impressive fluency in many different languages), leaving the accent squarely on her outlaw daring and her transgressive sexuality. Don José is altered too: He is not Mérimée’s Satanic master-brigand; he is a naïve soldier from the country who never chooses the life of crime but is led helplessly, pathetically, into dishonor by an overwhelming passion.

Micaëla is indeed an addition, but in Bizet’s hands she becomes far more interesting than the “virtuous girl” promised by Halévy. First of all, she exemplifies courage and autonomy as much as Carmen does. Pursuing her attachment to both José and his mother, she ventures into extremely hostile terrain not once but twice. She searches for José at the soldiers’ barracks, where they rudely taunt her and seem bent on sexual assault; later she braves the mountain haunt of the smugglers all alone (with only an employed guide).

So although she is a conventional woman, exemplifying bourgeois virtues, she is an unconventionally strong and daring conventional woman, and her soaring lyricism is as memorable as Carmen’s much more radical and daring music. Second, her presence in the opera shows us something significant about Don José —namely, that he is at home in her bourgeois world and not at all at home in the world of the outsiders. (Mérimée’s Don José, by contrast, is a natural brigand, who quickly rises to the head of the criminal gang.) From the moment they sing together, we hear how easily he slides into the phrases of her bourgeois lyricism—whereas the “Flower Song” that he addresses to Carmen, overheated and slightly crazy, shows us a man driven by some alien force to be what he cannot manage to sustain. He loves Carmen because she is not Micaëla, but he keeps trying to turn her into a bourgeois wife. We see, then, the tragic misfit in his passion.

One more character has been added: Escamillo, who replaces Mérimée’s young picador, Lucas, as Carmen’s lover. He is depicted as vain, bombastic and highly conventional, and Bizet gave him music that he himself despised, though he knew full well that the public would embrace it. (“If they want trash,” he said, “I’ll give them trash.”) In the score, Escamillo’s signature aria is even marked “avec fatuité” (with self-conceit). In an important sense he is Micaëla’s counterpart, the man suited for Carmen. He understands her need for sexual freedom, which suits him perfectly, since he has no capacity for deep passion. He is glad to tell everyone that each of Carmen’s loves lasts only six months. Meanwhile he will enjoy her and show her off. Such a lover perfectly fits Carmen’s own desire to avoid deep love and its vulnerabilities.

But we must now introduce one further source. In 1827 the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin published a long narrative/dramatic poem, The Gypsies, which was clearly a source for Mérimée, who translated it into French in 1852. We know that Meilhac and Halévy had that translation and used it, but there are decisive reasons to believe that Bizet read it too. Bizet was utterly dissatisfied with the libretto text of the Habanera, and completely rewrote it, again and again, with the help of his Carmen, the singer Galli-Marié, until he was finally satisfied. It was during these rewrites that the phrase “un oiseau rebelle” (a rebellious bird) was introduced. This phrase does not occur in the Mérimée novel. But the bird is in Pushkin, as an image of the restless freedom of the Roma world. So: Bizet knew Pushkin.

The original Carmen, Célestine Galli-Marié , in a portrait taken by the French photographer Nadar between 1875 and 1883.

Pushkin is important because his poem contains insights about freedom and the bonds of passion that are not present in Mérimée, but prove central, I believe, to Bizet’s opera. The poem, dramatic in form, tells the story of a young man from the city who is drawn to the Roma world and forms a liaison with the beautiful Zemfira. He does not understand the relaxed and tolerant mores of the Roma people, called by Pushkin “children of a humble freedom,” and is determined to possess Zemfira, despite her own preference for freedom. When she has an affair with a man from her own community, he kills her—and is immediately dismissed from the Roma world, since, as the Roma elder says, his people cannot live with murderers: “Not for freedom were you born/ You want it for yourself alone.” The poem clearly prefers the Roma world to the urban bourgeois culture that teaches young men to dominate women: “We are shy and good at heart,” says the elder. This might suggest that these outsiders are immune to the darker passions. But in the end the poet doesn’t agree. As the poem concludes, he tells us that there is no lasting happiness in that “innocent” world either. Even there, violent emotions surge up in dreams and presage disaster: “Catastrophe in hiding waits/ Dark passions everywhere run deep/ There is no refuge from the Fates.”

Bizet’s message, I think, is Pushkin’s. The opera sympathizes with Carmen and her demand for life on her own terms. It characterizes Don José’s possessiveness as both ugly and pathetic, part of a culture of misogyny that is also suffused with racialized “othering” of the Roma, who simply want to live on their own terms. To that extent, the political stance of the opera is diametrically opposed to that of the conservative critics who assailed it for immorality and lawlessness and to those who continue to see in the opera’s tragic ending the just punishment of a woman who defies society’s rules. But its message is not the inverse of that message either, as some recent feminist critics have alleged, portraying Carmen as a feminist icon. These critics, on the whole, see the ending either as Carmen’s defeat at the hands of a world order that cannot comprehend her or else insist that she has triumphed after all, by living her life with integrity and refusing to yield, right up until the end.

There is a different possibility suggested by Pushkin: We may see Carmen as fettered, so to speak, by human life and the vulnerability that is inexorably part of it. What both the victory-of-patriarchy critics and the feminist critics omit is the great unanswered question of the opera: Why does Carmen meet José

outside the bull-ring, and stay there until he kills her? She has a happy new relationship, but she walks away from her new lover’s big moment in the ring to meet an ex-lover whom she has dismissed and does not love. This makes no sense for a feminist Carmen: She should have gone her own way and ignored him. She could have left town, as Frasquita advises, or, more likely, sought the shelter of the crowd and Escamillo’s victory. Instead she waits for him, not attempting to leave until it is clear he is going to kill her. Why? She does not love José. But there is something about him that draws her fatally (for she is a fatalist). Isn’t it the sheer gaping vulnerability of his huge passion, his sheer willingness to give his whole life for love? Perhaps, then, it is a desire for passion, for being bound and vulnerable, that makes her compromise her freedom? (As Janis Joplin said to my hippie/rebel generation, with its own rejection of the bonds of love, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”) Carmen longs, in the end, to be human—so death is what she seeks, and gets.

Interpretations that speak of fatal passion, as mine does, are accused by some recent critics of “depoliticizing” the opera. But opera characters are not simply abstract templates for political positions; they are complex human beings, and that is why they move us (and why opera moves us). Even though Carmen invites many reflections about race and class and gender—clearly solicited by Bizet, an atheist and a rebel—the opera also shows its people as searching for something deep about their condition, something that they try to grasp, even at their peril.

Andrew Biondo provided research assistance for this essay.

Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Law School and the Philosophy Department. Her most recent book is Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility (2023).

Costume sketches by Jacob A. Climer.

Bluebeard's Castle

JULY 1, JULY 14, JULY 22 / 7:30PM

JULY 9 / 2:00PM

Based on: Barbe bleue by Charles Perrault

First performance: Hungarian Royal Opera House, Budapest; May 24, 1918

Company premiere

Performed in Hungarian with English supertitles

Estimated run time: 55 minutes with no intermission

By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner

A new production made possible by a production gift from the Lauridsen Family Foundation

Music by BÉLA BARTÓK / Libretto by BÉLA BALÁZS

Before the music begins, the Prologue invites the audience to experience an old tale but asks: Is the stage outside...or within?

In near darkness, the new bride Judith makes her way slowly down the stairs into her husband’s castle. Bluebeard worries that she is afraid and regrets her decision to marry him, but Judith assures him of her love. Emerging into the hall of the castle, Judith discovers a space that is as mysterious and full of secrets as her new husband. Undeterred by its weeping walls and strange sounds, Judith asserts that her love will transform the cold, dark castle. When she sees seven locked doors before her, Judith asks that they be opened to let in the sunlight and fresh air. Bluebeard refuses, but Judith is persistent and believes that her love will bring warmth not only to the castle but also to Bluebeard himself. He soon relents and gives her the key to the first door.

Red light illuminates the space as Judith opens and discovers Bluebeard’s torture chamber. Judith soon sees that the walls themselves are bleeding. Bluebeard asks her if she is afraid. Judith says she is not and dances in the red light. Convinced that she must share all his secrets, she tells Bluebeard that she loves him and that they must open all the doors together. He agrees and gives her the second key.

Despite her growing fears, Judith opens the second door to reveal Bluebeard’s armory, filled with terrible instruments of war. Again, Bluebeard asks if she is afraid and again Judith says that she is not and that she loves him. Bluebeard gives her three more keys and says that she may look her fill but must ask no questions. He encourages her to open quickly and she

soon sees that the third chamber is his treasury, filled with gold and jewels. It is all yours, he says. But for the third time, Judith sees blood, here on the very jewels themselves. Aware of Judith’s growing anxiety, Bluebeard tells her to open the fourth door and let in the sunshine.

Behind the fourth door, Judith discovers a magnificent secret garden. She is amazed by the beauty and size of the flowers which seem to respond to her presence, but soon she sees that they, too, are stained with blood. Who has bled to feed your garden? she asks, but gets no reply. Instead, Bluebeard urges her to open the fifth door. To a huge swell in the orchestra, Bluebeard’s vast domains are revealed. Judith is left breathless by the view but her anxiety returns as the clouds turn the color of blood. Despite Bluebeard’s attempts to distract her, Judith is firm in her resolve to reveal all the castle’s—and Bluebeard’s— secrets. She demands that the final two doors be opened.

Taking the sixth key, Judith opens the door to discover a lake of tears, a solemn and melancholy place in which Judith senses the presence of Bluebeard’s murdered wives. Bluebeard rebuffs Judith’s questions about his past and insists that the last door must remain closed forever. But convinced that she knows what lies behind it, Judith demands the seventh key. From this last chamber three wives emerge, beautifully dressed. Bluebeard exults as he describes them as embodying the morning, noon and twilight, and it is clear he intends for Judith to join their ranks. As the fourth wife, she will represent midnight, eternal darkness. Judith pleads with him to spare her, but Bluebeard simply envelops her in a heavy robe and crown, saying she is the most beautiful of all the wives in his collection.

STORY Bluebeard’s castle

PRODUCTION

Conductor

DAVID NEELY

Stage Director

KRISTINE MCINTYRE

Digital Image Composer

OYORAM *

Scenic Designer

LUKE CANTARELLA

Costume Designer

KAYE VOYCE *

Lighting Designer

KATE ASHTON

Choreographer

LISA THURRELL

Make-Up/Hair Designer

BRITTANY V.A. RAPPISE

Associate Conductor and Diction Coach

WILLIAM HOBBS

Musical Preparation

YASUKO OURA

WILLIAM HOBBS

Assistant Stage Director

JANINE MORITA COLLETTI

Stage Manager

ANNIE WHEELER

* DMMO mainstage debut

† Former DMMO Apprentice Artist

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

CAST in order of vocal appearance

Prologue

VIKTORIA VIZIN *

Duke Bluebeard

CHRISTIAN VAN HORN *

Judith

SARA GARTLAND †

Dancers

ERIN ARNDORFER *

MELISSA DAHMS *

CHIYO NISHIDA *

Bluebeard is a dangerous story. You probably didn’t read it in your childhood fairytale collection because it was usually edited out. Too dangerous to tell women about the perils of marriage—especially to richer, older, more powerful men with secrets. And it certainly calls into question the notion of “happily ever after,” which is the fairytale stock and trade. Fairytale scholar Maria Tatar calls Bluebeard a “plucky wife story” and it comes from a folk tradition of heroines for whom curiosity is not a failing, à la Eve or Pandora, but rather a life-saving strategy. The plucky wife almost always survives.

Perrault may have been the first to write it down, but the story is much, much older. There are hundreds of variants, and each generation has reinterpreted the story in art, literature and film. Some reinterpretations have not been kind to the wife, focusing more on her disobedience at opening the forbidden chamber than on the husband’s murderous past. Some versions turn Bluebeard into more marriageable material—think Jane Eyre or Rebecca—once he’s been purified by fire.

Director

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bluebeard emerges as a kind of collector or artist, an aesthete. This coincides with the rise of the Symboliste and Décadent art movements, which rejected realism in favor of myth and dreams as source material for art heavily inspired by women and filled with existential crises. The period is also known for very intense artist/muse relationships and a series of male artists who derived their energy and vitality from their female models and lovers. And running through it all is a heavy vein of late-19th century misogyny with the femme fatale as an artistic trope. One has only to look at Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Judith to see how a historically virtuous Biblical heroine became corrupted and sexualized in this period. The plucky wife rarely had a name in the fairytale version. Balázs called his Judith and entombed her in the castle.

And yet the tale resists. Female storytellers like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood and Jane Campion have retaken the narrative and given us a whole variety of plucky wives with new survival strategies. In some, happily ever after even seems possible. But whose happiness? Ah, that is the question.

by Kristine McIntyre, Stage

SARA GARTLAND

VIKTORIA VIZIN

CHRISTIAN VAN HORN

ERIN ARNDORFER MELISSA DAHMS

CHIYO NISHIDA

A TALE AS OLD AS TIME

BY GENEVIEVE LANG

BARTÓK’S CONTEMPORARY, the Hungarian poet Béla Balázs was, like many writers, intrigued by the French folktale of Bluebeard. Charles Perrault’s was the most famous surviving version from 1679. It tells the tale of a wealthy man with a nasty habit of murdering his wives and details the attempts of the current “missus” to avoid her predecessors’ fate. With the help of her family, she overcomes her bloodthirsty husband, and essentially lives the ubiquitous fairy-tale happily-ever-after.

Balázs’ version is strikingly different: an intriguing psychological treatment that eliminates secondary characters and focuses on the conflict between husband and wife. Keys are demanded, doors opened, scenes revealed, promises of happiness hinted at. Balázs offered the libretto to his friends Kodály and Bartók.

The primacy of the psychological subject made the proposal a no-brainer for Bartók, who doubtless recognized Balázs’ version as a vehicle for music which could never be upstaged by action or design. Thirty-yearold Bartók took on the project and crafted his opera, employing one of his most expansive orchestrations, with hardly any changes to the text.

In part, Bartók was motivated to compose this work by two competitions for Hungarian operas. But in at least one of them, the judges chose not to award a prize. Bluebeard’s Castle, it was suggested,

There are fairy-tale endings, and then there are fairy tales. Bartók’s one and only opera offers none of the former. Rather, it is suffused with the traditional, terrifying spirit of the OG French folk tale of Barbe bleue.

Rendering of the Garden Room by Oyoram.

did not have enough action to qualify as “theatrical music.” Historians believe, in fact, that the music judges never even got to hear it.

Bartók’s one-and-only opera eventually premiered seven years later in Budapest in May 1918. It wasn’t exactly a hit: sporadic performances followed in Germany (1922 & 1929) and Italy (1938), and it was not revived again until after WWII. These days the opera is recognized for its genius of dramatic psychological storytelling through music, and many believe it to be a near perfect opera from such a young composer.

Bartók sets Balázs’ dramatic scene in an immensely powerful single sound arc which measures time and structure by the successive openings of the seven doors. It’s compressed, however, into barely an hour’s duration. This brevity often leads Bluebeard to be paired with other works, but this makes no sense to DMMO favorite, director Kristine McIntyre, if you consider what’s being offered.

For starters, “Whose story is it?” asks Kristine. “We tend to assume that Bluebeard is the main character, when the castle is, in some respects, the main character. But actually, it’s Judith’s story—she’s what’s interesting. She begins to understand quite early on there is something here that needs to be discovered and that she has a moral imperative to open these doors, if for no other reason than for her own safety. But she is also genuinely trying to understand him.”

For instance, Judith discovers the castle is wet and asks Bluebeard: “Why is your castle crying?” She wants him to open everything up and let the sunlight in. “Is there never sunlight? Is it always in darkness?” Bluebeard’s reply: “Nevermore… Naught can glitter in my castle.” Her response? “Poor Bluebeard.”

Kristine asserts that Judith genuinely has sympathy for him. Naïvely, she loves him. There is a huge power imbalance in their relationship, but that does not mean that Judith is powerless, or indeed, entirely the victim. She thinks, like so many women, that she can save him from himself. That’s really the crisis of Judith. It’s not the doors and the dead wives. It’s the fact that she’s married to the unknowable and yet she thinks in her naïve, egotistical, feminine way, that if he would just love her enough, she could fix him.

“This is not an ‘Oh, I married an axe-murderer’ plot,” says Kristine. “It’s a ‘curiosity killed the cat’ story. If she would just stop asking questions, they could be perfectly happy right there, in the fantasy of the fifth door. What Bluebeard thinks he wants is a small, pretty girl-child that he can entice with shiny things. Alas, he actually married a human woman, who has questions.” And, it would seem, an agenda.

Isn’t it a near-universal experience for women in a relationship at some point in their lives that we think we can “save him?” And similarly for Bluebeard as a man—he’s idealized Judith into being “the one” when actually she’s just “the next one.” Everyone’s kidding themselves. There ain’t nobody coming to rescue Bluebeard from this endlessly repeating pattern of being in relationship only to a point; only allowing so much of himself to be seen. And then what is it (Shame? Fear? Hopelessness? Ego?) that makes him take the life of wife after wife once they’ve gotten too close?

This drama of two newlyweds gave Bartók a chance to express himself to his own new wife, Márta. Dedicated to her, the work was a wedding gift and— clearly—a warning. Keep an ear out for the famous

A TALE OF TWO JUDITHS: The biblical hero Judith, as depicted in “Judith and the Head of Holofernes” (1901) by Gustav Klimt, serves as a parallel (or contrast) with the Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle.

blood motif, which occurs anytime Judith notices blood in the castle. It’s a haunting trill on a semitone, which is the closest distance between notes in Western music. By contrast, “the most sensuous music in the entire piece,” Kristine reveals, “is given over to ‘Bluebeard-as-Artist,’ when he is describing his creations, singing about his previous wives.” This must surely have been a chilling moment for Bartók’s real-life young wife: the music that follows becomes quite maniacal as Bluebeard struggles to get Judith into his “collection.”

Not every version of the original folk tale has Judith joining the other dead wives behind the seventh door, and it remains to be seen what kind of directorial decisions are made around the opera’s ending. But Kristine is clear: “When Bluebeard talks about darkness at the end, that is not Judith’s darkness. It is very much his own. It’s a world of his own making. He does not want to be known. He did not want to be saved. And in the absence of the wives, there is little left of him.”

Genevieve Lang was first captivated by opera when, as a nine-yearold girl, she was taken by her father to see Bizet’s Carmen at the Sydney Opera House. For many years she performed as harpist with Australia’s major orchestras, and more recently she’s added writing and broadcasting to her skillset. Nowadays, Genevieve shares her passion for music on ABC Classic, Australia’s national classical music station, where she’s part of the regular presenter lineup.

UNREAL OPERA

Des Moines Metro Opera is leading the way into the new frontier of stage and film technology. The company’s production of Bluebeard’s Castle is brought to life through the world’s most advanced real-time 3D creation tool—Unreal Engine. This tool is used in major Hollywood studios to create virtual sets in shows like Disney’s “The Mandalorian” and HBO’s “Westworld.”

Internationally acclaimed Filmmaker and Visual Composer, Oyoram, along with Director Kristine McIntyre and Scenic/Video Designer Luke Cantarella, have created a truly immersive theatrical experience drawing on AI-generated 2-D imagery to create a set of unique 3-D scenes in the production’s Art Nouveau style. Video avatars of the show’s characters are being created by filming live singers and dancers in front of a green screen to be incorporated into the castle environment. DMMO is one of the first in the opera industry to experiment with this technology.

