Des Moines Metro Opera Vivace Spring 2023

DES MOINES METRO OPERA SPRING 2023

2023 SEASON FEATURES / A SPOTLIGHT ON MARY SEIDLER / SOUNDCLIPS / TICKETS & SPECIAL EVENTS

As I write, we’re just a few weeks away from the start of our 2023 Summer Festival Season. It’s my favorite time of the year, just before the season begins. There’s a quickening of pace around the office as our remarkable year-round staff prepares for it all to begin—the last-minute details, the arrivals, the final donor calls, selling the remaining few tickets. A new season, a new decade following our 50th, and new opportunities are on the horizon.

Who can resist Carmen? Opera’s most beloved classic returns to our stage for the first time in 16 years featuring an incredible cast. Mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven returns to us to make her role debut as the title character. Read more about her preparations for her first Carmen in this issue. Taylor was with us as Pauline in The Queen of Spades in 2021 and I knew then that she was our next Carmen. She’s joined by an outstanding cast led by the debuts of director Brenna Corner and conductor Kelly Kuo. This is the perfect opera to bring a friend, introduce new audience members or just sit back and enjoy a classic.

In its brief 55-minute one-act format, Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók finally has its DMMO premiere this season. The time is now primarily because the work provides us fertile ground for collaboration between stage director Kristine McIntyre and international visual image composer and artist Oyoram. Read more about their work within the Bluebeard’s Castle pages. Maestro David Neely and the Festival Orchestra join audience favorite Sara Gartland and debut artist Christian Van Horn, one of today’s most acclaimed bass-baritones, taking on the title role for the first time in this remarkable score.

Over a hundred years after its Chicago debut, Prokofiev’s endlessly inventive opera The Love For Three Oranges continues to delight, puzzle and amuse. Ripe with imagination, comedy, satire and a famous March, this opera at last has its DMMO premiere in a new production led by director Chas Rader-Shieber and designer Jacob A. Climer. Maestro Neely tells me this opera may be the most challenging opera he and the Festival Orchestra have ever attempted! An ensemble cast representing some of the opera world’s most remarkable, rapidly rising professional talents takes the stage in this energetic, hilarious and memorable romp.

Our 2nd Stages Series takes us on the road. From the African American Museum of Iowa in Cedar Rapids to Hope+Elim Church, Mainframe Studios and Grand View University in Des Moines, you will have four opportunities to see Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel’s moving and powerful one-woman show entitled dwb (driving while black). Also in the series comes an opportunity for summer audiences to experience our long-time partnership with the Iowa National Guard at Camp Dodge. Originally created from interviews with active-duty soldiers and veterans, The Falling and the Rising serves as an ode to American service members, shining a light on their often untold stories. Both operas will feature opportunities to engage further through post-performance talkbacks

Several dates are already sold out or are nearing so for this coming season. Please don’t wait longer to secure your seats. And to those who have followed their ticket purchase with a gift of support—thank you! Thank you for playing your role in making the season happen. I look forward to seeing you this summer!

Michael Egel, The Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director

ABOVE Spring was in the air at DMMO’s annual tasting event and fundraiser, the Wine, Food & Beer Showcase. This year’s event broke fundraising records and drew near-record attendance!

ON THE COVER Mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven makes an exciting role debut at DMMO this summer as the titular character in Bizet’s Carmen

Editor/Designer KIM DRAGELEVICH

Contributors SCOTT ARENS, JOSHUA BORTHS, BLAKE CARLSON, KRISTINE MCINTYRE, ELYSE MORRIS, TAYLOR RAVEN

Photographers LUKE BEHAUNEK, BEN EASTER, DUANE TINKEY

Proofreader JULIA HAGEN

Vivace is a newsletter published annually by Des Moines Metro Opera, 106 West Boston Avenue, Indianola, Iowa 50125-1836. Volume 10, Issue 2.