A TALE OF TWO WIVES: Bartók with his first wife, Márta, who was 16 when they married. Fifteen years later, Bartók would divorce Márta to marry his 19-year-old piano student, Ditta Pásztory (below).

The Love for Three Oranges

Music by SERGEI PROKOFIEV / Libretto by SERGEI PROKOFIEV & VERA JANACOPOULOS

JULY 8, JULY 18, JULY 21 / 7:30PM

JULY 16 / 2:00PM

Based on: Vsevolod Meyerhold’s adaptation of the play by Carlo Gozzi

First performance: Auditorium Theatre, Chicago; December 30, 1921

Company premiere

Performed in English with English supertitles

English translation by Tom Stoppard

Reduced orchestration by Philipp Haag

Estimated run time: 2 hours, 15 minutes with one 20-minute intermission

By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner

A new production made possible by a production gift from Frank R. Brownell III

Costume design made possible by a gift from Ellen and Jim Hubbell

STORY An imaginary kingdom

PROLOGUE

Four groups of impatient theatre fans argue over the kind of show they want to see—tragedy, comedy, romance or farce. A fifth group of spectators, the Eccentrics, interrupts them to announce the performance of the main event: “The Love for Three Oranges.”

ACT I

A chorus of doctors tells the beleaguered King of Clubs about his son’s imaginary sickness, which includes a deep melancholy that keeps him from laughing. The King asks his jester Trouffaldino to organize a party to cheer up the Prince. In the underworld, the evil witch Fata Morgana beats the noble magician Tchélio three times in a card game, robbing him of his powers to protect the King. Meanwhile, the King’s niece Clarice and the scheming prime minister Léandre conspire to kill the Prince and take over the throne. Fata Morgana’s servant Sméraldine joins their plot and explains that with Fata Morgana around at Trouffaldino’s party, the Prince will never laugh, thereby prolonging his sickness.

ACT II

Trouffaldino drags the Prince to the party, but he refuses to laugh at the bizarre performances. When Trouffaldino spies Fata Morgana, he tries to throw her out. She stumbles and falls to the ground which makes the Prince laugh, and soon everybody is cracking up. Furious, Fata Morgana curses the Prince to fall obsessively in love with three oranges. Though the King begs him to stay and look after the kingdom, the Prince instead sets out with Trouffaldino on a quest to find his beloved fruit.

INTERMISSION

ACT III

A demon named Farfarello blows the Prince and Trouffaldino all the way to the hiding place of the oranges: the castle of Creonta, whose kitchen is run by a giant Cook. The Prince and Trouffaldino distract the Cook with a ribbon from Tchélio and steal the three oranges. As the two wander back through the desert, the Prince falls asleep and a thirsty Trouffaldino opens two of the oranges, disobeying Tchélio’s directions not to open them unless there is water nearby. Inside each one is a princess who dies of thirst right away; Trouffaldino runs off in terror. The Prince wakes up and finds the princess Ninette inside the third orange, and they profess their love for each other. The Eccentrics in the audience prevent another tragedy by sending over a bucket of water to the Prince, and he saves Ninette from her own deadly thirst. The second the Prince leaves to get Ninette new clothes from the royal castle, however, Sméraldine attacks Ninette and turns her into a rat. When the Prince returns to introduce his love to the court, he is horrified to find Sméraldine has taken her place. The King insists that the Prince honor his word and marry Sméraldine anyway.

ACT IV

Tchélio confronts Fata Morgana about her schemes, and the Eccentrics break the fourth wall again to trap her, clearing Tchélio a path to save the day. The Prince’s impending marriage to Sméraldine is upended when Ninette, now a giant rat, appears on the Princess’s throne. Luckily, Tchélio swoops in and returns Ninette to her human form. The King, suddenly understanding the plot against him, sentences Sméraldine, Clarice and Léandre to death—but out of nowhere, Fata Morgana appears and helps the traitors escape. After a collective shrug, the royal court celebrates the newly reunited Prince and Princess.

PRODUCTION

Conductor

DAVID NEELY

Stage Director

CHAS RADER-SHIEBER

Scenic and Costume Designer

JACOB A. CLIMER

Lighting Designer

CONNIE YUN

Choreographer

ISAAC MARTIN LERNER

Make-Up/Hair Designer

BRITTANY V.A. RAPPISE

Associate Conductor and July 18 Conductor

MICHAEL SAKIR

Musical Preparation

ELDEN LITTLE

Assistant Stage Director

BENJAMIN CROEN *

Chorus Rehearsal Pianist

CONNOR BUCKLEY *

Stage Manager

BRIAN AUGUST

* DMMO mainstage debut

† Former DMMO Apprentice Artist

‡ Current DMMO Apprentice Artist

CAST in order of vocal appearance

Herald

JEREMY HARR *‡

King of Clubs

SCOTT CONNER

Pantalon

BENJAMIN TAYLOR

Trouffaldino

MICHAEL PORTER *

Léandre

ALEXANDER BIRCH ELLIOTT †

Tchélio

ANTHONY REED *

Fata Morgana

ALEXANDRA LOBIANCO

Clarice

CATHERINE MARTIN *

Sméraldine

SUN-LY PIERCE

Prince

CHRISTOPHER SOKOLOWSKI *

Farfarello

JOSÉ OLIVARES *‡

Cook

MATT BOEHLER †

Linette

ARIANA MAUBACH *‡

Nicolette

MAGGIE RENEÉ *‡

Ninette

FLORA HAWK *

Master of Ceremonies

SPENCER LAWRENCE BOYD *‡

Dancers

CALVIN BITTNER

ALEX BRAZINSKI *

KARMA CHUKI *

ALEXZANDER LARSON *

ANNA PINAULT

Supernumeraries

AUDREY MANNING *

FREDERICK D. MOELLER *

AUGIE MORRIS *

DIRECTOR’S NOTES by Chas Rader-Shieber, Stage Director

It’s almost impossible to take program notes for this wonderful opera too seriously. Explaining this piece is like explaining quantum physics— except at the end of explaining quantum physics, it makes sense to at least a few brainy people. So think of this as more of an invitation to sit back and watch the show.

Part adventure story, part buddy-comedy and part magical nightmare, Prokofiev’s The Love For Three Oranges is the tale of a Prince recovering from an illness while remaining “love-sick” for the most unusual of prizes. With the aid of his trusted and world-weary court jester Trouffaldino, he fights through a universe of vaudeville sketches, circus acts, showgirls and second-rate magicians to find his true love: who is either a piece of fruit, a giant rat or a glamorous beauty—who knows?

Navigating love in a chaotic and often illogical world is daunting at best.

When Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” he had no idea what that sentiment might inspire years later. This production presents each scene as a kind of performance—a new and different “act.” The characters participate in, perform for and witness a dazzling array of life’s showier moments, all in a valiant attempt to find that elusive thing called love.

It’s the simplest of stories, played out in the most absurd, unexpected and ultimately satisfying way. Join the journey with no expectations other than to enjoy the crazy ride!

SCOTT CONNER

MICHAEL PORTER

CHRISTOPHER SOKOLOWSKI

ALEXANDRA LOBIANCO

FLORA HAWK

ALEXANDER BIRCH ELLIOTT

CATHERINE MARTIN

MATT BOEHLER

ANTHONY REED

A RICH HISTORY OF COMMEDIA DELL’ ARTE AS INSPIRATION:

Justin Vickers discusses Sergei Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges

SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891–1953)

was a celebrated Russian pianist, composer and conductor. He was born in Sontsovka in the Russian Empire, which is now part of Ukraine. Prokofiev’s mother— whose family were serfs owned by one of Russia’s wealthiest families —was a serious pianist whose own artistic influence on her son cannot be overstated. The 11-year-old Prokofiev began private piano and composition lessons with the composer Reinhold Glière in 1902 The next year he enrolled in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, graduating in 1909 with a diploma in composition; he continued his studies there until 1914, earning further advanced certificates. During this time, he cultivated the reputation as something of an enfant terrible. But it was an especially fruitful period of composition as well, with several works from this period revised in later years and earning a place in his catalogue.

EMIGRATING TO AMERICA

Prokofiev left his homeland following the October Revolution in the spring of 1918; after extensive travel eastward across Asia, he arrived in San Francisco in August. Over the coming months he enjoyed various levels of successful engagements—as concert pianist and specifically for his compositions —in New York City and Chicago, among others. In attendance at Prokofiev’s Chicago debut was the conductor Cleofante Campanini, music director of the Chicago Opera Association. He extended to Prokofiev what was to become the first operatic commission of a foreign composer for a new opera to be premiered in the United States. It was January 1919. The opera that Campanini and Prokofiev agreed to—Любовь к трём апельсинам, or Lyubov’ k tryom apel’sinam—was The Love for Three Oranges.

LEFT: “Love for Three Oranges” 1971, by Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov (Russian, 1903-1977), Gouache on paper.

Prokofiev finished composing the music in June, and the orchestration was completed on 1 October 1919; however, Campanini died in December 1919, delaying the production. The renowned opera singer Mary Garden was appointed the new music director; still, the opera was not performed during the 1920-1921 season, not least because of Prokofiev’s own demands. Garden was well acquainted with modern opera, having sung multiple first performances of new operas including the title roles in Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902 and Jules Massenet’s Chérubin in 1905, both written for her. (Des Moines Metro Opera audiences will gladly note that Pélleas et Mélisande will be programmed in the 2024 Festival Season.) Ultimately, the composer insisted on being compensated for the postponement, to which Garden conceded, and Prokofiev conducted the world premiere on December 30, 1921

THE ORIGINS OF THE LIBRETTO AND COMMEDIA DELL’ ARTE

Prokofiev’s second opera owes its existence to a gift given to him prior to his 1918 journey from Russia by the eminent Russian director Vsevolod Meyerhold: a copy of the elder’s published journal, The Oranges, or Dr. Dapertutto’s Magazine. A rich history lay in Prokofiev’s hands as inspiration. Therein was Meyerhold’s own Russian adaptation (together with Konstantin Vogak and Vladimir Solov’yev) of the eponymous satirical play by Carlo Gozzi (1720–1806), L’amore delle tre melarance, or The Love for Three Oranges

Gozzi had relied on the commedia dell’arte tradition in his work (already an adaptation of Giambattista Basile’s Pentamerone of 1634), which was intended as a none-toosubtle attack on fellow Venetian

contemporary playwrights Carlo Goldoni and Pietro Chiari. (In fact, the characters of the unsophisticated Celio and the pretentious Fata Morgana were intended to be caricatures of Goldoni and Chiari, respectively.)

Commedia dell’arte is an Italian form of masked theatre that was popularized throughout the continent during the 16th-18th centuries. It relied on “stock characters” or archetypes, whose masks, actions and stylized costumes would have been well-recognized by contemporary audiences. (Imagine several characters in Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos or Canio and his traveling troupe in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.) While the masks could be removed, the character and the mask were synonymous.

There are four categories of stock characters: il capitano, rarely an actual captain but egotistically represented as one (if a female character, La Signora); innamorati, the lovers, young and typically upper class who do not wear masks; vecchi, old men, frequently wealthy (often named Dottore or Pantalone); and, zanni, clowns or servants, often of a country nature (a variant of the name Gianni, bringing to mind Giacomo Puccini’s trickster, Gianni Schicchi; zanni include characters named Arlecchino, Brighella, Colombina, Pedrolino, Pulcinella and Scapino; if named Scaramuccio it combines characteristics of capitano with that of zanni). The prevalence of these familiar characters in their costumes and masks may be seen as primary subjects in paintings and porcelain figurines, for example. The influence of stock figures from commedia ripple across centuries of innumerable stage plays, operas, instrumental and orchestral compositions.

Prokofiev was captivated by Meyerhold’s gift—which extended a central argument from Gozzi’s play—and with nothing but time on his hands during his transpacific passage to America he drafted his own libretto in French, L’amour des trois oranges. The subject offered him the perfect architecture on which to hang a satirical commentary not just on the arts, but to accomplish it through an exaggerated range of character-specific emotions—already baked into the stock characters— and all to serve countless dramatic and narrative ends. Prokofiev wrote:

The theatrical aspect interested me tremendously. The three different planes in which the action developed were a novelty in themselves:

(1) the fairy-tale characters, the Prince, Trouffaldino, etc.;

(2) the forces of the nether world (Tchélio the sorcerer, Fata Morgana); and

(3) the comic characters, like the representatives of the management who comment on everything that take place.

Sketch of the program page for the play The Love for Three Oranges by C. Gozzi, 1915. Artist: Meyerhold, Vsevolod Emilyevich (1874-1940).

Yet it is unsurprising that American audiences could not quite decipher the libretto—particularly with ample traces of unfamiliar Russian Modernism woven across the texts —and lacking familiarity with its rootedness in commedia, Prokofiev’s intentions for acerbic comedy notwithstanding. What is surprising to note, however, is that Prokofiev admitted to having written the opera in “a simpler musical idiom” specifically with American audiences in mind.

THE RECEPTION OF THE OPERA

In its premiere season in Chicago, The Love for Three Oranges received only one additional performance, on January 4, 1922. Like the winter in which it was first heard, the opera’s reception was chilly, to say the least. Audiences at the time were simply unprepared for Prokofiev’s strictly modernist sound. And how could it have been otherwise? What was viewed as experimentalism in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1911) had only been heard in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera in late 1913, while his Ariadne auf Naxos (1912, rev. 1916) did not reach Philadelphia until 1928; it would be another decade before Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (1914–1922) was produced in the US; and Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes (1945) was more than two decades in the future, even if Prokofiev’s economic orchestration anticipates Britten’s successes in this arena.

No, this was not yet an America at all familiar with Prokofiev’s musical vernacular, where the mainstays in the Chicago repertory were operas of Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. And even though the Russian Opera Company toured

the United States in 1921, bringing with it productions of Alexander Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka, Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snow Maiden and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, such operas would have done little to acquaint an unsuspecting audience for Prokofiev’s sardonic take on operatic extravagance.

Audience experiences—notably with the striking visual splendor of the production—differed vastly from those in the musical press; various extracts sting to this day. The level of musical expertise required to prepare such a complex work was recognized by the critics, and the singers were uniformly commended.

However, the Chicago Tribune asserted, “Mr. Prokofiev might well have loaded up a shotgun with several thousand notes of varying lengths and discharged them against the side of a blank wall.” The opera’s infrequent use of traditional melody combined with recurrent dissonances were fodder for the critics. The Chicago Evening Post stated that while “fifteen minutes of Russian jazz with Bolshevik trimmings” may be entertaining, a full evening’s opera was a different matter. The cost of the production—which the Chicago American said threw money “out the window”—was widely reported upon, with one critic stating it averaged $43,000 per orange (far more than $1M USD today).

It was performed again on Valentine’s Day 1922 in New York City at the Manhattan Opera House, yet the critics were just as disparaging. When the opera was heard in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) in February 1926, Prokofiev wrote in his autobiography that while “the comments of some reviewers were very sensible; others wanted to know whom I was laughing at: the audience, Gozzi, the operatic form or those who had no sense of humour. They found in the Oranges mockery, defiance, the grotesque and what not; all I had been trying to do was to write an amusing opera.” The same year Prokofiev published a suite of six orchestral excerpts from the opera—hoping to see it establish a hold in the concert hall —but only the famous March and Scherzo linger in symphonic circles.

While positive and balanced reviews of The Love for Three Oranges existed in its first seasons, they simply could not tamp down the drumbeat of negativity that seemed to have attached itself to the work.

Colorized portrait of Sergei Prokofiev (18911953). Photograph by George Rinhart, date unknown.

THE OPERA’S INFREQUENT USE OF TRADITIONAL MELODY COMBINED WITH RECURRENT DISSONANCES WERE FODDER FOR THE CRITICS.

“THREE LOVELY ORANGES” AND MODERN AUDIENCES

From its very first downbeat, the opera detonates with arguments— as if they have been ongoing for millennia—among the Tragedians, the Comedians, the Lyricists and the Empty Heads surrounding the best form of theatre, when the Ridicules interrupt to announce the play they will observe. These “characters” are subsumed into the chorus and its magnificent presence throughout the opera. Prokofiev’s ebullient writing introduces a panoply of conflicting musical themes, clarifying from the start that the audience’s experience will be anything but typical. Across the three planes of action that he described, Prokofiev’s anti-bourgeois critique appears to be perpetually fragmented and rearranged, offering an almost kaleidoscopic storyline in which parody and hyperbole are de rigeur.

Prokofiev creates a battle royale of shimmering vocal brilliance between the satirical stock characters who emerge from the commedia tradition and the utter absurdity each of those characters embody. In so doing, Prokofiev crafts an opera that stands up to all other operatic engagements with the form. The score’s rhythmic and chromatic accessibility—more than a hundred years after its composition—coupled with its dazzling orchestration, percussive syncopations and the liveliness of each of the opera’s characters make it a standout among early 20th century operas. (And considering the historic period when The Love for Three Oranges was written and the Russo-European aesthetics it espoused, devoid of exoticism or nationalism, its creation in an American opera house is even more remarkable.)

Harmonically, the opera is built on the octatonic scale, so common at the turn of the century in Saint Petersburg as to be referred to as the Korsokovian scale, due to its association with Rimsky-Korsakov and his coterie. The vocal writing is a contrast of lyricism and angularity, rich harmonies and sweeping unison passages, infectious silliness and fleeting moments of romantic beauty—all in the pursuit of “three lovely oranges.”

Dr. Justin Vickers was recently named Distinguished Professor of Music at Illinois State University. He has edited and contributed to Benjamin Britten in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and Benjamin Britten Studies (Boydell Press, 2017), and among other midcentury British topics he is currently writing The Aldeburgh Festival: A History of the Britten and Pears Era, 1948–1986 (Boydell Press). He is a frequent essayist for the English National Opera and The Red House, has written for the Aldeburgh Festival, and will contribute his first essay for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2023 production of Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer

Audiences might find associations with the immediacy of Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera (1928), humming with the dynamism of Bertholt Brecht’s original play. One cannot help but think of Elizabeth Maconchy’s comic opera The Sofa (1959), in which a spell is cast on a young rake, turning him into a sofa. But other comparisons—apart from the equally esoteric— are few and far between. The Love for Three Oranges gives tacit permission for stage directors and designers to embrace a riot of colors and surrealism, immersing an audience into a mise-en-scène that invites endless creativity and inventive perspectives on the opera’s inherent meaning.

THE INFLUENCE OF STOCK FIGURES FROM COMMEDIA RIPPLE ACROSS CENTURIES OF INNUMERABLE STAGE PLAYS, OPERAS, INSTRUMENTAL AND ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITIONS.

Set design by Jacob A. Climer for the Prologue of The Love for Three Oranges

dwb (driving while black)

Music by SUSAN KANDER / Libretto by ROBERTA GUMBEL

JUNE 16 (African American Museum of Iowa) / 6:00PM

JULY 8 (Mainframe Studios), JULY 15 (Hope + Elim), JULY 21 (Viking Theatre at Grand View University) / 2:00PM

First performance: Swarthout Recital Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence; March 5, 2018

Company premiere

Performed in English with English supertitles

Community panel discussions presented in partnership with Humanities Iowa

When I was studying for the driver’s license test, my parents sat me down for an important discussion about car safety: what to do when you are pulled over by a police officer. As they went through the list of instructions, I’m sure I rolled my eyes. To me, the car represented freedom, and that was all I could see. I could not yet see the numerous times I would be pulled over for being in the wrong neighborhood. I could not yet see the danger that exists when you are Black and in motion in America. But my parents did.

CAST/PRODUCTION

Mother

ROBERTA GUMBEL * †

Cello

CREMAINE BOOKER *

Percussion

DAVID LEON VERIN *

Stage Director

CHIP MILLER *

DWB PANELISTS

Moderator

KAMERON MIDDLEBROOKS, Iowa Organizer; REFORM Alliance

Panelists at performances may include:

DWANA BRADLEY, Iowa Urban Media + Iowa Juneteenth

JILL WELLS, Artist, Advocate, Mentor; Mainframe Studios

LOUIS FOUNTAIN, District Community Schools Coordinator; Des Moines Public Schools

JULIAN DISMUTE, Central Iowa Area Representative; Fellowship of Christian Athletes

DESHAWN PERRY, SR., Hope+Elim Member

ELIZABETH JOE, Grand View University Student Leader

TAYLOR PETERSEN, IDEA Practitioner, Astrophysics Data Base; NASA

CLEMENTÉ LOVE, DMMO DEI Task Force

The anxieties of being Black and behind the wheel are given voice: in the gorgeous words sung by the mother, in the atmosphere created by the percussionist and cellist and in the retellings of real stories of discrimination. In the age of cell phone cameras, we’ve watched numerous Black people murdered by police officers inside their cars. When I see a police car in my rearview mirror, the sense that I will be the next name on that growing list overwhelms me. I imagine the press conference: what they will ask of my parents.

ROBERTA GUMBEL

DIRECTOR'S NOTES by Chip Miller, Stage Director

CREMAINE BOOKER DAVID LEON VERIN CHIP MILLER

EVENT COLLABORATOR VENUE PARTNERS

A Mother’s Worry

BY PAUL HORSLEY

MOST MOTHERS DREAD THE DAY that their sons or daughters start to drive, but Black moms are especially fearful when their teenagers, and sons in particular, get behind the wheel for the first time.

That fear helped spark the inception of a chamber opera by two internationally known Kansas City natives, soprano and librettist Roberta Gumbel and composer Susan Kander. dwb (driving while black) came into existence around the time that Roberta, a lecturer in voice and opera at the University of Kansas, recognized that her only son was poised to start driving.

One day when Rapheal was 15 and riding in the car with his mother, she stopped abruptly and ordered him to get out of the car.

“What’d I do?” he asked, thinking he was in trouble. Roberta laughed and handed him the keys. The young man was elated. “And we went forward and backward, no turns,” Roberta said.

“All the kids at that age are talking about driving,” she added. “He was ready, and I guess that day I just decided I can handle it.” After extensive practice in parking lots, Rapheal earned his license. Roberta has not stopped worrying since. She probably never will. “Do I cower in fear every time he leaves the house? No. But am I aware that the danger is real? Absolutely.”

It was during a subsequent conversation that Roberta had with her longtime friend and musical associate, Susan Kander, that the pair lit upon this topic as fertile ground for what was initially framed as a song cycle. Eventually it grew into a 45-minute monodrama for soprano, cello, and percussion that confronts the dangers that lurk for Black Americans.

Susan, who has made her career in New York, was eager to work with Roberta, whose golden voice she has long treasured.

“This does require stupendous artists,” Susan said of the demanding score she created. “And I don’t apologize for that because if I’d written an easier score, especially for the instrumentalists, I don’t think I could have accomplished what I wanted to emotionally.”

The onstage presence of cellist and percussionist becomes part of the theatrical conceit: “The sound world offered by voice, cello, and percussion was mesmerizing to me right out of the gate,” Susan said in a previous interview. “It’s great to break up the timbre and texture of the human voice here and there: It wakes up our ears a bit and widens the dramatic lens terrifically.”

dwb follows the first 16 years of a young man’s life. At its core it is the deeply personal (and partly

autobiographical) narrative about the relationship between mother and son. Into a succession of “scenes” is woven a series of “Bulletins” recounting sobering events that have happened either to members of Roberta’s own family or to other Black men and women around the nation.

“A congressman pulled over seven times for driving a nice car,” reads one Bulletin. “A neighbor calls 911 about a man… a man! … parked! parked! In front of his own house!” reads another. The instrumentalists assist the soprano in the storytelling: calling out events, clapping or striking their instruments, and creating propulsive rhythms to illustrate the narrative.

“You, my beautiful brown boy/ You are not who they see!” sings the Mother, first quietly and then with increasing intensity as the work progresses. The young man gradually learns that even though he is indeed a beloved son, to some he will always be a potential suspect.

For Director Chip Miller the piece provided “a window through which to revisit that crucial conversation, this time from the vantage point of my parents.” In the final analysis they added, “in dwb, the car becomes a place of joy, fear, mourning, and danger. It is a vehicle for healing, our shared experience set to beautiful music.”

The inherent dangers are conveyed in vivid detail in dwb. “Short young man with dreadlocks out with his girlfriend,” runs one of the opera’s Bulletins. “Cuffed! and sitting on the curb, as police realize he’s just not the tall, bald man they’re looking for.” Later the Mother sings: “How can I set you on a path … in this world/ In a world that doesn’t live up to its promises/ Its promises and dreams?”

Susan, who normally writes her own librettos, quickly realized that Roberta was the natural librettist for dwb. “Roberta is my ideal collaborator,” Susan said. “She has a background in theater that is as big or bigger than mine. … So, every moment in this piece is infused with our collective theatrical toolbox.”

As a veteran of the stage, Roberta “understands better than any librettist out there what is involved in walking from point A to point B,” Susan said. “All the things that a performer has to do and the things that the text and the music have to do in order to ‘get an action to happen.’ It was an incredible experience to write with somebody who packed all that onto the page.”

Roberta had some trepidation about tackling the libretto. “I said, ‘Susan this isn’t what people who go

to the opera expect to see.’ Her response was: ‘Well let’s make them see it. Because if this is your world… the opera world and also the world in which you’re raising a Black son… then this piece has its place.’ And I said, Okay, I’m in!’ And as I wrote, she gave me a lot of confidence.”

To be sure, dwb was conceived in the midst of the very turmoil of which it speaks. “But we weren’t thinking of being activists at the time,” Roberta said. “The piece has become something that really provokes that thought. But we were writing a drama about a mother and her fears, and we wrote it before George Floyd was killed. And it’s now so much more in the headlines… people are not able to ignore it.”

Paul Horsley is the performing arts editor at the Kansas City Independent. Established in 1899, The Independent is the city’s longest-running magazine. Unique in its field, it is the only publication to focus primarily on the cultural, philanthropic and social aspects of Kansas City.

This article originally appeared in the Kansas City Independent and is reprinted with permission.

The creators Roberta Gumbel and Susan Kander, photo by Luke X. Martin for KCUR Kansas City.

THE FALLING AND THE RISING

Music by ZACH REDLER / Libretto by JERRE DYE

JULY 20 / 7:30PM

JULY 22 / 2:00PM

Company premiere

Performed in English with English supertitles

The Falling and the Rising was conceived by Sergeant First Class Benjamin Hilgert

The Falling and the Rising was originally commissioned by the US Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus, Opera Memphis, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and TCU.

The Falling and the Rising was originally workshopped at Seagle Music Colony. Special thanks go to Garnett Brooks for producing the North Carolina premiere at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in January 2018.

Inhale. Exhale. Rise. Fall. Seriously, do it. If you’re around other people, listen to their breath. Can you hear it? In our daily lives, how often do we stop and listen to those around us? How often do we collectively pause and consider the breath and heartbeat of others? We all rise and fall. We do it every day; it’s the cycle of our lives. Sometimes the fall is gentle, filled with gratitude and love, the sun rising to start each day anew. Sometimes the fall is traumatic, forcing us to question everything we have experienced, sadder than the darkest hour of night. And yet, despite the odds, the cycle can begin again. Through the help of our communities, the example of those who came before us, and the grit we’ve developed throughout our lives, the fall is not always the end.

CAST/PRODUCTION

Soldier

TESS ALTIVEROS *

Doctor/Toledo

SUN-LY PIERCE

Doctor/Homecoming Soldier

SANKARA HAROUNA ‡

Doctor/Jumper

SAM MATHIS ‡

Doctor/Colonel

MATT BOEHLER †

Soldier’s Daughter

GRACE ALTIVEROS RITTER *

Conductor

MICHAEL SAKIR

Stage Director

JOSHUA BORTHS

Scenic Designer

ADAM WHITTRIDGE *

Costume Designer

ASHLEIGH POTEAT *

Lighting Designer

BRIDGET S. WILLIAMS

Make-Up/Hair Designer

MARGARET SACKMAN *

Associate Conductor

DONALD LEE III

Musical Preparation

CONNOR BUCKLEY *

Stage Manager

BETH GOODILL

* DMMO debut

† Former DMMO Apprentice Artist

‡ Current DMMO Apprentice Artist

Members of post-show panel are Service Members of the Iowa National Guard 671st Troop Command, led by the Director of Public Affairs, Jackie Schmillen.

Presented in partnership with

Inspired by stories and interviews of real-life soldiers, The Falling and the Rising is about how we persevere by embracing this cycle. Even though much of our civic discourse concerns those who serve or have served in the military, rarely do we take a moment to listen to the people wearing the uniform. When we remove statistics, defense budgets, headline news and geo-politics from the equation, who do we find underneath? What can we hear? What can we learn? The Falling and the Rising is the opera we need right now, an opera built around empathy. With beautiful music, intimate testimonies and a story of resounding hope, I hope you are moved by the stories you witness as our cast, orchestra and audiences come together to breathe and listen as one.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES by Joshua Borths, Stage Director

SUN-LY PIERCE

MATT BOEHLER

SANKARA HAROUNA

SAM MATHIS

Sergeant First Class Ben Hilgert and Soprano Tess Altiveros on The Falling and the Rising

THE FALLING AND THE RISING is an operatic story of the unique service of those in the military who face danger, often paying the price of a great sacrifice. Sergeant First Class Ben Hilgert, serving in the Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, is the visionary of the piece. His passion to tell this important story as an opera led to him to conduct interviews with wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Then, working with librettist Jerre Dye and composer Zach Redler, the unique opera took shape.

I spoke to Sergeant Hilgert along with soprano Tess Alitveros, who originated the role of the “Soldier” and is performing the role with Des Moines Metro Opera.

MATT COSTELLO: Ben, what was your journey to go from an idea you had, something you felt strongly about, to take that idea all the way to a finally finished work? Any unexpected difficulties or special support you encountered along the way?

BEN HILGERT: First, allow me to clarify for readers that when the idea struck, I had no experience in commissioning new opera. None. The entire journey was made possible by the incredible willingness of both my army and opera communities to hold my hand in bringing this piece into existence.

I was inspired after spending time at an OPERA America conference in 2015 looking for new ways to collaborate and use some of the fantastic operatic talents that we have in the Soldiers’ Chorus. I walked away from my time at the conference with a feeling that the entire industry longed for a new way to build community through opera. At the U.S. Army Field Band, as Musical Ambassadors, our mission is to connect Americans to their army and honor the service of those who have given so much. Something just clicked into place for me.

BY MATT COSTELLO

I found myself in my commander’s office the following day pitching the idea of commissioning an opera. He said yes, and I had no idea what I signed myself up for! I immediately reached out to mentors past and present for advice about where to start. I knew that I wanted to tell a more universal, less historical, very human story about what military service is like. Every part of me was energized by the thought of creating something meaningful, a piece of art from nothing. There was no precedent for this experiment in American military band history, creating both challenges and unexpected difficulties.

MC: Tess, the character of the soldier must have felt different, in so many ways, from the many roles you have performed in the classic repertoire. Can you describe what that was like? What inspired you, and how did you prepare to undertake this very different ‘role?’

TESS ALTIVEROS: I think there’s always a particular responsibility an artist bears whenever tasked with the telling of a true story. However, because The Falling and the Rising tells so many veteran stories that are still being lived every day, and because we get to share the stage with a community of veterans—this piece feels supercharged with that responsibility.

And to tell the truth, even as I first began learning the role, I was not prepared for the way in which taking on this material and working with these vets would impact my perspective. It really demanded that I look outside my own assumptions and step into the life experience of so many of my countrymen. What’s more, it inspired me to ask about the stories of service within my own family. I had never asked about this before, and I was stunned to learn not only how many in my family have served and in what capacity, but just how little I knew about their stories. It has been an extraordinarily humbling experience.

MC: Ben, the opera is focused on the healing process, as experienced by the lead “soldier” in a coma and the other soldiers who appear, all dealing with healing and recovery in a different way. These are based in part on your interviews at Walter Reed Hospital. As you heard those stories, what most surprised you about those real experiences of war and life-changing wounds? Did you feel that in those interviews you uncovered something vital to that sacrifice and healing, something that must be core to the opera?

BH: The story was heavily influenced by our interviews at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. However, finding the story of healing was largely unintended. We spoke with soldiers across all occupations, ranks, ages and backgrounds. Interviews also took place with members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, at Fort Myer in Virginia; a variety of service members at Fort Meade, Maryland; and a few via phone or video conference. In trying to bridge the gap between civilian and military, we were looking to capture a broader sense of what service feels like in the words of soldiers.

To be honest, Zach, Jerre, and I had no idea what to expect when we sat down with our first interviewees. We had planned a list of around 12 questions in order to shape the conversation towards our project’s aspirational goals, but went in with open hearts, minds, and ears. Those three days of interviews changed my life in more ways than I can write about.

MC: Tess, when you first were introduced to the character of the Soldier, wounded by a road-side explosive, what did you—as a performing artist but also personally—find most compelling?

TA: For me personally, the thing I found immediately compelling is the Soldier’s sense of duty both as a soldier and a mother; and the beautiful and honest way in

which it is set to music. As a mom myself, it has been immensely gratifying to have the opportunity to bring to the stage some of the beautiful, complicated, painful, messy and inspiring experiences of a mother torn between duty and family—and really honor the sacrifices of moms (and their kids) who enlist to serve their country.

MC: Finally, having seen the opera taking shape again, soon ready for an audience to “participate” in the experience, what resonates most for you about the opera’s message and what the work says about the key ideas of sacrifice, loss and healing?

TA: For me, what has been foremost in my mind during the process is the great need for human empathy toward each other’s stories and experiences. This piece serves so many purposes, but I particularly love that it’s a vessel for empathy, for creating a bridge of understanding on a human level between veterans and civilians— an experience that allows us to connect to one other and listen for the humanity in all of our stories.

BH: Coming back to this opera takes me back to the interviews. Every show I’m reminded, and humbled, that these are living stories. There are currently service members deployed in countries around the world on our behalf. I hope that participating in the experience of The Falling and the Rising brings audiences closer to understanding what it is that those men and women are going through.

Matt Costello is an award-winning, international novelist and scriptwriter. He co-created and writes the global best-selling mystery series, Cherringham, set in England’s beautiful but— in fiction at least—occasionally lethal, Cotswolds. He has attended opera for decades, from Brooklyn to Bayreuth, and often both the music and the locations figure in his books.

This is an abridged version of an interview that originally ran in OperaWire in October 2022.

The CREATORS

dwb(driving while black)

ROBERTA GUMBEL (Librettist, dwb - driving while black) is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Kansas. She has appeared with opera companies in Kansas City, Houston, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia and Memphis, and toured the United States and Europe in Porgy and Bess. Broadway credits include Show Boat, Ragtime, Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème and In My Life, in which the New York Times described her as “silver voiced.” Off Broadway she appeared in Deirdre Murray’s Running Man, which the New York Times noted her performance as “lovely…”

Her long association with the music of Susan Kander includes: the 1996 Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s commission of She Never Lost a Passenger, in which Roberta sang the principal role of Harriet Tubman; Partite Americaine with the Queen’s Chamber Band in Merkin Hall; and a recording of Kander’s A Cycle of Songs (Loose Cans Music). In 2019 they partnered to create dwb which Roberta also performed. A first time librettist, she pulled from personal experiences, the daily news and countless stories shared by family members for dwb. Most recently, Roberta received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant as co-librettist with Susan Kander for a workshop of their new opera, Carry My Own Suitcase.

SUSAN KANDER (Composer, dwb - driving while black) Composer/librettist Susan Kander’s 2021 Albany Records release dwb (driving while black), written with librettist/soprano Roberta Gumbel, garnered a Critics Choice award in Opera News, calling it “deeply affecting and innovatively conceived…transcendent… achingly lovely.” The Washington Post described it as “searing...sung drama.” Her 2016 MSR chamber music release Hermestänze, was hailed as “raptly serene... eloquent, impersonal...wrenchingly powerful” (Gramophone), “...a composer of vivid imagination and skill” (Fanfare), “Lovely and evanescent...” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Kander’s music has been heard across the United States, Europe, China, Australia and South Africa. Commissioning organizations include Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Columbus and the National Symphony Orchestra. Her newest opera, Carry My Own Suitcase, for which she composed the score and co-wrote the libretto with Roberta Gumbel, had a workshop production at the University of Kansas in Spring 2023 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and OPERA America Discovery Grants. Her recorded chamber music can be found on the MSR, Navonna and Loose Cans labels. Her publisher is Subito Music. Susan is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony and lives in New York. www.susankander.net

THE FALLING AND THE RISING

JERRE DYE (Librettist, The Falling and the Rising) is a librettist, playwright and director and recipient of the Award for Dramatic Literature from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Some of his work in opera includes the upcoming Woman with Eyes Closed for Opera Philadelphia with composer Jennifer Higdon, Pretty Little Room for Opera Memphis with composer Robert Patterson, Taking Up Serpents for Washington National Opera with composer Kamala Sankaram, The Transformation of Jane Doe for Chicago Opera Theater with composer Stacy Garrop, Parksville, a filmed, episodic, VR opera for Opera On Tap/New York with composer Kamala Sankaram, Summer Place for Chautauqua Opera and Ghosts of Crosstown for Opera Memphis.

He is currently working on a new commission for Chicago Opera Theater, developing an immersive experience for Opera On Tap/New York and serving as a librettist mentor for the Seattle Opera Creation Lab. His plays include Cicada, Distance, Short/Stories, Threads, The New Adventures of Hansel and Gretel, Wild Swans and an adaptation of Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale with Iris Orchestra. He is an ensemble member of Rivendell Theatre in Chicago.

ZACH REDLER (Composer, The Falling and the Rising) is a music theater composer whose work has been performed in concert halls, opera houses and theaters around the world. In 2014 the American Theatre Wing awarded Zach and Sara Cooper the Jonathan Larson Grant for their work together. Other favorite theater compositions include Movin’ Up in the World (Jerre Dye), A Song for Susan Smith (Mark Campbell), A Play in Three Movements (Tanya Birl Torres) and their American Prize award-winning piece The Falling and the Rising (libretto by Jerre Dye).