Bringing a Legend to Life

BY TAYLOR RAVEN, MEZZO-SOPRANO

High on the dream role list for most mezzo-sopranos is the elusive title character in Bizet’s Carmen. The point in a singer’s career in which they take on this part is inevitably a pivotal moment—and for good reason. Careers have been made and stars born overnight based on the performances of this coveted role. This summer DMMO audiences will see rising star Taylor Raven (pictured) in her first performance as Carmen. As she prepares for this big moment, she reflects on what it means to her.

Carmen is iconic. The score is woven into the fabric of popular culture. People with no knowledge of opera will recognize its themes from the overture and the Habanera. Opera companies program it often because of its mainstream appeal. Despite its regular programming, there is always a new treasure to uncover in the music. I’ve admired many different interpretations of the role by a diverse group of amazing artists. I find it fascinating how unique each person’s portrayal can be and how each performer brings something fresh to the character. The question for me now is: How do I find an interpretation of the role that is authentic to me?

I have in some way or another been preparing to sing the role since I began my young artist training, from singing her arias at countless functions and parties, performing scenes and study-covering the role. I’ve become familiar with the score slowly in pieces over time, taking on chunks here and there as I grew into myself as an artist. I have taken private French lessons over the past few years to familiarize myself with the spoken language and worked her major scenes with acting coaches. I’ve worked through the role with my teacher and coached the diction so that the sung French is clear but vocally free. There is also the important matter of getting the music into your body. She is an extremely active character, the music an extension of her quick thinking and calculated movement. The role requires a high level of physical and mental stamina, and she has to demonstrate this physical and vocal athleticism all while making it look easy.

There are several layers beyond the music that require specific thought and planning. Who are the Romani people? How does a life of hustle, constant travel and dispossession affect one’s mind and body? How does it affect their motives? Who would this woman be today? Who is telling her story and do they have bias and/or privilege that should be considered? As a woman of color, I find an even greater sense of responsibility to embody and emphasize Carmen’s intelligence. She is a highly sexualized character and that can easily overshadow her intellect and humanity. She has an acute social acumen that gives her a subtle power over anyone she meets. How will I embody that? How will I move, speak and think on stage to serve that narrative and avoid becoming a caricature? Many of these questions will be answered in the rehearsal room but these talks with myself are all a part of the preparation needed to take on a character as nuanced and dynamic as Carmen.

Be a part of this special moment this summer as Carmen returns to the Des Moines Metro Opera stage for seven performances between June 30 and July 23.

CARMEN BY GEORGES BIZET / JUNE 30; JULY 2, 7, 11, 13, 15, 23 AT BLANK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Don José / MATTHEW CAIRNS

Escamillo / CHRISTIAN PURSELL

Micaëla / YUNUET LAGUNA

Conductor / KELLY KUO Director / BRENNA CORNER

Taylor Raven photographed by Ben Easter Photography.

Dreamscaping

Bluebeard’s Castle has been on the short list for Des Moines Metro Opera for many years, as has been an opportunity to collaborate with international artist and digital image composer Oyoram. From his studio in Des Moines, his work has been seen around the world from Paris to Tokyo to Las Vegas. Together with acclaimed director Kristine McIntyre, Bluebeard’s Castle comes to the stage as it has likely never been seen before. McIntyre recently sat down with Oyoram to discuss progress on their work together. Below is Oyoram’s reflection on his creative process.

I think the term “visual composer” fits my work. It’s a visual medium but it doesn’t have a box like “film maker.” It’s a more abstract way of working with the image. There’s no duration to it, there is just imagery composition, maybe something more similar to a music composer,who is not necessarily using the text as a backbone for the narrative.

I always find music as a natural ally, more than the text. The text has a constraint that the music doesn’t. For me, the images and the music are siblings—it’s the same family. I like the idea of working with music.

When we go to the movies, we want to believe in what we see. In the theatre we are much freer. Years ago I remember looking over the shoulders of children who were playing elementary video games like Pac Man and thinking how wonderful, that through this poor assembling of pixels, they can imagine the whole world. In a way, this is what the theatre is: we don’t have anything, we have to imagine. And we don’t need to see it as a comparison of any reality. We are somewhere else.