Currently Zach is working on a number of projects across various genres from children’s music and jazz to opera and musical theater. Zach also works as a music copyist, music director, pianist and musicologist working with orchestras and Broadway shows around the world. Additionally, Zach has served on the faculties of New York University, Manhattan School of Music and Molloy College; mentors young opera writers for Seattle Opera’s creation lab; teaches music, yoga and meditation; loves cooking plant based meals for their family; and runs ultramarathons when time allows. Love to their wife Brittney and two children, Skylar and Ellis.

The ARTISTS

TESS ALTIVEROS

Soprano, Seattle, WA

Soldier, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Falling and the Rising, Opera Memphis

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Seattle Opera

The Falling and the Rising, Intermountain Opera Bozeman

UPCOMING

The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Idaho

La Bohème, Intermountain Opera Bozeman

ERIN ARNDORFER

Dancer, Des Moines, IA

Dancer, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Nutcracker, Ballet Des Moines

Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, The Wizard of Oz, Serenade, Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, Colorado Ballet Cinderella, Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre

KATE ASHTON

Designer, West Orange, NJ

Lighting Design, Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

Wozzeck, 2019

RECENT

Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, The Juilliard School

The Sleeping Beauty, The Washington Ballet

A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera

UPCOMING

Fall for Dance Festival, New York City Center

MARY CRAVEN BARTEMES

Associate Artistic Director, Heartland Youth Choir, West Des Moines, IA Youth Chorus Co-Director, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

General Music Teacher, Ankeny Community School District

Assistant Choral Director, Dowling Catholic High School

CALVIN BITTNER

Dancer, Hartford, CT

Dancer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

Platée, 2021

RECENT

Cinderella, Ballet Theatre Company

Boy on the Roof, The School at Jacob’s Pillow Handel’s Messiah, Ballet Hartford

MATT BOEHLER

Bass, Minneapolis, MN

Cook, The Love for Three Oranges

Colonel, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

Orpheus in the Underworld, 2000

RECENT

The Lord of Cries, Santa Fe Opera

The Marriage of Figaro, Madison Opera

Fat Pig (composer), Victory Hall Opera

UPCOMING

Romeo and Juliet, Toledo Opera

The Road to Wellville (composer), San Francisco Conservatory of Music

CREMAINE BOOKER

Cellist, Nashville, TN

Cellist, dwb (driving while black)

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

dwb (driving while black), Opera Birmingham

AIDA, Tennessee Performing Arts Center

One Vote Won, Nashville Opera

JOSHUA BORTHS

Director, Richmond, VA

Stage Director, The Falling and the Rising Preview Lecturer; Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

A Little Night Music, 2017

RECENT

Resident Scholar, Virginia Opera

Beauty and the Beast, OPERA Iowa

The Littlest Mermaid, OPERA Iowa

UPCOMING

The Barber of Seville, Arizona Opera OPERA Iowa 2024 Tour, Des Moines Metro Opera

ALEX BRAZINSKI

Dancer, Philadelphia, PA

Dancer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Snack Break, Urban Movement Arts

CONNOR BUCKLEY

Apprentice Pianist and Coach, Hagerstown, MD

Musical Preparation, The Falling and the Rising

Chorus Pianist, Carmen, The Love for Three Oranges

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Acis and Galatea, San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Berlin Opera Academy

The Magic Flute, Berlin Opera Academy

MATTHEW CAIRNS

Tenor, Toronto, Canada

Don José, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Macbeth, Canadian Opera Company

Aida, The Metropolitan Opera

Peter Grimes, The Metropolitan Opera

UPCOMING

Tannhäuser, The Metropolitan Opera

The Hours, The Metropolitan Opera

Thaïs, Opera de Toulon

LUKE CANTARELLA

Designer, Brooklyn, NY

Scenic Design, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

A Thousand Acres, 2022

RECENT

Hometown to the World, Santa Fe Opera

Fun Home, TheaterWorks Hartford

A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera

KARMA CHUKI

Dancer, Roxbury, NJ

Dancer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Dance Entropy

Rovaco Dance Company

Meen Moves

JACOB A. CLIMER

Designer, Dallas, TX

Scenic and Costume Design, The Love for Three Oranges

Costume Design for Taylor Raven, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2015

RECENT

Texas Rose Festival

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Utah Opera

GARY: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater

JANINE MORITA COLLETTI

Director, Fair Lawn, NJ

Assistant Director, Bluebeard’s Castle

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

Apprentice Artist Program Staff, 2016

RECENT

Don Giovanni, The Atlanta Opera

Flight, Dallas Opera

A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera

SCOTT CONNER

Bass, Kansas City, KS

King of Clubs, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT Apprentice Artist, 2005

RECENT

Der Rosenkavalier, The Metropolitan Opera

The Girl of the Golden West, The Cleveland Orchestra

Idomeneo, The Metropolitan Opera

UPCOMING

La Bohème, The Metropolitan Opera

Der Rosenkavalier, Santa Fe Opera

BRENNA CORNER

Director, Atlanta, GA

Stage Director, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Il Trovatore, Washington National Opera

La Cenerentola, Kentucky Opera

Tenor Overboard, The Glimmerglass Festival

UPCOMING

The Elixir of Love, Florentine Opera

The Rip Van Winkles, The Glimmerglass Festival

Lucia di Lammermoor, New Orleans Opera

KATHERINE COYL

Director, Chicago, IL

Intimacy Director, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, Chicago Opera Theater

Memoirs of Jazz, South Chicago Dance Theatre

Athena, Urbanite Theatre

The ARTISTS

BENJAMIN CROEN

Director, Williamsburg, VA

Assistant Director, The Love for Three Oranges

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Hansel and Gretel, Berlin Opera Academy

The Magic Flute, Music On Site

Some Light Emerges, Utopia Opera

MELISSA DAHMS

Dancer, Littleton, CO

Dancer, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Nutcracker, Ballet Des Moines

La Bayadère, State Street Ballet Trainee Program Fall Concert, Colorado State University

ALEXANDER BIRCH ELLIOTT

Baritone, St. George, UT

Léandre, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

Apprentice Artist, 2011

RECENT

Lucia di Lammermoor, Los Angeles Opera

La Bohème, The Metropolitan Opera

Handel’s Messiah, Pittsburgh Symphony

UPCOMING

The Magic Flute, The Metropolitan Opera

The Barber of Seville, Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera

The Sound Of Music, Houston Grand Opera

SARA GARTLAND

Soprano, St. Paul, MN

Judith, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

Regina, 2008

RECENT

Don Giovanni, Minnesota Opera

Pagliacci, San Antonio Opera

Rusalka, Pittsburgh Opera

UPCOMING

Salome, Des Moines Metro Opera

DAVID P. GORDON

Designer, Philadelphia, PA

Scenic Design, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

The Consul, 2000

RECENT

Radio Golf, Arden Theatre Company

L’amore dei tre re, New York City Opera

Director of Design & Production, Mason Gross School of the Arts

ROBERTA GUMBEL

Soprano, Kansas City, MO

Mother, dwb (driving while black)

DMMO DEBUT

Apprentice Artist, 1993

RECENT

dwb (driving while black) CD, Albany Records

Carry My Own Suitcase Workshop, University Of Kansas

UPCOMING

dwb (driving while black), Greensboro Opera

TESSA HARTLE

Pianist and Coach, Pittsburgh, PA

Musical Preparation, Carmen

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

La Rondine, 2012

RECENT

The Pearl Fishers, Austin Opera

Don Giovanni, Sarasota Opera

Pagliacci, Opera San Antonio

LISA HASSON

Chorus Director, Pianist, Coach, Fort Thomas, KY

Irene Graether Chorus Director and Director of the Apprentice Artist Program

DMMO DEBUT

La Cenerentola, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2004

RECENT

Sandford Studio Artist Director and Chorus Master, Kentucky Opera

Fellow Travelers, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Robeson, Opera Fusion: New Works

UPCOMING

Hansel and Gretel, All is Calm, Pirates of Penzance, Kentucky Opera

The Rape of Lucretia, The Cunning Little Vixen, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

FLORA HAWK

Soprano, Kingwood, TX

Ninette, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

She Who Dared Workshop, American Lyric Theater

The Marriage of Figaro, Knoxville Opera

La Bohème, Pensacola Opera

UPCOMING

The Snowy Day, Portland Opera

WILLIAM HOBBS

Conductor, Coach, Weehawken, NJ

Associate Conductor, Diction Coach, Musical Preparation, Bluebeard’s Castle

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

The Queen of Spades, 2021

RECENT

Gianni Schicchi, Buoso’s Ghost, Montclair State University

Face to Face: Piano Music of Christos Hatzis and Sorabji

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Des Moines Metro Opera

ALLEN MICHAEL JONES

Bass, Atlanta, GA

Zuniga, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Don Giovanni, Minnesota Opera

La Bohème, Pensacola Opera

La Bohème, Nashville Opera

UPCOMING

La Bohème, Florentine Opera

KELLY KUO

Conductor, Hermiston, OR

The Sunnie Richer and Roger Brooks

Guest Conductor, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Daughter of the Regiment, Minnesota Opera

Rusalka, Opera Idaho

The Magic Flute, Merola Opera Program

UPCOMING

Merola Grand Finale, Merola Opera Program

Hansel and Gretel, Kentucky Opera

The Pigeon Keeper, Santa Fe Opera

YUNUET LAGUNA

Soprano, Zacatecas, Mexico

Micaëla, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Aida, Teatro del Bicentenario

La Bohème, Municipal de Santiago - Opera Nacional de Chile

Carmen, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

UPCOMING

Gala Concert, Monteverdi Tuscany

Gala Concert, Opéra national de Montpellier

Carmen, The Metropolitan Opera

ALEXZANDER LARSON

Dancer, Portland, OR

Dancer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, The Hartt School

Inaugural Barbara Ensley Award Recipient for 2022, The Merce Cunningham Trust

Dancer, Sonia Plumb Dance Company

DONALD LEE III

Conductor, Coach, Hampton, VA

Associate Conductor, Carmen, The Falling and the Rising

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

Apprentice Artist Program Staff, 2022

RECENT

The Factotum, Lyric Opera of Chicago

New Works Collective, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

The Greatest Personal Privation, Aural Compass Projects

UPCOMING

Champion, Lyric Opera of Chicago

MARIE-FRANCE LEFEBVRE

Coach, Cincinnati, OH

Diction Coach, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

Platée, 2021

RECENT

La Traviata, The Metropolitan Opera

Don Carlo, The Metropolitan Opera

Castor and Patience, Cincinnati Opera

UPCOMING

Faust, Wolf Trap Opera

Eichendorff Lieder with Kayleigh Decker, Cincinnati Song Initiative

The Cunning Little Vixen, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

ISAAC MARTIN LERNER

Choreographer, New York, NY

Choreographer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

Orphée et Eurydice, 2016

RECENT

Subscript, Dual Rivet Moontides, Kizuna Dance

Big Love, Western Connecticut State University

UPCOMING

The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man, The Curtis Institute of Music

Platée, Chicago Opera Theater

ELDEN LITTLE

Pianist and Coach, East Lansing, MI

Musical Preparation, The Love for Three Oranges

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

Apprentice Artist Program Staff, 2006

RECENT

La finta giardiniera, Michigan State University

Falstaff, Michigan State University

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Des Moines Metro Opera

UPCOMING

Don Giovanni, Michigan State University

The ARTISTS

ALEXANDRA LOBIANCO

Soprano, Chicago, IL

Fata Morgana, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

The Girl of the Golden West, 2015

RECENT

Hansel and Gretel, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Der Rosenkavalier, The Metropolitan Opera

Aida, The Metropolitan Opera

UPCOMING

Concert, Seattle Symphony

Don Giovanni, Inland Northwest Opera

CATHERINE MARTIN

Mezzo-Soprano, Philadelphia, PA

Clarice, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Das Rheingold, Dayton Opera

Cavalleria Rusticana, Opera Colorado

Don Carlo, Maryland Lyric Opera

UPCOMING

Dead Man Walking, La Forza del Destino, The Metropolitan Opera

Die Walküre, The Atlanta Opera

KRISTINE MCINTYRE

Director, Portland, OR

Stage Director, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

La Bohème, 2011

RECENT

Don Giovanni, The Atlanta Opera

Trouble in Tahiti, Seven Deadly Sins, Madison Opera

The Magic Flute, Jacksonville Symphony

UPCOMING

Dark Sisters, OrpheusPDX

La Traviata, Pittsburgh Opera

CHIP MILLER

Director, Portland, OR

Stage Director, dwb (driving while black)

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Choir Boy, Portland Center Stage

Sondheimia, Carnegie Hall and Pasadena Playhouse

American Fast, Artists Repertory Theater

UPCOMING

Clyde’s, Portland Center Stage

SANDY MILLER

Artistic Director, Heartland Youth Choir, Johnston, IA

Youth Chorus Co-Director, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Meet the Composer Festival, Heartland Youth Choir

Midwest Children’s Choral Festival, Ames Symphony in Sculpture III, Des Moines Symphony

DAVID NEELY

Conductor, Hyattsville, MD

The Marshall and Judy Flapan Music

Director and Principal Conductor, Bluebeard’s Castle, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

The Crucible, Falstaff, 2003

RECENT

Ainadamar, Indiana University

Apollo Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

National Orchestra Institute + Festival

UPCOMING

Apollo Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

Eugene Onegin, Indiana University

University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra

CHIYO NISHIDA

Dancer, Des Moines, IA

Dancer, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

SHE, Ballet Des Moines

Balanchine+, Ballet Des Moines

The Nutcracker, Ballet Des Moines

YASUKO OURA

Pianist and Coach, Chicago, IL Musical Preparation, Bluebeard’s Castle

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

Der Freischütz, Tosca, 2009

RECENT

Albert Herring, Chicago Opera Theater

The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, Chicago Opera Theater

St. Matthew’s Passion, Music of the Baroque

UPCOMING

Platée, Chicago Opera Theater

The Nose, Chicago Opera Theater

OYORAM

Designer, Des Moines, IA & Paris, France

Digital Image Composer, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Moving Fresque, LVMH Paris: Cheval Blanc

Immersive, Des Moines Art Center

LVMH, New York City

SUN-LY PIERCE

Mezzo-Soprano, Clinton, NY

Sméraldine, The Love for Three Oranges

Toledo, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

The Magic Flute, 2022

RECENT

Xerxes, Detroit Opera

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Calgary Opera

Otello, Opera Philadelphia

UPCOMING

The Marriage of Figaro, New Orleans Opera

Rodelinda, Hudson Hall

Madama Butterfly, Houston Grand Opera

ANNA PINAULT

Dancer, Minneapolis, MN

Dancer, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

Platée, The Queen of Spades, 2021 RECENT

The 3-Women Project, TU Dance Invisible Cities, Ashwini Ramaswamy Company Member, Rovaco Dance Company

MICHAEL PORTER

Tenor, Königstein im Taunus, Germany

Trouffaldino, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Magic Flute, Salzburger Festspiele

Das Rheingold, Staatsoper Stuttgart

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Oper Frankfurt

UPCOMING

Salome, Otello, Oper Frankfurt

The Seven Deadly Sins, Konzerthaus Berlin

CHRISTIAN PURSELL

Bass-Baritone, Santa Cruz, CA

Escamillo, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Tosca, Canadian Opera Company

Otello, Opera Philadelphia

Susannah, Wolf Trap Opera

UPCOMING

The Barber of Seville, Virginia Opera

CHAS RADER-SHIEBER

Director, Philadelphia, PA

Stage Director, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2015

RECENT

Die tote Stadt, Opera Colorado

L’Orfeo, OrpheusPDX

The Turn of the Screw, Curtis Institute of Music

UPCOMING

The Marriage of Figaro, New Orleans Opera

The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man, Curtis Institute of Music

Platée, Chicago Opera Theater

BRITTANY V.A. RAPPISE

Designer, Pensacola, FL

Makeup and Hair Design, Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2022

RECENT

Ariodante, Curtis Institute of Music

La Traviata, Opera Delaware

Carousel, Pensacola Opera

UPCOMING

Rigoletto, Opera Delaware

The Turn of the Screw, Brevard Music Center

Lucia di Lammermoor, Pensacola Opera

TAYLOR RAVEN

Mezzo-Soprano, Fayetteville, NC

Carmen, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

The Queen of Spades, 2021

RECENT

Antony and Cleopatra, San Francisco Opera

The Girl of the Golden West, The Cleveland Orchestra

La Cenerentola, Kentucky Opera

UPCOMING

Das Rheingold, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Omar, San Francisco Opera

The Barber of Seville, Seattle Opera

ANTHONY REED

Bass, Alexandria, MN

Tchélio, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Rigoletto, Pacific Symphony

Gianni Schicchi, Florida Grand Opera

The Rape of Lucretia, Royal Opera House

UPCOMING

The Marriage of Figaro, New Orleans Opera

TODD RHOADES

Choreographer, Chicago, IL

Choreographer, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

A Little Night Music, 2017

RECENT

Remembrance, University of Iowa

Moments, Inaside Chicago Dance

The Queen of Spades, Des Moines Metro Opera

The ARTISTS

KIMBERLY ROBERTS

Voice Teacher, Knoxville, TN

Resident Voice Teacher

DMMO DEBUT

La Rondine, 1997

RECENT

Assistant Professor of Voice, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

BRIAN ROBERTSON

Director, Cincinnati, OH

Combat Director, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

The Tales of Hoffmann, Gloriana, 2005

RECENT

Becoming One With Forever (Writer/Director), Cincinnati Fringe Festival

Grand Horizons, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati Don Pasquale, Opera Project Columbus

ZACH ROHLWING

Choral Conductor, Des Moines, IA

Chorus Director, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

A Little Night Music, 2017

RECENT

Worship Arts Director, Indianola First

United Methodist Church

Artistic Director, Des Moines Early Music Ensemble

MARGARET

Designer, Harrisburg, PA

Makeup and Hair Design, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Ariodante, Curtis Institute of Music

La Traviata, Opera Delaware

Carousel, Pensacola Opera

MICHAEL SAKIR

Conductor, Pianist, Coach, Philadelphia, PA

Conductor, The Falling and the Rising Conductor, The Love for Three Oranges (7/18)

Associate Conductor, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

OPERA Iowa, 2010

RECENT

Rigoletto, Intermountain Opera Bozeman

The Falling and the Rising, Arizona Opera

Carmen, Opera Idaho

UPCOMING

Albert Herring, Oberlin Conservatory of Music Carousel, La Bohème, Intermountain Opera Bozeman

CHRISTOPHER SOKOLOWSKI

Tenor, Hudson Valley, NY

Prince, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Ernani, Guillaume Tell, Theater St. Gallen

Messa da Requiem, Theater Winterthur

UPCOMING

Messa da Requiem, The Magic Flute, Theater St. Gallen

Der Ring an einem Abend, Tonhalle St. Gallen

BENJAMIN TAYLOR

Baritone, Waldorf, MD

Pantalon, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

The Queen of Spades, 2021

RECENT

The Magic Flute, The Metropolitan Opera

The Girl of the Golden West, Bayerische Staatsoper

La Bohème, Opera Philadelphia

UPCOMING

Carmen, The Metropolitan Opera

Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera

Simon Boccanegra, Opera Philadelphia

LISA THURRELL

Choreographer, Madison, WI

Choreographer, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

Wozzeck, 2019

RECENT

Dance Journeys, Connexions, Kanopy Dance

Seven Deadly Sins, Madison Opera

UPCOMING

Monsieur, Monsieur, Theatre de l’Ange Fou, White Church Theatre Project Kanopy Dance Season 2023-24

NATHAN TROUP

Director, Boston, MA

Stage Director in Residence

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

Le Comte Ory, La Traviata, 2014

RECENT

La Bohème, Eugene Opera

Susannah, Boston Conservatory

Wozzeck, Boston Symphony Orchestra

UPCOMING

L’étoile, Boston Conservatory

La Traviata, Eugene Opera

SACKMAN

CHRISTIAN VAN HORN

Bass-Baritone, Broadlands, VA

Duke Bluebeard, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Norma, The Metropolitan Opera

Ernani, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Faust, Opera national de Paris

UPCOMING

Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Opéra national de Paris

Don Giovanni, Vienna State Opera

Bluebeard’s Castle, Carnegie Hall

DAVID LEON VERIN

Percussionist, Bessemer, AL

Percussion, dwb (driving while black)

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

(dwb) driving while black, Opera Birmingham

Beehive, Virginia Samford Theatre

Hair, University of Alabama at Birmingham

VIKTORIA VIZIN

Mezzo-Soprano, Kecskemet, Hungary

Prologue, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Bluebeard’s Castle, Palace of the Arts, Budapest

Senza Sangue, Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium

“…and Echo”, Chamber Opera Festival, Hungary

UPCOMING

Solo Recital, The Wagner Society of America

Solo Recital, The Night of Organs Festival

Solo Recital, Hungarian National Philharmonic

KAYE VOYCE

Designer, New York, NY

Costume Design, Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Stranger Love, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Susannah, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

The Listeners, Den Norske Opera

ADAM WHITTREDGE

Designer, Wichita, KS

Assistant Scenic Design

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Hand to God, Wabash College

Stage Kiss, Wabash College

As You Like It, Wabash College

COLE WILKOWSKI

Designer, New York City, NY

Assistant Costume Design

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Parade, American Theater Group

Eurydice, American Shakespeare Center

As You Like It, American Shakespeare Center

BRIDGET S. WILLIAMS

Designer, Chicago, IL

Lighting Design, The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

Lighting Supervisor, 2019

RECENT

Candide, Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater

The Scorpion’s Sting, Lyric Opera of Chicago

L’étoile, Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater

NORA WINSLER

Director, Centreville, VA

Assistant Director, Carmen

Apprentice Artist Program Staff

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

La Traviata, Virginia Opera

All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Opera North Tenor Overboard, The Glimmerglass Festival

CONNIE YUN

Designer, Seattle, WA

Lighting Design, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2022

RECENT

Madama Butterfly, New Orleans Opera

La Cenerentola, Kentucky Opera

Trouble in Tahiti / Seven Deadly Sins, Madison Opera

UPCOMING

The Royal Shepherd, OrpheusPDX

The Marriage of Figaro, New Orleans Opera

The Marriage of Figaro, Portland Opera

The FESTIVAL STAFF

PRODUCTION

Director of Production

BEARCLAW HART

Assistant Production Manager

BRIDGET ANDERSON

Production Assistant

KAYLA MCGALLIAN

STAGE MANAGEMENT

Production Stage Manager

BRIAN AUGUST

Stage Managers

ANNIE WHEELER

LAUREN WICKETT

Assistant Stage Managers

OLIVIA DARLING

BETH GOODILL

JACK RUFFER

BETHANY WINDHAM

SCENERY

Technical Director

NATALIE HINING

Assistant Scenic Designer

ADAM WHITTREDGE

Assistant Technical Director: Shop

NATE MOHLMAN

Assistant Technical Director: Stage Ops

RACHEL VAN NAMEN

Assistant Technical Director: Show Ops

BRANDON “BRUCE” HEARRELL

Head Carpenter/Shop Foreman

NICHOLAS MAYHUGH

Assistant Stage Supervisor

JARET PAYNTER

Assistant Show Supervisor

AMBER N. HAHN

Fly Chief

KODY CAVA

Shop Carpenters

NAOMI BASTERASH

J. DYLAN CURVIN

CARLOS ALBERTO ENCISO SILVA

Stage Carpenters

ASHLEY FAULKNER

CHRISTOPHER PEREZ-MERINO

GWEN VAN DENBURG

MICAH ZIMMERMAN

COSTUME

Costume Director

ASHLEIGH POTEAT

Assistant Costume Designer

COLE WILKOWSKI

Costume Shop Manager

JESSICA RIGDON

Assistant Costume Shop Manager

MICAH BOWEN

Wardrobe Supervisor

ALEX BELL

Stitcher/Dressers

KJERSTIN ANDERSON

COLE HUDSON

JACK WALLACE

WIGS AND MAKEUP

Assistant Wig and Makeup Designer

MARGARET SACKMAN

Shop Supervisor

PHOEBE BOCK

Wig and Makeup Artisan

CHEYENNE FOX

JAMES OGLE

LIGHTING

Lighting Supervisor

BRIDGET S. WILLIAMS

Head Electrician

SAMMY JELINEK

Assistant Head Electrician

MACK WOODS

Lighting Programmer

XIANGFU XIAO

Electricians

GABRIELLE HENRY

SOPHIE SMYCZEK

PAINT

Charge Artist

CARA SPENCER

Painter

KORYNA LAROCQUE

PROPS

Head of Props

JAMES B. WARREN

Assistant Head of Props

KENNETH CHURCH

Props Stage Supervisor

MICHAEL DONOVAN II

Props Artisan/Run Crew

E. TOMMY THOMAS

SOUND AND VIDEO

Sound and Video Supervisor

MATTHEW BARNARD

Sound Engineer

SJ KNOX

Video Engineer

LILI FEDERICO

CHORUS

Carmen Youth Chorus

BEN BJORKLUND

ZOEY CLARK *

CADENCE DAMON *

HATTIE GREEN

CORA GRIFFITH *

EZRA HANSER *

CALLEN KLEENE

MELINDA KRUMM *

ANSLEY MASON

LILLIE MCMANUS *

ALEX MILLER

EVA MILLER *

LUCY MILLER

ISABELLA RINKS *

CATHERINE ROODNITSKY *

MAE STOA *

MARA STOA

NIHARIKA UDIPI *

The FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN

Concertmaster

ELIOT HEATON Ann Arbor, MI

Assistant Concertmaster

ZULFIYA BASHIROVA Ypsilanti, MI

Principal Second

PEI-JU WU Hoover, AL

REBECCA EDGE Orlando, FL

JOHN HELMICH Urbandale, IA

CHIA-LI HO Boise, ID

HA-YOUNG KIM New York, NY

JONATHAN KUO Jacksonville, FL

ANNA LUEBKE College Park, MD

BRAM MARGOLES Birmingham, AL

MAGGIE NIEKAMP Cincinnati, OH

ALEXANDER NORRIS North Liberty, IA

NONOKO OKADA Chapel Hill, NC

YURI POPOWYCZ Detroit, MI

CAROLINE SLACK Chicago, IL

VIOLA Principal

SAMANTHA RODRIGUEZ Oak Creek, WI

KATELYN HOAG Birmingham, AL

CHI LEE St. Petersburg, FL

CHARLES MIRANDA Des Moines, IA

CELLO Principal

ALEXEI ROMANENKO Jacksonville, FL

ADAM AYERS Cincinnati, OH

HILARY GLEN Rochester, NY

ESTHER SEITZ Minneapolis, MN

BASS Principal

ERIC TIMPERMAN Winnipeg, MB

JOHN TUCK Evanston, IL

PICCOLO Principal

KASUMI LEONARD Santa Fe, NM

SUYEON KO Macomb, IL

LESLIE MARRS Des Moines, IA

FLUTE Principal

KASUMI LEONARD Santa Fe, NM

KIMBERLY HELTON Des Moines, IA

SUYEON KO Macomb, IL

LESLIE MARRS Des Moines, IA

OBOE Principal

RACHEL AHN Northvale, NJ

JENNIFER BLOOMBERG Des Moines, IA

GWENDOLYN BUTTEMER Thunder Bay, ON

ENGLISH HORN

GWENDOLYN BUTTEMER Thunder Bay, ON

E-FLAT CLARINET

Principal

SERGEY GUTOROV Niles, IL

E-CHEN HSU Thunder Bay, ON

A / B-FLAT CLARINET

Principal

SERGEY GUTOROV Niles, IL

CALVIN FALWELL Tampa, FL

E-CHEN HSU Thunder Bay, ON

BASS CLARINET

CALVIN FALWELL Tampa, FL

E-CHEN HSU Thunder Bay, ON

BASSOON Principal

KRISTY TUCKER Winnipeg, MB

MATT LANO Richmond, VA

KARL RZASA Chicago, IL

MACKIE THOMAS Lawrence, KS

CONTRABASSOON

MATT LANO Richmond, VA

KARL RZASA Chicago, IL

HORN Principal

ERIN LANO Richmond, VA

EVERETT BURNS Hoover, AL

MICHAEL DALY Savannah, GA

AMY KRUEGER Chicago, IL

TRUMPET Principal

DANIEL EGAN Houston, TX

JIM BOVINETTE Ames, IA

DONALD CREECH Greensboro, NC

THOMAS HUBEL Evanston, IL

TROMBONE Principal

TIMOTHY HOWE Columbia, MO

DAVID ROODE Ludlow, KY

J. MARK THOMPSON Natchitoches, LA

BASS TROMBONE

CALEB LAMBERT Iowa City, IA

J. MARK THOMPSON Natchitoches, LA

TUBA Principal

JARROD BRILEY Red Hook, NY

TIMPANI

Principal

ANDREW NOWAK Ypsilanti, MI

PERCUSSION

Principal

MARK DORR West Des Moines, IA

NICHOLAS BONANNO Vacaville, CA

WILLIAM BROWN Palmetto Bay, FL

CHRISTOPHER LARSON Kansas City, MO

HARP

Principal

NUIKO WADDEN Pittsburgh, PA

TABITHA STEINER Overland Park, KS

GUITAR

SETH HEDQUIST Des Moines, IA

CELESTA / ORGAN

YASUKO OURA Chicago, IL

PIANO

CONNOR BUCKLEY San Francisco, CA

CARMEN BANDA

DANIEL EGAN Principal Trumpet

DONALD CREECH Trumpet

TIMOTHY HOWE Principal Trombone

DAVID ROODE Trombone

J. MARK THOMPSON Trombone

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL AND OPERATIONS MANAGER

MARK DORR West Des Moines, IA

MUSIC LIBRARIAN

CYNTHIA STACY Bloomington, IN

ORCHESTRA INTERN

HUNTER KHONGMALY Cumming, IA

VIOLIN SEATING IS BASED UPON A ROTATION CYCLE FOR MAINSTAGE SHOWS.

Described by Opera News as “a ninja warrior with a baton” for his performance of Berg’s Wozzeck with DMMO, David Neely maintains an active career in concert, opera, and higher education. As Music Director and Principal Conductor of Des Moines Metro Opera, a post he has held since 2012, Neely continues to elevate the company’s musical profile with acclaimed performances of a wide range of repertoire such as A Thousand Acres, The Queen of Spades, Billy Budd, Manon, Turandot, Jenůfa, Falstaff, Elektra, Peter Grimes, Dead Man Walking, Macbeth, Don Giovanni, The Girl of the Golden West, Rusalka and Flight. His performances have been praised in publications such as Opera News, Opera Today, the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal

Neely is equally at home in concert, opera, musical theater and ballet settings. He has appeared as conductor with numerous orchestras, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Bochumer Symphoniker, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, and the Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg. He has led productions with Atlanta Opera, Sarasota Opera, Bonn Opera, Halle Opera,

Dortmund Opera, Saarland State Opera, St. Gallen Opera and the Eutiner Festspiele, among others. Recent highlights include Golijov’s Ainadamar at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and concerts with the National Orchestra Institute + Festival and the Washington, D.C. area-based Apollo Orchestra. Upcoming performances include Eugene Onegin at the Jacobs School and concerto performances with Metropolitan Opera concertmaster David Chan and Philadelphia Orchestra associate principal cellist Ha-Ye Ni in concerts with the Apollo Orchestra.

Previously serving on the conducting faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Neely is currently Director of Orchestras at the University of Maryland School of Music. He was part of the mentorship and performing team for Washington National Opera’s 2020-21 American Opera Initiative that culminated in a recorded performance of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo at the Kennedy Center, and which will be performed in an expanded commissioned version for DMMO in 2024. Neely has also served as a guest master teacher for WNO’s Cafritz Young Artist Program.

DAVID NEELY

The Marshall and Judy Flapan Music Director and Principal Conductor

The Frank R. Brownell III APPRENTICE ARTISTS

Celebrating its 49th year during the 2023 season, Des Moines Metro Opera’s Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program is a comprehensive career training program for some of the brightest and best talents in America. It is one of the oldest, largest and most respected programs of its kind in the United States.

The program and its participants are essential to DMMO’s summer festival model. During their time here, apprentice artists participate in a seven-week training program designed to provide the skills necessary to bridge the gap between academic study and a professional career.

Throughout the summer, members of the Apprentice Artist Program receive performance opportunities and coaching in standard and contemporary operatic scenes; career training seminars in acting, body movement,

diction and languages, audition techniques, stage combat, vocal wellness and life in the business; opportunities in mainstage productions, including chorus, comprimario roles and covers of leading roles; opportunities to be heard by artist representatives and other companies that include The Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The Dallas Opera, Utah Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Omaha, Minnesota Opera, Madison Opera and many others; and participation in a special concert with the Festival Orchestra.

DMMO assembles a staff of talented conductors, coaches and directors to help guide each singer’s development. Lisa Hasson, the program’s director, works with Michael Egel and Allen Perriello to craft a variety of assignments for each apprentice’s development over the course of the season.

DMMO

RECENT

RECENT

Sid the Serpent,

Tenor,

Don

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Carmen, Opera Colorado

Maometto

SPENCER LAWRENCE BOYD

Canal Fulton, OH

José (cover), Carmen Master of Ceremonies, The Love for Three Oranges

secondo, Teatro Nuovo

The Elixir of Love, Indiana University Opera Theatre

VEENA AKAMA-MAKIA

Mezzo-Soprano, Little Rock, AR

Mercédès (cover), Carmen Toledo (cover), The Falling and the Rising

DEBUT

The Magic Flute, Merola Opera Program Albert Herring, The Cook-Off, Chicago Opera Theater

MANFRED ANAYA Tenor, Woodland Hills, CA Remendado (cover), Carmen RECENT

Robeson, Cincinnati Opera Fusion Hercules in Thermodon, Pacific Opera Project Dialogues of the Carmelites, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

ALYSSA BARNES

Soprano, Houston, TX

Ninette (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

OPERA Iowa La Traviata, Houston Grand Opera Porgy and Bess, Des Moines Metro Opera

MICHAEL JOHN BUTLER

Tenor, Bowie, MD

Prince (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

RECENT

Faust, Opera Baltimore

La Bohème, Maryland Opera Studio

The Magic Flute, Washington Opera Society

LAUREN CARROLL

Soprano, Bettendorf, IA

Frasquita (cover), Carmen

RECENT

Street Scene, Rice University Opera

Così fan tutte, Drake Opera Theatre

The Magic Flute, Drake Opera Theatre

ERIK DANIELSON

Bass-Baritone, Mansfield, TX

Escamillo (cover), Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Così fan tutte, Opera Arlington

Pagliacci, Opera West

Carmen, Grand Stand Music Festival

LOGAN DELL’ACQUA

Baritone, Detroit, MI

Léandre (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Beauty and the Beast, OPERA Iowa

Rigoletto, Nashville Opera

The Old Maid and the Thief, Seagle Festival

ALLISON FAHEY

Mezzo-Soprano, Sebastian, FL Clarice (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Rape of Lucretia, Alcina, Eugene Onegin, Yale School of Music

JUNYUE GONG

Mezzo-Soprano, Chengdu, China Nicolette (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Gianni Schicchi, Sichuan Conservatory of Music

Dialogues of the Carmelites, Così fan tutte, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

VIVIANA AURELIA GOODWIN

Soprano, Tulsa, OK

RECENT

Street Scene, Rice University

Porgy and Bess, Des Moines Metro Opera

Master Class, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma

AMY GUARINO

Soprano, Queens, NY

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

La Rondine, A Little Night Music, Suor Angelica, Queens College Opera

ELIZABETH HANJE

Soprano, Birmingham, AL

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Opportunity Makes a Thief, Oberlin Conservatory

Alice Tierney, Puppy Episode, Opera Columbus

SANKARA HAROUNA

Baritone, Chicago, IL

Moralès, Carmen

Homecoming Soldier, The Falling and the Rising

RECENT

The Gift of the Magi, Kentucky Opera

Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, Dayton Opera Concert, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

JEREMY HARR

Bass, Grosse Pointe, MI

Herald, Tchélio (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Daphne, American Symphony Orchestra

La Traviata, Virginia Opera

The Knight of the Rose, Pacific Northwest Opera

NICHOLAS HUFF

Tenor, Kenosha, WI

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Magic Flute, Fort Collins Opera

A Streetcar Named Desire, Florida Grand Opera

The Elixir of Love, Miami Lyric Opera

The Frank R. Brownell III APPRENTICE ARTISTS

ASHLEE LAMAR

Soprano, Indiana, PA

Fata Morgana (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Turandot, Boston University

Taking Up Serpents, The Sound of Music, The Glimmerglass Festival

DANIEL ESTEBAN LUGO

Tenor, El Paso, TX

Remendado, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Fellow Travelers, Seagle Festival

Our Transcendental Passion, The Boston Cecilia

Alcina, Lawrence University Opera

RYAN LUSTGARTEN

Tenor, New York, NY Trouffaldino (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

RECENT

Dialogues of the Carmelites, Bronx Opera Vespers for the Blessed Virgin, Upper Valley Baroque La Traviata, Virginia Opera

EMMA MARHEFKA

Soprano, Allentown, PA

Frasquita, Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Fellow Travelers, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Glory Denied, Opera Roanoke, Knoxville Opera

SAM MATHIS

Tenor, Spartanburg, SC

Jumper, The Falling and the Rising

RECENT

A Midsummer’s Night Dream, A Thousand Acres, Des Moines Metro Opera

La Bohème, Opera North

ARIANA MAUBACH

Mezzo-Soprano, Toronto, Canada

Linette, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Eugene Onegin, Music Academy of the West

The Anonymous Lover, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music

ELARY MEDE

Soprano, Fond-des-Nègres, Haiti

Micaëla (cover), Carmen

RECENT

Falstaff, Opera Gala, Michigan State University

Porgy and Bess, Des Moines Metro Opera

IMARA MILES

Mezzo-Soprano, Bowie, MD

Mercédès, Carmen

RECENT

The Merry Widow, Cavalleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, Toledo Opera

Porgy and Bess, Des Moines Metro Opera

ERIK NORDSTROM

Baritone, Saint Paul, MN

Dancairo (cover), Carmen

Pantalon (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT Rigoletto, Central City Opera

Fellow Travelers, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Beautiful Small Things Recital, Cincinnati Song Initiative/LYNX Project

AUBREY ODLE

Mezzo-Soprano, Portland, OR

Judith (cover), Bluebeard’s Castle

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

La Traviata, Carmen, Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Beethoven Mass in C, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