There are two tools that I have decided to use in our production: Unreal Engine, which is a technology platform we are using in virtual production, and Artificial Intelligence, which is the second side of the same thing. Inside this virtual studio, I can create a 3D universe that can grab from everywhere but attach more to visual language, to dreams.

Set rendering of the secret garden behind the fourth door in Bluebeard’s Castle.

Dreamscaping

We spend eight hours a night slipping in and out of dream. We have access to this visual language, so having it outside and being able to work with it, it’s just a gift and I’m so happy and very excited. Plunging into the unconscious mind, this immersive mind trip, is interesting in this project. How to make the audience participate in this dream? This conversation between what we have in the mind and what we see in reality—this is the wonderful challenge that we have.

For me, Bluebeard is a very privileged entrance point because it’s the dream area. You have a dream, you wake up, you remember it, and when you start to understand it, you kill it. Because you want suddenly to put your reason inside, to put the wild animal in a box. And it will die. Disappear. Vanish. A few hours after you want to tell the story that was so incredible, you don’t find any words because you don’t have it anymore.

Exploration is a dangerous place because you are first in something. We are exploring, and this involves excitement and anxiousness at the same time. Those two create what I call joy. The answers are encapsulated in the opera that we are telling, in the storytelling, in the music. We don’t need to go anywhere else.

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE BY BÉLA BARTÓK / JULY 1, 9, 14, 22 AT BLANK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Bluebeard / CHRISTIAN VAN HORN

Judith / SARA GARTLAND

Conductor / DAVID NEELY

Director / KRISTINE MCINTYRE

Digital Image Composer / OYORAM

This visually stunning production of Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle makes its long-awaited company premiere running for four performances July 1– 22.

Making a Scene:

An interview with Scenic and Costume Designer Jacob A. Climer

You are no stranger to DMMO. Your original designs of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Platée, Rusalka, Orphée et Eurydice and The Abduction from the Seraglio have enchanted audiences and garnered high praise from critics. This summer you are designing sets and costumes for Sergei Prokofiev’s rarely performed The Love for Three Oranges

Describe your process when creating a new production. What are the rewards and challenges about designing for our unique theatre?

I always start my process by meeting with the director. I want their take on it. While this is happening, I research the story, period, and context. Only then do I listen to the music and start working through the problems of the show. All scripts have problems—well, all scripts but Gypsy—so I look for the gaps.

Director / CHAS RADER-SHIEBER

Designer / JACOB A. CLIMER

In Oranges, two characters are blown across a desert by a magical wind. What now?! That’s going to be something we must solve. While working through these issues, I grab onto visuals, and those images become the tools we use to tell the story. Oranges is set in a theatre, so we are turning up the volume on that.

As for the theatre itself, most of my career has been in thrust stages, and I love that they lend themselves to intimacy. You can make smaller choices that make a larger impact. Details are appreciated and help audiences enjoy themselves. The downside is that the floor is ninety percent of your scenery, and floors are weirdly expensive.

Tell us about the concept behind this summer’s new production of The Love for Three Oranges. For Oranges—which is huge and insane—I must make the show digestible. I literally must put it in a box. Luckily for us, the show was written in the early 20th century, premiered in America, and is set inside a theatre!

When researching the period, listening to the show and trading images with Chas, early American vaudeville—pre-1940s musical theatre—kept coming to mind. This style is all about pastiche. In vaudeville, you’d have a collection of eclectic scenes, including a dog number and a juggler, and it was all over the place. Similarly, everything in Oranges is disjointed. So we asked the question, “What if this is a vaudeville show?” What if this production is trying to make vaudeville make sense? The disjointed nature of the piece fits well with this disjointed style of early-American theatre.

What should audiences expect to see?

Flash! Razzamatazz! I think there’s an audacity of size here. It’s one of the biggest shows we’ve done. With all the various roles the chorus plays, we are looking at more than 90 characters. Additionally, there are a lot of fun witticisms. I can’t wait for this show to shimmer.

What are some of your favorite designs you’ve done for DMMO?