JOSÉ OLIVARES

Bass-Baritone, Fort Worth, TX

Farfarello, Herald (cover), King of Clubs (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Susannah, University of Oklahoma

The Elixir of Love, Opera Magnifico

Gianni Schicchi, Seagle Festival

JACOB O’SHEA

Bass-Baritone, Clifton Park, NY

Colonel (cover), The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Falstaff, Palm Beach Opera

Our Town, Boston University Opera Institute

Die Fledermaus, Central City Opera

ISABEL RANDALL

Mezzo-Soprano, Rota, Spain

Linette (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

RECENT

Omar, Boston Lyric Opera

El Amor Brujo, Longy School of Music of Bard College

Handel’s Messiah, Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra

MAGGIE RENEÉ

Mezzo-Soprano, Los Angeles, CA

Carmen (cover), Carmen

Nicolette, The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Atalanta, The Rake’s Progress, The Juilliard School

Eugene Onegin, Santa Fe Opera

JEREMIAH SANDERS

Baritone, Marion, IN

Bluebeard (cover), Bluebeard’s Castle Homecoming Soldier (cover), The Falling and the Rising

RECENT

The Daughter of the Regiment, Rinaldo, Edward Tulane, Minnesota Opera

ALEXIS SEMINARIO

Soprano, Levittown, NY

Soldier (cover), The Falling and the Rising

RECENT

Das Rheingold, Candide, Don Giovanni, The Atlanta Opera

COLE STEPHENSON

Bass, West Des Moines, IA

RECENT

Speed Dating Tonight, Street Scene, Iowa State University

The Magic Flute, Des Moines Metro Opera

ZACHARY TAYLOR

Tenor, Medford, NJ Master of Ceremonies (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Così fan tutte, UNC Greensboro Opera Theatre

Carmen, Music on Site

The Seven Deadly Sins, Charlotte Symphony

JOSHUA THOMAS

Bass-Baritone, Houston, TX Zuniga (cover), Carmen Farfarello (cover), Cook (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

RECENT

Lucia di Lammermoor, Druid City Opera Werther, Don Giovanni, University of Michigan

TRISTAN TOURNAUD

Tenor, Nashville, TN

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Righteous, Cincinnati Opera Fusion

Dialogues of the Carmelites, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

The Magic Flute, Trentino Music Festival

LOGAN WAGNER

Tenor, Villa Hills, KY

Jumper (cover), The Falling and the Rising

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

Fellow Travelers, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

The Magic Flute, Man of La Mancha, Utah Festival Opera

ARIANA WARREN

Mezzo-Soprano, East Northport, NY Sméraldine (cover), The Love for Three Oranges

RECENT

Carmen, The Magic Flute, The Glimmerglass Festival Candide, Light Opera of New Jersey

DAVID WOLFE

Baritone, Shamokin, PA

Moralès (cover), Carmen

DMMO DEBUT

RECENT

The Magic Flute, In a Grove, La Bohéme, Northwestern University

RYAN WOLFE

Baritone, Arlington Heights, IL

Dancairo, Carmen

RECENT

Impressions of Pelléas, Otello, Los Angeles Opera

Tristan und Isolde, Los Angeles Philharmonic

The INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS

When watching a production on the mainstage, it’s easy to forget about the backstage. But a finished product is only as good as its preparation—from the design process, to transforming a blank stage to a set, to the selling of tickets, the company takes pride in the people who work behind the scenes, and the internship programs are an extension of that philosophy.

This season 38 interns selected from over 200 applications are being given valuable career training and professional opportunities.

The design and production department offers internships in stage management, stage operations, scenic painting, properties, electrics, wig and makeup, and costumes. The curriculum also includes portfolio showcases, talkbacks and sessions with visiting directors and designers to complement time spent gaining hands-on experience. Cumulatively,

the staff and interns of the design and production department will log over 19,000 hours to bring the 2023 Summer Festival to life.

Des Moines Metro Opera has also expanded its original box office internships as part of the administrative team to make them more tailored for students interested in careers in artistic administration, development, guest services and marketing. Interns are given opportunities to build their resumes, enhance customer service skills, learn professional etiquette, create and edit marketing and public relations materials, assisting with company management and an array of other skills.

Whether it’s designing, building, running or marketing a show, Des Moines Metro Opera prides itself on its multiple educational opportunities and professional experiences.

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Production Management Intern

RACHEL OLKIN

Stage Management Interns

KATIE ANTHONY

EVA SCHRAMM

Stage Operations Interns

BELINDA ALMARAZ

JACOB BRENNAN

ALYSSA EPPLER

MAX FAIRMAN

JOE FLYNN

FIONA MARTY

EVAN MCFADDEN

GABRIELLE MILLER

OWEN NEUMANN

JACKIE RENAUD

JOSHUA SCHWIRTZ

KAI WILLIAMS

Painting Interns

ZOE ECONOMIDES

J.C. HARTLOFF

Properties Interns

DORIAN BURKE

ANNA VIDERGAR

ADDIE ZANER

Lighting Interns

KENNETH NORRIS

ANDERS WOEHRER

Shop Intern

DAULTON ROKES

Sound and Video Intern

ELLIE PEREZ

Costume Interns

ALEXIS S. BORDELON

GABBY DEPRIZIO

ALEXIA TEBBEN

TAYLOR WOOD

Wig and Makeup Interns

CARSEN CAMPBELL

CARLEE WUCHTERL

ADMINISTRATIVE

Artistic Administration Intern

OLIVIA GASPER

Development Intern

CAROLINE CHRISTENSEN

Front of House Interns

JESSE KNEISLER

SHEA LUENINGHOENER

SEAN WHITSON

Guest Services Intern

KAY GUCCIARDO

Marketing Intern

EMMA BECKER

Orchestra Management Intern

HUNTER KHONGMALY

In MEMORIAM

DR. JAMES COONEY

LOUIS FINGERMAN

JO GHRIST (Honorary Board)

JOAN “JODY” GOOCH (Newton Guild)

DAVID GORDON (Board Member)

JOHN MICHAEL GRAHAM (Principal Artist)

JAN GRISSOM (Principal Artist)

PAULA HOMER (Co-Director of the AAP 1993-2001)

ORRIE KOEHLMOOS (Indianola Guild)

JOHN MANDERS

TERRY BARD MOORE (Ames Guild)

BRUCE PERRY

KATHLEEN “KITTY” PICKEN

ADAM SKOG (House Staff Intern)

WENDY WALLACE

EMILY WEITZ

KRENIO WRIGHT (Board Member)

The LEGACY CIRCLE

Members of the Legacy Circle help secure Des Moines Metro Opera’s commitment to artistic excellence, innovative programming and fiscal stability by including DMMO in estate plans or by establishing life income arrangements naming the company as a beneficiary. The quality performances and programming we enjoy today are supported for future generations thanks in part to these legacy gifts.

You can become a member of the Legacy Circle by informing DMMO of your bequest, beneficiary designation or other planned gift. Annual support from friends keeps DMMO vital and thriving year after year. This important group of friends who make a gift through wills, living trusts or other planned gifts go an important step further to make an investment in the future of Des Moines Metro Opera by providing the foundation for DMMO’s long-term financial security, ensuring that programming will be enjoyed by generations to come. All planned gifts including bequests, life income arrangement and gifts of retirement plans, unless otherwise assigned by the donor, are added to the corpus of the Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation’s endowment fund.

EXAMPLES OF PLANNED GIFTS INCLUDE:

• Making a bequest to Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation (EIN 42-1376458) in a will or trust

• Naming Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation as the beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement plan

• Naming Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy

• Investing in a Charitable Gift Annuity to benefit Des Moines Metro Opera and generate tax-free income for you during your lifetime

• Naming Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation as the beneficiary of a Charitable Remainder Trust

For more information about becoming a member of the Legacy Circle or to discuss your planned giving intention, please contact Director of Advancement Tim McMillin at tmcmillin@dmmo.org or 515-200-5385.

Des Moines Metro Opera is grateful to members of the Legacy Circle, who have demonstrated legacy commitment to the company.

ACHILLES AVRAAMIDES AND DILYS MORRIS

ANONYMOUS (10)

BARBARA BROWN

FRANK R. BROWNELL III

JIM AND PATTY COWNIE

RANDALL DAUT AND PATRICIA RYAN

ELLEN AND JIM DIEHL

MICHAEL EGEL

JULIA HAGEN

LAWRENCE AND CAROLYN HEJTMANEK

ANNETTE ISAACSON

DARREN R. JIRSA, D.D.S.

MARY KEITHAHN

TOM AND MARSHA MANN

MIDDLETON FAMILY

SUSAN B. MOORE

MICHAEL PATTERSON

MARGARET R. PENNEY AND TORY J. (TJ) LEA

STANLEY RANSOM

ARNOLD SAMUEL

JOHN SCHMIDT AND DEB WILEY

MARIAN W. SHARP TRUST

DR. CRAIG AND KIMBERLY SHADUR

CHÉRIE AND BOB SHRECK

GLENN SOWDER

CHRIS AND DENISE VERNON

M. EUGENE WILLIAMS

Institutional SUPPORT

Des Moines Metro Opera is fortunate to have corporate, public, foundation and community partners who believe a thriving arts and culture sector is essential for creating a vibrant community where people want to live, work, and play. Because of their generous support, DMMO has garnered a reputation of professional opera in the heartland and has taken its place as one of America’s leading summer festivals.

The Coons Foundation

FRED MAYTAG FAMILY FOUNDATION

LAURIDSEN FAMILY FOUNDATION

RUAN FOUNDATION

SIMONSON AND ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS LLC

MEREDITH CORPORATION FOUNDATION

KRAUSE GROUP CITY OF INDIANOLA

BANKERS TRUST

ELDER CORPORATION

EMC INSURANCE COMPANIES

FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP

FREDRIKSON ILES FUNERAL HOME SIMPSON COLLEGE

VOYA

THE VREDENBERG FOUNDATION

JOSEPHS JEWELERS CASEY’S MIDAMERICAN ENERGY FOUNDATION

HOMESTEADERS LIFE COMPANY

MERCHANTS BONDING COMPANY

WEATHERTOP FOUNDATION

CAPITAL CALL WINE GROUP

GABUS AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

BUSINESSOLVER

DES MOINES METRO OPERA IS GRATEFUL FOR MATCHING SUPPORT PROVIDED BY:

ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS

HB FULLER COMPANY FOUNDATION/ MICROSOFT MATCHING GIFTS PROGRAM

THRIVENT FINANCIAL

WELLMARK FOUNDATION

WELLS FARGO

Daniel J. and Ann L. Krumm Charitable Trust

Des Moines Metro Opera is grateful for the support of our Indianola and Warren County neighbors. With a gift to support the 2023 Annual Fund, the following businesses are members of the 2023 Warren County Circle. For information about becoming a member of the 2024 Warren County Circle, contact Annual Fund Director Elyse Morris at emorris@dmmo.org or 515-961-6221.

ADORN

ALL CREATURES SMALL ANIMAL HOSPITAL

BUSSANMAS HEATING & COOLING

CITY OF INDIANOLA

CRAIN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

CROUSE CAFÉ

DOWNEY TIRE SERVICE

FEED & FOSTER

GRADIENT9 STUDIOS

HORIZON NAILS

INDIANOLA A&W

INDIANOLA HY-VEE

INDIANOLA PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

MILLER ELECTRIC

MILLER MECHANICAL

PAMELA’S PLACE

THE RECORD HERALD + INDIANOLA TRIBUNE

WARREN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

THE ZOO BAR

WARREN COUNTY CIRCLE

The ARTIST CIRCLE

Des Moines Metro Opera’s success has been its people— people who recognize how the performing arts inspire and uplift our communities. DMMO is only possible because of the indomitable spirit of the people who’ve rallied around the vision of professional opera in the nation’s heartland.

We are grateful to donors who support the artistry and work of the singers, orchestra musicians, designers, directors and production staff at DMMO. Gifts of all sizes matter at DMMO, and we know that achieving our mission isn’t possible without friends giving what they can to support the artists we are proud to bring to our community. We thank members of the Artist Circle, whose consortium support allows us to engage the world-class artists who make DMMO a national destination and magical place.

Artist Circle members enjoy special benefits including:

• Knowing their gift is directly supporting the artistry that makes the festival possible

• Invitations to Artist Circle receptions and events to mingle with and get to know artists

• Recognition as a member of the Artist Circle

• Special messages and updates from DMMO artists

For information about becoming a member of the 2024 Artist Circle, contact Annual Fund Director Elyse Morris at emorris@dmmo.org or 515-961-6221.

A Thousand Acres 2022

The ARTIST CIRCLE

Kim and Patti Abild

Steven Adelman and Katherine Elsner

Amy Anderson and Mark Hill in memory of Sara C. Hill

Erick Apland and Kimberly Gooch, M.D.

Betty Augspurger

Jane and Steve Bahls

Mollie and Britt Baker

Patricia Barry and Bryan Hall

Barbara Beatty

Lawrence Beeson

Roger and Kay Berger

Gordon and Martha Bivens

Stephen and Margaret Blake

Michelle Book

Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

Margaret and Arden Borgen in memory of Signe Eskildsen

Tony Braida and Mark Babcock

Babette C. Brenton

Sue Rutledge Brenton and J.C. (Buz) Brenton

Roger Brooks and Sunnie Richer

Pat Brown

Frank R. Brownell III

Kate and Tom Carey

C. Dean and Sandra Carlson

Elizabeth and Jared Carter

Joyce Castle

Jeff Chelesvig

Carrie Clogg and Josh Barlage

Dennis Cohen

Terri Combs and Thomas Swartwood

Denise and Alan Core in memory of Robert Larsen and Doug Duncan

Patty and Jim Cownie Charitable Fund

Fred Crane

R. Keith Cranston in memory of David Leaming

William L. Dawe III and Sheila K. Tipton

Karmen Dillon

D.T. Doan

Bob and Ardene Downing

Jon Duvick and Carol Hendrick

Michael Egel

Catherine Erickson

The Faisant Family

Marshall Flapan

Bob and Betsy Freese

Dr. Sarah Garst

Liz Garst

Barbara and Michael Gartner in memory of Christopher Gartner

Steve Gentile and William C. Hendrickson in memory of Diana Lee Lucker

Michael and Ann Gersie

James and Constance Cook Glen in honor of Hilary Glen

David Gooch in memory of Joan Gooch

Kimberly Gooch in memory of Joan Gooch

John Graether

H. D. H.

Joel and Debra Hade in memory of Chris Hade

Julia Hagen

Veronica Haluska

Vernon Hartman and Amy Johnson

Roger and Deb Hatteberg

Andrew and Dr. Katherine Hauser, M.D.

Edward Hegstrom

Dennis P. and Melinda Hendrickson

John C. and Fay G. Hill

Randy and Thang Holt

Charlotte and Fred Hubbell

Ellen and Jim Hubbell

Rusty Hubbell Family Fund

Dr. Bruce Hughes and Dr. Randall Hamilton

Wes Hunsberger and Mark Holub

Kathryn Jessup

Dr. Darren R. Jirsa

Linda Juckette

Dennis and Betty Keeney

Mary K. and Daniel M. Kelly Family Foundation

Dr. James and Mary Ellen Kimball

Joshua and Susie Kimelman

Thomas K. and Linda Koehn

Karen Anita Koeppe

Marla Lacey and Steve Znerold

Nix and Virginia Lauridsen/ Lauridsen Family Foundation

James Luke

Jerilee M. Mace and T. J. Johnsrud

Nancy and Bill Main

Leslie Mamoorian and Richard Johnson

Tom and Marsha Mann

Ed and Elizabeth Mansfield

Sarah McDougal

Cate McEntaffer

Adrienne McFarland and Joe Clamon

George and Sandra McJimsey

Mary Elizabeth McKinley

Dru McLuen

Teresa Hay McMahon

John A. McTaggart

Paul Meginnis, II and Jo Sloan

Sheila A. Meginnis

Ann and Brent Michelson

Craig and Betty Miller

Larry and Donni Mitchell

Revs. Jack L. and Rachel Thorson Mithelman

Dr. Steven Moffic and Lynn Hashner Moffic

Polly Moore

Susan B. Moore

Diane Morain

Steve and Erna Morain

Elyse D. and Kyle W. Morris

Susan F. Morris

Michael Myszewski and Martha James

Arthur Neis

Eric Nemmers

Donald Newsom

Robert Oberbillig

Jim and Jeanne O’Halloran

Muriel A. Pemble

Anastasia Polydoran

Jason and Emily Pontius

Craig and Susan Porter

Melanie Porter and Wayne Halbur

Marilu and V.V. Raman

Stanley Ransom

Sylvia Richards in memory of Richard Richards

Dianne S. Riley

Kay and Bob Riley

Seth Robb and Tim McMillin

Timothy B. Robinson

Gordon Roskamp and Michelle Sommer

Ruan Foundation

Doris Salsbury Endowment Fund

Christine Lauridsen Sand and Rob Sand

Steve and Marina Sandquist

Alan J. Savada and Will Stevenson

Mike and Traci Schaefer

Timothy and Heidi Schurman

V. Scott

Christine Segreto

Stan and Mary Seidler/The Seidler Foundation

Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Nancy Shafer

Alan and Linda Shapiro

Amie and Kevin Shires

Chérie and Bob Shreck

Kevin Smith and Jeff Mallory

Lily Smith

Carol Sovern

Lila P.M. Starr

Dr. Stephen and Martha Stephenson

Roger and Carolyn Stirler

Kayla Stratton in memory of Jeff Stratton

Mary Stuart and David Yepsen

Robert and Sandra Tatge

Gary M. Thelen

Dr. Andrew J. Thomas

Jacqueline Thompson

Vickie and Darrell Till

Thomas D. Turnbull and Darrell Smith

Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

Janice Walter

Phil and Judy Watson

Carol and Eric Weber

Bernie and Linda White

Gaye Wiekierak

Denise and John Wieland

John and Peggy Wild

Dolores Willemsen

John Robert Wise

Tim Wittry

Paul Woodard

Carleton and Barbara Zacheis

Dr. Robert H. and Eleanor Zeff

Larry and Kathleen Zimpleman

ANNUAL FUND

Des Moines Metro Opera is deeply grateful to the long-time contributors and new donors who have made gifts during the season. Contributions to the company provide the critical support to supplement income generated from ticket sales and program fees. Thank you to all who have helped to make Des Moines Metro Opera the Midwest’s choice destination for exceptional music and professional theatre for over 50 years!

IMPRESARIO

$100,000 and above

BRAVO Greater Des Moines

Partner Local Governments: Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk County, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights

Frank R. Brownell III

Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation

Nix and Virginia Lauridsen/ Lauridsen Family Foundation

Nancy and Bill Main

Doris Salsbury Endowment Fund

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE

$25,000 - $99,999

The Coons Foundation

Des Moines Metro Opera Guild

Catherine Erickson

Marshall Flapan

William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Educational Outreach

Thomas K. and Linda Koehn

Daniel J. and Ann L. Krumm Charitable Trust

Fred Maytag Family Foundation

Stanley J. Reynolds Trust *

Simpson College

David G. and Krenio Wright Trust *

LEADERS

$15,000 - $24,999

Bankers Trust

Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

Roger Brooks and Sunnie Richer

Kate and Tom Carey

Corteva Agriscience

Barbara and Michael Gartner

Charlotte and Fred Hubbell

Iowa Arts Council, a Division of the Iowa

Department of Cultural Affairs

Mary K. and Daniel M. Kelly Family Foundation

Susan F. Morris

National Endowment for the Arts

Prairie Meadows

Ruan Foundation

Stan and Mary Seidler/The Seidler Foundation

Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Phil and Judy Watson

wellabe

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

$10,000 - $14,999

Mollie and Britt Baker

Roger and Kay Berger

Patty and Jim Cownie Charitable Fund

Bob and Ardene Downing

Ellen and Jim Hubbell

Rusty Hubbell Family Fund

Humanities Iowa

Dr. Darren R. Jirsa

Marla Lacey and Steve Znerold

Tom and Marsha Mann

Polly Moore

Polk County Board of Supervisors

Alan J. Savada and Will Stevenson

Lee J. Slorah *

Mary Stuart and David Yepsen

TruBank

Janice Walter

Carleton and Barbara Zacheis

GUARANTOR

$5,000 - $9,999

Betty Augspurger

Tony Braida and Mark Babcock

Babette C. Brenton

Sue Rutledge Brenton and J.C. (Buz) Brenton

C. Dean and Sandra Carlson

Casey’s General Store

William L. Dawe III and Sheila K. Tipton

Elder Corporation

EMC Insurance Companies

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Fredrikson

Bob and Betsy Freese

H. D. H.

Roger and Deb Hatteberg

Dr. Bruce Hughes and Dr. Randall Hamilton

Wes Hunsberger and Mark Holub

City of Indianola

Josephs Jewelers

Kum & Go

Ed and Elizabeth Mansfield

Adrienne McFarland and Joe Clamon

Paul Meginnis, II and Jo Sloan

Meredith Corporation Foundation

Ann and Brent Michelson

MidAmerican Energy Foundation

Craig and Betty Miller

Susan B. Moore

Diane Morain

Anastasia Polydoran

Stanley Ransom

Kay and Bob Riley

Christine Lauridsen Sand and Rob Sand

Steve and Marina Sandquist

Schiller Family Foundation

Alan and Linda Shapiro

Chérie and Bob Shreck

Simonson & Associates Architects LLC

Chris and Denise Vernon

Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

Voya

Carol and Eric Weber

John and Peggy Wild

Paul Woodard

BENEFACTOR

$2,500 - $4,999

Jane and Steve Bahls

Stephen and Margaret Blake

Michelle Book

Pat Brown

Capital Call Wine Group

Jeff Chelesvig

D.T. Doan

Jon Duvick and Carol Hendrick

Easter Family Fund

Michael Egel

Liz Garst

Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Foundation

Dr. Sarah Garst

Michael and Ann Gersie

John Graether

Julia Hagen

Andrew and Dr. Katherine Hauser, M.D.

Randy and Thang Holt

Homesteaders Life Company

Linda Juckette

Dennis and Betty Keeney

Dr. James and Mary Ellen Kimball

Joshua and Susie Kimelman

James Luke

Jerilee M. Mace and T. J. Johnsrud

Sarah McDougal

George and Sandra McJimsey

Sheila A. Meginnis

Merchants Bonding Company

Eric Nemmers

Jim and Jeanne O’Halloran

Henry G. and Norma A. Peterson Charitable Trust

Jason and Emily Pontius

Melanie Porter and Wayne Halbur

Principal Foundation

Ramsey Family Charitable Foundation

Seth Robb and Tim McMillin

* Gifts made to the Foundation

ANNUAL FUND

Mike and Traci Schaefer

Timothy and Heidi Schurman

Dr. Stephen and Martha Stephenson

Dr. Andrew J. Thomas

Jacqueline Thompson

Weathertop Foundation

Denise and John Wieland

Tim Wittry

Larry and Kathleen Zimpleman

PATRON

$1,500- $2,499

Erick Apland and Kimberly Gooch, M.D.

Barbara Beatty

Elizabeth and Jared Carter

Joyce Castle

Carrie Clogg and Josh Barlage

Terri Combs and Thomas Swartwood

Fred Crane

Gabus Automotive Group

Patricia Barry and Bryan Hall

Kathryn Jessup

John A. McTaggart

Steve and Erna Morain

Michael Myszewski and Martha James

Craig and Susan Porter

Marilu and V.V. Raman

Dianne S. Riley

Robert and Sandra Tatge

Thomas D. Turnbull and Darrell Smith

Bernie and Linda White

Gaye Wiekierak

Dr. Robert H. and Eleanor Zeff

PRODUCER

$500 - $1,499

Steven Adelman and Katherine Elsner

Lily Allen-Duenas

City of Ames

Sarah Antin

Achilles Avraamides and Dilys Morris

Sally and Dennis Bates

Mary Beh

Jordan Bello and Stephanie Nemmers-Bello

Debra Benjamin

Darlene Bergman

Margaret Bradford

Allan Bradley and Derrill Pankow

Daniel Brown

Denise Brown

Nathan and Katherine Brown

Businessolver

Bob and Judy Camblin

Valerie and David Canter

Barbara and Steven Cappaert

Mary Carlsen and Peter Dahlen

Emily Chafa

Janine Clark

Thomas and Sharon Clarke

Richard and Charlene Cobb

Jane Ann Cotton

Drs. Robert and Beverly Croskery

Paula and Jeffrey Danoff

Randall Daut and Patricia Ryan

Denman & Co.

Karmen Dillon

Douglas B. Dorner and Carole Villeneuve

Ann Dorr

Nicholas and Kim Dragelevich

Durbin-Zheng Family

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Eckoff

Cary Feick

Lori Fenton

Lois and Louis* Fingerman

Thomas G. and Rita Fisher

John Fisher and Jann Freed

Rebecca Foerschler

Rosalie Gallagher

Charles Garmen

Daniel Garrett

Ryan and Nancy Gilman

Jake and Ruth Graves

John Greer

Kay Grother

Katrina Guest and Andrew Gangle

Joel and Debra Hade

Todd Hall

Charles Hample and Frances Bly

Dr. Gary and Kamie Haynes

Richard Healy

Vicki Hedlin

Ashley Helland

Dennis P. and Melinda Hendrickson

Iowa ENT Center

Jean M. Isaacson

Nick and Kiersten Johnson

Jacquelyn Kaufman

Mary Keithahn

Patrick B. Kelly

Larry Kirsner

Allan Kniep

Thomas Koertge

John M. and Penny Krantz

Martha Kroese

Dylan Lampe

Phil and Karen Langstraat

Lori Lee M. Larson and Mark M. Belz

William Larson

Eric Lindberg and Steve Farver

Kurt and Rose Bollin Loth

Leslie Mamoorian and Richard Johnson

John R. and Cyril A Mandelbaum

Sharon Marek and Celeste Goodrich

Thomas and Nancy McKlveen

Brian and Julie McLean

Richard and Barbara Melcher

Microsoft Matching Gifts Program

George and Deb Milligan

Charles and Tracey Mohns

Candice Nardini

Ted and Carolyn Neely

Sarah and Sam O’Brien

Lynsey Oster

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

David Paulsrud

Muriel A. Pemble

William Phillips

Neva L. Pruess

Alvin and Sue Ravenscroft

The Jack and Marty Rossmann Charitable Fund

Dr. James Rutherford

Neil and Debra Salowitz

Patrice Sayre

Paul Schlaack and Ana Laborde

Ralph and Charlotte Schlenker Charitable Trust

Nancy Shafer

Karen and Gordon Shinn

Dr. Heidi Shreck and Dr. Brian Shellenberger

Joe E. Smith and Robert Steinborn

Linnea Sodergren

Hope C. Solomons

Sandy and James Spencer

Roger and Carolyn Stirler

Mary Susman and Thomas Herm

Ann Swenson

Michael Tabor

Tassel Ridge Winery

Dawn Taylor

Theresa Taylor

Diane L. Thiessen

Rebecca Thomas

Thrivent Financial

Dr. Beth Triebel

Warren County Board of Supervisors

Wells Fargo

Marianne Whitman

Deb Wiley and John Schmidt

Dolores Willemsen

Connie Wimer

Glady and David Winter

John Robert Wise

The Zoo Bar

* Gifts made to the Foundation

SUSTAINER

$250 - $499

Kim and Patti Abild

Roberta Abraham

adorn

John and Jennifer Andres

Bob and Elizabeth Angelici

Linda D. Appelgate

John M. Barone

Judson and Heidi Barr

Tom and Betty Barton

Linda and Jerry Beatty

Jane Farrell-Beck and Marvin Beck

Todd and Karey Bishop

Margaret and Arden Borgen

Richard Boyum and Louie Chua

Martin and Rochelle Brody

Gregory Burley Brown

Sandra Bruggemann

Daniel Burden and Beth Mack

Bussanmas Heating & Cooling

Wanakee Carr

Gregory and Sharon Chlebicki

Melody and Jeffrey Clutter

Tony Colby

Anne Cook

Daniel Corron

Kevin and Jill Croft

Don and Pat Dagenais

Karen Engman

Feed & Foster

Fran Fleck and Terry Greenley

Lance and Marcy Fortnow

David Friedgood

Steve Gentile and William C. Hendrickson

Julie Ghrist

Marlys A. Graettinger

Scott and Kathy Green

Stephen Hay

Larry and Carolyn Hejtmanek

John C. and Fay G. Hill

Clayton and Joanne Hunt

James Leymaster Johnson

Melanie Keiper

Kristin and Wayne Knutson

Matt and Chari Kruse

Kelly Kuo

Gregory Largent and Anna Leppert-Largent

Barb Lettween

James D. Lile

Jere Maddux

La Donna and Rich Matthes

Rhea Merrill

Miller Electric

Miller Mechanical

Dan and Jana Montgomery

Michael T. Morain

Mary Morgan

David and Delpha Musgrave

Donald Newsom

Lee E. Nickelson, Jr.

Barb and Andy Nish

Robert Oberbillig

Ashley Parson

Gary Peterson

Nick Renkoski and Liz Lidgett

Rachel R. Reynolds

Sylvia Richards

Dolph and Rania Robb

James and Cheryl Robb

Timothy B. Robinson

Arnold Samuel

Arlen and Jean Schrum

Charles and Meg Smith

Lily Smith

Jesse Stock

Dr. LeRoy I. Strohman

James Sweeney

TD Ameritrade Clearing

Catherine Vesley

Dr. Trevor and Allison Wild

Susan and Peter Wilson

Sumner and Karen Worth

Daniel Zinnel

FRIEND

$50 - $249

All Creatures Small Animal Hospital

deEtt Allen

Sandra and Donald Allgood

AmazonSmile

Grace Ambrose

Kerry Anderson

Janet Anderson-Hsieh

Scott Arens

Jerry Artz

Sandy and Paul Axness

Cynthia Baker

Anna Barker

Deborah and Michael Becker

Lawrence Beeson

John Belleville

Mallory and Andrew Bennett

Mary Jo Bennett

Gordon and Martha Bivens

Donald and Patricia Brandt

Deanne Brill

Catherine and Gary Broadston

Andrew Broan

Jay Brummel

Sandi and Bill Bruns

Randy Buesing

Eric Burmeister and Casey Smith

Scott Burnham

Sarah Carnes

Connie Carroll

Frank and Marilyn Carroll

Clark and Suzanne Carter

Earl and Judy Check

Eric and Fany Chicas

Bill and Nancy Child

Hosung and Won Hi Chung

Sandra and Walter Clark

Karen and William Claypool

Sydney Coder

Dennis Cohen

Ann Comeaux

Judith Conlin

Beth and Timothy Coonan

Benjamin and Laura Cooper Charitable Fund

Denise and Alan Core

Joseph Corrigan

Crain Chiropractic Clinic

R. Keith Cranston

Cheryl Critelli and Rick Ballinger

Bryan Crowder

Molly Dahlberg and Travis Richter

Mary Lou Davenport

Des Moines Obedience Training Club

Downey Tire Service

Janet M. Drake

John Dresser

Linda Halquist Drucker

Robert and Barbara Drustrup

Kenneth East

George Ehrenberg

Warren and Linda Erickson

Patricia Farnham

Kathie and Al Farris

Douglas Finnemore

Peggy Fitch and Ben Allen

James and Allison Fleming

Sarah Flinspach

Krista and Gary Frank

David and Michele Gabel

Joan Gacki

James Glen

Marge Gowdy

Gradient9 Studios

ANNUAL FUND

Erin Grillot

Jan Grimes

Rosa Gude

Sandra Guild

Norman Gunder

Pam Guthrie

Barbara and Karl Gwiasda

Veronica Haluska

Lowell Hanson

Lois Harms

Suzanne Hartline

Vernon Hartman and Amy Johnson

Brad and Rae Anne Havig

Edward Hegstrom

Beth Henning

Dr. Warren J. Herbst

Teri Herron

Gladys Hertzberg

Mark L. Hill and Amy M. Anderson

Esther and Dan Hoffa

Joyce Andrews and Frank Hoffmeister

Horizon Nails

Nikolas Huffman

Indianola A&W

Indianola Hy-Vee

Indianola Pediatric Dentistry

Iowa One Gift Program

Sunny Jansen

Louise M. Jirsa

Jeff and Julie Johnson

Wesley Jordan

Kurt Juhl

Nancy Kane

Dr. Colin and Sandra Kavanagh

Patricia Kehoe

Richard and Annette Kerr

Bob Klassy

Silvia B. Klein

Tamme Klutman

Karen Anita Koeppe

Geoffrey and Nancy Kolb

Carolyn Krafka

Lori Lane

Alan Lange

James and Ann Lano

Russelle Leggett

Janet Leslie

Tracy Levine

Jeanne Levitt

Fred Lewis

Nancy and Hugh Lickiss

Jennifer Littlejohn

Jean E Lory

Juanita Lovejoy

Sharon M. Lundy

Charles and Barbara Markus

Dugg McDonough

Adele McDowell

Ray McHenry

Harry and Marilyn McIntyre

Murray and Elizabeth McKee

Mary Elizabeth McKinley

Richard and Kristen McKlveen

Dru McLuen

Teresa Hay McMahon

Eunice McMillin

Michael McNeil

William and Sharon Mesle-Morain

Christie Metcalf

Joan Middleton

Paul Mills

Larry and Donni Mitchell

Revs. Jack L. and Rachel Thorson Mithelman

Robert and Wynette Moore

Elyse D. and Kyle W. Morris

Kellee Mullen

Catherine Murphy

Arthur Neis

Bruce Nelson

Robert D. Nelson

Jay and Cheri Nugent

Gina and Cara Overstreet

Paul and Linda Palmer

Elizabeth M. Parker

Mary and Richard Parrish

Rick and Sandra Penning

Floyd Pentlin

Carole Permar

Michael and Miriam Perriello

Pamela’s Place

Elizabeth and Jerry Powell

Tamara Jo Prenosil and Frank Potter

Record-Herald & Indianola Tribune

Judy Robinson

William Robinson

Gordon Roskamp and Michelle Sommer

Andrea Rosenthal

Steve and Lisa Sanders

Valerie C. Sandford

Jane and Dick Sanford

Susan Schaefer

Michael and Karen Schoville

V. Scott

Christine Segreto

Travis and Jennifer Senne

Ricci Serck

Sara J. Sersland

Bruce and Barbara Sherman

Amie and Kevin Shires

Wesley and Cheryl Siebrass

Linda and Bruce Simonton

Laurie and Nathan Skjerseth

Kevin Smith and Jeff Mallory

Carol Sovern

Paul and Susan Stageberg

Lila P.M. Starr

Kayla Stratton

Kirk and Denise Stuart

Ben and Joyce Swartz

Jean and Paul Swenson

Phyllis Swink and Caesar Smith, Sr.

Harold and Joyce Templeman

Gary M. Thelen

Carolyn Lynner and Keith Thornton

Vickie and Darrell Till

Nora Tobin

Margaret Van Houten

Barbara Van Sickle

Bob and Molly Veenstra

Virginia Ver Ploeg

T. Waldmann-Williams

Ryan and Liz Waller

Liz and Joel Weinstein

Wellmark Foundation

Richard and Gail Wilker

M. Eugene and Janet L. Williams

Robbie and Marvin Winick

Melissa and Michael Wolnerman

Katherine Sircy and David Wright

Maryann Wycoff

Amanda Zwanziger

MEMORIAL GIFTS

In memory of Patricia Stanley Baldwin

Dr. Cynthia Jo Ingham

In memory of E. James Bennett

Mary Jo Bennett

In memory of C. Robert Brenton

Babette C. Brenton

In memory of Doug Brown

Pat Brown

In memory of CH Burnham and Mitchell Burnham

Scott Burnham

In memory of Maria Callas

Jesus Olivas Sierra

In memory of Russell Clark and Judith Williamson

William Phillips

In memory of James and Valerie Cole

Ann Cole Kendell

In memory of James Cooney

Clark and Suzanne Carter

Lindsay Haynes

Lynne and Judd McAdams

Caroline Powell

Andrea Rosenthal

Jim and Alison Thorp

In memory of Maria DiPalma

Elyse D. and Kyle W. Morris

In memory of Doug Duncan

Brad and Rae Anne Having

In memory of Lois Egenes

Camilla Wisgerhof

In memory of James Erickson

Catherine Erickson

In memory of Signe Eskildsen

Margaret and Arden Borgen

In memory of Charles “Chuck” Farr

Peggy Fitch and Ben Allen

Ann and Brent Michelson

Nancy and Bill Main

Harold and Joyce Templeman

Deb Wiley and John Schmidt

In memory of Charles and Marilyn Farr

Sharon Marek and Celeste Goodrich

In memory of Judy Flapan

La Donna and Rich Matthes

Robbie and Marvin Winick

In memory of Christopher Gartner

Barbara and Michael Gartner

In memory of Jo Ghrist

Diane Dollison

Michael Patterson

Chris and Denise Vernon

In memory of Joan Gooch

Anonymous

Erick Apland and Kimberly Gooch, M.D.

In memory of David Gordon

Lois Fingerman

Joan Middleton

In memory of Jan Grissom

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

In memory of Chris Hade

Joel and Debra Hade

In memory of Sara C. Hill

Mark L. Hill and Amy M. Anderson

In memory of Paula Homer

Michael Egel

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

In memory of Hsung-Cheng Hsieh

Janet Anderson-Hsieh

In memory of Kristine Jepsen

Kelly Kuo

In memory of Robert E. Jessup

Kathryn Jessup

In memory of Rejman E. Jirsa

Louise M. Jirsa

In memory of Robert Larsen

Bob and Judy Camblin

Richard Healy

Teri Herron

Teresa Hay McMahon

Neil and Debra Salowitz

In memory of Robert Larsen and Doug Duncan

Denise and Alan Core

In memory of David Leaming

R. Keith Cranston

In memory of Diana Lee Lucker

Steve Gentile and William C. Hendrickson

Laurie Merz

In memory of Marian Luke

Kurt Juhl

In memory of John Manders

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

In memory of Jenifer Mercer-Klimowski

Clayton and Joanne Hunt

In memory of Mary Ellen Newsom, DMA

Donald Newsom

In memory of Bruce Perry

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

In memory of Kitty Picken

Bob and Ardene Downing

Michael Egel

Bob and Betsy Freese

Michael Patterson

In memory of Richard L. Richards

Sylvia Richards

In memory of Joanne Sigler

Kathleen Boese

Judy Robinson

In memory of Adam Skog

Dr. Michael R. Patterson

In memory of Lee Jay Slorah

Des Moines Obedience Training Club

In memory of DD and Robert Starr

Lila P.M. Starr

In memory of Jeff Stratton

Kayla Stratton

In memory of Carol Stuart

Kirk and Denise Stuart

In memory of Wendy Wallace

Michael Patterson

In memory of Bob Watts

Julia Hagen

In memory of Krenio Wright

Anastasia Polydoran

HONOR GIFTS

In honor of Pamela Bass-Bookey and Harry Bookey

Richard and Barbara Melcher

In honor of Harry Bookey

Steve Adelman and Katherine Elsner

Karen Engman

Richard and Barbara Melcher

Bruce and Barbara Sherman

In honor of Joyce Castle

Sharon M. Lundy

In honor of Bob and Ardene Downing

Dr. Gary and Kamie Haynes

In honor of Marshall Flapan

Harriet and Herbert Malmon

In honor of Martha Flinspach

Sarah Flinspach

In honor of Andy Garst

Maryanne Deaton

In honor of Hilary Glen, cellist

James Glen

In honor of Julia Hagen

Laura Miles

In honor of Matthew Hrdlicka

Paul and Linda Palmer

In honor of Bruce Hughes and Randall Hamilton

Steven Adelman and Katherine Elsner

In honor of Josh Kimelman

Larry Kirsner

In honor of Chari Kruse

Eric Burmeister and Casey Smith

In honor of Linda and Tom Koehn

Rhea Merrill

In honor of Janie Lohnes

Jane Farrell-Beck and Marvin Beck

In honor of Nancy Main

Paul Schlaack and Ana Laborde

In honor of Meredith McLean

Brian and Julie McLean

In honor of Diane Morain

David and Delpha Musgrave

In honor of Michael Patterson

Kurt and Rose Bollin Luth

In honor of J.K.R.

Luanne Rowling

In honor of Mary and Stan Seidler

Rosalie Gallagher

In honor of Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Bill and Jackie Romp Family Fund

In honor of Kimberly Shadur

Deborah and Michael Becker

In honor of Jane Smiley

Dorothy and John Whiston

In honor of SSPD

Dubin-Zheng Family

In honor of William Tomlinson

Muriel A. Pemble

In honor of John Tuck

Sandra Wittenbrink

Gifts received after 6/15/23 will be acknowledged in next season’s program

ANNUAL FUND & SPONSORS

2022 SEASON GIFTS RECEIVED AFTER 6/14/22

$10,000 - $14,999

Nancy and Bill Main

Principal Charity Classic

“Birdies for Charity” Program

$5,000 - $9,999

Rusty Hubbell Family Fund

Chérie and Bob Shreck

$2,500 - $4,999

Easter Family Fund

Enterprise Holdings Foundation

Krenio Wright

Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

$1,500 - $2,499

Nix and Virginia Lauridsen/ Lauridsen Family Foundation

Candy Morgan

$500 - $1,499

Sarah Antin

Sally and Dennis Bates

Jane Farrell-Beck and Marvin Beck

Don and Margo Blumenthal

Sue Rutledge Brenton and J.C. (Buz) Brenton

Gretchen and Jeffrey Brown

Mary Carlsen and Peter Dahlen

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Eckoff

Scott Edwards

Bob and Betsy Freese

Genentech

Sharon Marek and Celeste Goodrich

Betsy and Joe Hrdlicka

Thomas Koertge

Tom and Marsha Mann

La Donna and Rich Matthes

Richard and Barbara Melcher

William and Sharon Mesle-Morain

Ann and Brent Michelson

Muriel A. Pemble

Bill & Jackie Romp Family Fund

Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Talmage E Thompson and Ellen Cleveland

Chris and Denise Vernon

Fred Weitz

Wells Fargo

John and Peggy Wild

John Robert Wise

$250-499

Yvonne Aversa

Suzanna de Baca

Elizabeth Brown

Joan O’Harra Burke

Elizabeth and Jared Carter

Terri Combs and Thomas Swartwood

Ruth Comer

Kevin and Jill Croft

Bob and Ardene Downing

Dave Eckels

James and Allison Fleming

Sharon and Dennis Goldford

Carrie and Joe Hall

Lawrence Hansen

Lowell Hanson

Lindsay Haynes

Murray Heaton

Trudy Holman Hurd

Becky Knutson

Patricia Kobe

Amner Martinez

Craig and Betty Miller

Kathleen Picken

Karen Seay

Linda and Bruce Simonton

Jeanie and Bill Smith

Howard and Margaret Soroos

Jim and Alison Thorp

Angela Trabert

Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

Carleton and Barbara Zacheis

$50-249

Peggy Fitch and Ben Allen

Robert Graybosch and Brigid Amos

Naomi André

Rusty Armstrong

Jerry Artz

Juli Baldner

Virginia Bennett

Darlene Bergman

Kathleen Boese

Gary and Anne Borlaug

Linda Ade Brand

Helle Bunzel

Gregory Carmichael

Mollie and Kevin Cooney

John and Kelley Cox

Mary Alice Cox

Cathy Craig

Avon Crawford

Diane Dollison

Robert and Barbara Drustrup

Michael Egel

Karen Engman

Eric Lindberg and Steve Farver

Kent Fieldsend

Tracy Fitzpatrick

Ruan Foundation

Joseph Fraioli

Ellen Franzenburg

Michelle Frazier

Allen Ghoske

Betsy D. Glopper

Bruce Gordon

John Greer

Julia Hagen

Kathleen Heinzel

Arthur and Kris Hill

Elizabeth Hoeft

Annick and Craig Ibsen

Marcia Imsande

Margaret Johnson

Leslie Mamoorian and Richard Johnson

Lee E. Nickelson, Jr.

Lynne Judd

Robert Keegan

Ann Cole Kendell

Joshua and Susie Kimelman

Daniel J. Knepper

Jeramy Landauer

James and Ann Lano

Barb Lettween

Evelyn and Jerold Levin

Anna Marasco

Lynne and Judd McAdams

Bill McElrath

Dru McLuen

Mira Mdivani

Laura Moore

Diane Morain

Stacey Nay

Jim and Jeanne O’Halloran

Allan Bradley and Derrill Pankow

Craig and Susan Porter

Tamara Jo Prenosil and Frank Potter

Caroline Powell

Rachel Reynolds

Susan Rhodes

Mary E. Richards

Michael Ruppert

Deb Wiley and John Schmidt

Michael and Karen Schoville

Rev. Al Sherbo

Eric Burmeister and Casey Smith

Ben and Joyce Swartz

Harold and Joyce Templeman

Paige Thorson

William L. Dawe III and Sheila K. Tipton

Denise Kramer Tolzmann

Cathy VanBrocklin

Amber VanMeel

Jon and Margaret Vernon

Ciny Weber

Dorothy and John Whiston

Christianna White

2ND STAGES SERIES

Presenting Sponsors

dwb

Businesssolver

Krause Group

Prairie Meadows

Simonson & Associates

Architects LLC

The Falling and the Rising

Casey’s General Store

Prairie Meadows

Director Sponsors

Josephs Jewelers

Voya

Polk County Board of Supervisors

D.T. Doan and Marla Lacey

Reception Sponsor

Fredrikson

Additional Support

Elizabeth and Jared Carter

Ann and Brent Michelson

William Dawe III and Sheila K. Tipton

Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

EDUCATION DIVISION

OPERA Iowa Presenting Sponsor

The Coons Foundation

OPERA Iowa Premier Sponsors

Bravo Corteva

Fred Maytag Family Foundation

Iowa Arts Council

Daniel J. and Ann L. Krumm

Charitable Trust

National Endowment for the Arts

Principal Foundation

OPERA Iowa Director Sponsors

Babette C. Brenton in memory of C. Robert Brenton

EMC Insurance Companies

MidAmerican Energy Foundation

Prairie Meadows

The Vredenberg Foundation

SPONSORS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

OPERA Iowa Partner Sponsors

Merchants Bonding Company

Henry G. and Norma A. Peterson

Charitable Trust

OPERA Iowa Performance Sponsor

Janice Walter

WINE, FOOD & BEER

SHOWCASE

Presenting Sponsor

TruBank

Reserve Experience Sponsor

Elder Corporation

Director Sponsors

Homesteaders Life Company

Iles Funeral Home

Piano Sponsor

West Music

Vendor Sponsors

Denman & Company, LLP

Iowa ENT Center

Merchants Bonding Company

Additional Support

Elizabeth and Jared Carter

Bob and Betsy Freese

Eric Nemmers

In-Kind Donations

30hop

801 Chophouse

Aaron Hamrock

Americana

Batch Balanced

The Cave

Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre

Cedar Ridge Distillery

Chicago Opera Theater

Climb Iowa

Cooking with Alessandra

Country Club Market

Crossfit 80/35

CycleBar

Des Moines Marriott Downtown

Des Music Coalition

Des Moines Performing Arts

Des Moines Symphony

Dinner Detective Des Moines

Faegre, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP

Forefront Dermatology/

Seth Robb, PA-C

Full Court Press

Nick Hodne

HoQ

Dr. Bruce Hughes and Dr. Randall Hamilton

Iowa Culinary Institute

Katherine McClure Photography

Mary Ellen Kimball

Kitchen Collage

Krause Group

La Mie Bakery

Mr. B Clothing Orchestra Iowa

Pageturners Bookstore

Peace Tree Brewing

Principal Charity Classic

Projects Contemporary Furniture

Bruce Reese and Kelly Reed

RoCA

Salisbury House

Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur

Staybridge Suites Des Moines

Downtown

John Taylor

Todd Carroll Woodworking

Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

John and Peggy Wild

Willow Moon Apothocary

OPERA GALA

Presenting Sponsor

Bankers Trust

Ruan Foundation

Director Sponsor

Polk County Board of Supervisors

Venue Sponsor

American Enterprise Group

Table Sponsors

Bankers Trust

Frank Brownell III

Polk County Board of Supervisors

Principal Foundation

Patron Sponsors

Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

Sunnie Richer and Roger Brooks

Daniel M. and Mary Kelly

Joshua and Susie Kimelman

Marla Lacey and Steve Znerold

K. Gibel Mevorach and Yorame Mevorach

Stephen and Martha Stephenson

Additional Support

Frank and Marilyn Carroll

Nancy and Bill Main

Sharon Marek and Celeste Goodrich

Diane Morain

Jim and Jeanne O’Halloran

Larry and Kathleen Zimpelman

Des Moines Metro Opera acknowledges with appreciation the individuals and businesses who provided in-kind donations or assisted in meaningful ways during the 2023 season:

Mollie and Brit Baker

Joshua Barlage, Des Moines Symphony Academy

Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

Pastor Brian Brown, Hope+Elim

Bruce Brown

Meg Brown, wellabe

Elizabeth Carter

LaNisha Cassell, African American Museum of Iowa

Cedar Rapids Public Library Events Team

Joyce Coles  Des Moines Public Library

Des Moines Wine Group

Sally Dix, Bravo Greater Des Moines

Amy Duncan, Indianola Independent Advocate

Andy English, Simpson College

William Farlow

Shekinah Fountain

Leanne Freeman-Miller, Drake University

Chris Fusco

Rosalie Gallagher

Rick Goetz, Theatre Simpson

Chris Goodson, Plymouth Congregational Church

Kathleen Demuth Haas, Drake West Village

Julia Hagen

Dennis Hendrickson

Joy Hesse, Iowa ENT Center

Iowa PBS, Judy Blank

Iowa Public Radio, Jacqueline Halbloom

Darren Jirsa

Tamme Klutman, Simpson College Music Department

Dawn Pawlewski Krogh

Kristin Larson, Grand View University Theatre

Virginia and Nix Lauridsen

Jacob Lemons, Drake Univesity

Fine Arts Center

Light This Productions, LLC

Lolli & Pops, Jordan Creek Town Centre

Jerilee Mace

Venessa Macro, Drake University

Kristy Maras, Des Moines Embassy Club

Marty Martin, Drake University

Matt Miller, Drake University

Emma Myhre

Charity Nebbe, Talk of Iowa

Eric Nemmers, wellabe

Christine Neumeier

Ben Nielsen, Simpson College

Saley Nong

Kelly D. Norris, Horticulturist

Martha Nussbaum

Emily Pontius, Fredrikson

Melissa Porter, African American Museum of Iowa

Nick Renkoski

Brianne Sanchez

Jackie Schmillen, Iowa National Guard

Heather Schott

Chérie Shreck

Brian Shultes, Simpson College

Chad Sonka, Iowa State University

Siobhan Spain, Mainframe Studios

Vickie Till

Michael Vogt, Iowa Gold Star Museum

Captain Kevin Waldron, Iowa National Guard wellabe

West Music

Dr. Bill Withers

Tieysa Wood, wellabe

Rachel Woodhouse

Des Moines Metro Opera PRODUCTION HISTORY

BARBER

Vanessa 2001

BARTÓK

Bluebeard’s Castle 2023

BEETHOVEN

Fidelio 1998

BELLINI

Norma 2000

BENJAMIN Prima Donna 1973

BERG

Wozzeck 2019

BERNSTEIN

Candide 2002, 2019

BIZET

Carmen 1978, 1994, 2007, 2023

BIZET/BROOK

The Tragedy of Carmen 2014

BLITZSTEIN

Regina 1994, 2008

BRITTEN

Albert Herring 1973, 1997

Billy Budd 2017

Gloriana 2005

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1979, 2007, 2022

Peter Grimes 1991, 2013

The Turn of the Screw 1987

CATÁN Rappaccini’s Daughter 2015

CIPULLO

Glory Denied 2019

COPLAND

The Tender Land 2018

DONIZETTI

The Daughter of the Regiment 1983

Don Pasquale 1980, 1993, 2011

The Elixir of Love 1982, 2008

Lucia di Lammermoor 1981, 1992, 2005

DOVE/DE ANGELIS

Flight 2018

DVOŘÁK

Rusalka 2018

FLOTOW

Martha 1990

FLOYD Of Mice and Men 1985

Susannah 1976, 2010

GERSHWIN Porgy and Bess 2022

GETER/PALMER

American Apollo 2022

GLASS

Galileo Galilei 2016

GLUCK

Orphée et Eurydice 2016

GOUNOD Faust 1985, 2003

Romeo and Juliet 1986, 2013

HEGGIE/MCNALLY

Dead Man Walking 2014

HEGGIE/SCHEER

Three Decembers 2015

HOIBY

Bon Appétit! 2019

Summer and Smoke 1998

The Tempest (World Premiere) 1986

HUMPERDINCK

Hansel and Gretel 1992

JANÁČEK

Jenůfa 2015

KAMINSKY/CAMPBELL/REED As One 2018

KUSTER/CAMPBELL A Thousand Acres (World Premiere) 2022

LEHÁR

The Merry Widow 1983, 1998

LEONCAVALLO

I Pagliacci 1983

LITTLE Soldier Songs 2017

MASCAGNI

Cavalleria Rusticana 1983

MASSENET

Manon 1976, 2016

MENOTTI

Amahl and the Night Visitors

2003, 2005, 2014

The Consul 1978, 2000

The Medium 1973

The Saint of Bleecker Street 1993

MOORE

The Ballad of Baby Doe 1981, 1995

MOZART

The Abduction from the Seraglio 1991, 2015

Così fan tutte 1977, 1996

Don Giovanni 1982, 1997, 2012

The Magic Flute 1975, 1988, 2006, 2022

The Marriage of Figaro 1984, 1995, 2010

MUSSORGSKY

Boris Godunov 1990

OFFENBACH

Orpheus in the Underworld 2000

The Tales of Hoffmann 1977, 1989, 2005

PIAZZOLLA

María de Buenos Aires 2017

POULENC

Dialogues of the Carmelites 1984, 2011

The Human Voice 2020

PROKOFIEV The Love for Three Oranges 2023

PUCCINI

La Bohème 1978, 1987, 1996, 2001, 2011, 2019

The Girl of the Golden West 1992, 2015

Madama Butterfly 1974, 1991, 2004

La Rondine 1973, 1997, 2012

Tosca 1981, 1998, 2009

Il Trittico 1975, 2001

Turandot 1988, 2002, 2017

RAMEAU

Platée 2021

ROSSINI

The Barber of Seville 1976, 1988, 1999, 2009

La Cenerentola 1985, 2004

Le Comte Ory 2014

SCHUBERT

Winterreise 2016

SONDHEIM

A Little Night Music 2017

Sweeney Todd 1995, 2021

SPEARS/PIERCE

Fellow Travelers 2021

J. STRAUSS

Die Fledermaus 1979, 1989, 2018

R. STRAUSS

Ariadne auf Naxos 1980, 2004

Elektra 2013

Der Rosenkavalier 1992

Salome 2002

STRAVINSKY

The Rake’s Progress 1975, 2006

TCHAIKOVSKY

Eugene Onegin 2012

The Queen of Spades 2021

VERDI

Aida 1984

Falstaff 1974, 1986, 2003, 2016

Macbeth 1996, 2010

A Masked Ball 1993, 2008

Otello 1982, 2007

Il Trovatore 1980, 1999

La Traviata 1977, 1990, 2001, 2014

Rigoletto 1979, 1994, 2006

WAGNER

The Flying Dutchman 1987

WARD

The Crucible 1974, 1989, 2003

WEBER

Der Freischütz 2009

WEILL

Street Scene 1999

Program INDEX

Des Moines Metro Opera thanks our advertisers, whose support helps us provide this complimentary program to our Summer Festival audiences. For advertising information, call our office at 515-961-6221 or visit dmmo.org/advertising.

Tassel Ridge Winery BACK COVER

Grinnell College Museum of Art INSIDE FRONT COVER

Joseph’s Jewelers PAGE 2

Bankers Trust 23

Bravo Greater Des Moines 4

Casey’s 41

Catch Des Moines 26

Central City Opera 45

City of Indianola 34

Confluence Brewing Company 29

Corteva 8

Country Inn and Suites 39

Des Moines Symphony 43

Elder Corporation 35

EMC Insurance 35

Faegre, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP 41

Fredrikson 29

Gib’s A & W 38

Gong Fu Tea 29

ARTWORK/PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

Group and Event Photos Luke Behaunek, Jen Golay

Mainstage Photos Duane Tinkey

Production Publicity Photos Ben Easter/Kim Dragelevich

The Falling and the Rising Photos Philip Newton for Seattle Opera

PROGRAM ADVERTISING

Tom Smull, Associations Inc.

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Homesteaders Life Company 37

Hotel Pommier 39

Iles Funeral Homes 27

Indianola Chamber of Commerce 38

Iowa Public Radio 24

Krause Group 37

Merchants Bonding 45

MidAmerican Energy Company 38

Mr. B Clothing 27

Prairie Meadows 22

Principal Foundation 6

Olson-Larsen Galleries 28

Opera Omaha 44

S&P Piano Services 42

Scottish Rite Park 36

Simpson College 40

TruBank 25

wellabe 10

West End Architectural Salvage 45

Des Moines Metro Opera Stage Managers and Assistant Stage Managers are represented by The American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the union that represents Artists in the fields of opera, ballet, modern dance and choral presentations.