Orphée taught me to love opera. The simplicity of those solutions matched the simplicity of the score. I often think about that show as a defining production for me. Also, I loved Platée. How insane was that?! I love when historical periods interpret other eras, so I loved being able to explore my love of drag culture, 1970s films and more through the lens of the 18th century.

What are you most excited about in returning to DMMO in 2023?

I truly love the company. It’s a safe place to work as an artist and a person. It is a space that is created for artists to succeed. And even when things aren’t ideal or going the way we want them to, the vibe is very positive. With most of my career on the road, it’s nice to return to a place that feels like home.

Fata Morgana / ALEXANDRA LOBIANCO

Prince / CHRISTOPHER SOKOLOWSKI

Trouffaldino / MICHAEL PORTER

King of Clubs / SCOTT CONNER

The Love for Three Oranges set and costume design and sketches by Jacob A. Climer.

Ninette / FLORA HAWK

dwb (driving while black)

Each season DMMO creates collaborations with community partners across the Des Moines metro as part of our 2nd Stages Series. Now in its 10th year, the series presents operas focused on contemporary issues in our communities in welcoming and accessible spaces.

Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel’s dwb (driving while black) tackles what it means to be a parent of a Black child who starts driving. In its swift 45 minutes, the listener spends 16 years with a Black mother, feeling her growing fear as her Black son moves towards driving age.

“We are excited to be partnering with three Des Moines metro organizations: Mainframe Studios, Hope+Elim and Viking Theatre at Grand View University, in addition to creating a meaningful statewide impact through a collaboration with the African American Museum of Iowa,” said DMMO Communications and Engagement Director Blake Carlson. Each of the dwb performances will feature a community talkback discussion.

The June 16 performance is part of the African American Museum of Iowa’s 2023 Juneteenth observance and will take place in the Whipple Auditorium at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. “AAMI is thrilled to partner with Des Moines Metro Opera for such a provocative storytelling performance as dwb (driving while black). This performance will move our audiences because of the talented artistry of Roberta Gumbel and Susan Kander, and it will resonate on such a deep and personal level for many,” said AAMI Executive Director LaNisha Cassell. “We are grateful to DMMO for this opportunity to showcase the Museum’s unapologetic demonstration of our mission to preserve and teach African American history.”

Still from New Morse Code in Urban Arias’ 2021 video production featuring Roberta Gumbel (pictured) singing the role of the Mother.

Director / CHIP MILLER

Cello / CREMAINE BOOKER

Percussion / DAVID LEON VERIN

Mother & Librettist / ROBERTA GUMBEL

Soldier / TESS ALTIVEROS

Toledo / SUN-LY PIERCE

Colonel / MATT BOEHLER

Conductor / MICHAEL SAKIR Director / JOSHUA BORTHS

Tess Altiveros in Seattle Opera’s production of The Falling and the Rising; photo by Philip Newton.

THE FALLING AND THE RISING

Zach Redler and Jerre Dye’s The Falling and the Rising is an opera that tells a powerful and uplifting story, highlighting the indomitable spirit of the U.S. military. Conceived by Staff Sergeant Benjamin Hilgert of the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus, the opera is based on real-life interviews with activeduty and veteran soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. The Falling and the Rising is impactful wherever it is performed, but a special collaboration between DMMO and the Iowa National Guard allows the story to come to life in the very space where members of the Guard—our own Iowa friends and neighbors—train, conduct drills and mobilize when they are called for deployment.

The experience will be immersive. From the moment guests step into the Freedom Center they will find themselves pulled into the story, surrounded by military artifacts, Humvees, equipment and personnel— the chorus will be comprised entirely of Iowa veterans—and captivated by the story’s protagonist, a strong female hero known simply as “Soldier.”

The partnership is a meaningful one for both DMMO and the Iowa National Guard. Jackie Schmillen, Director of Public Affairs for the Iowa National Guard, shares “people form bonds through shared experiences. Collaborating with DMMO assists in telling the story of the Iowa National Guard. There is so much more to our organization than people realize, and opportunities like this one help to show a different side of who we are.” For DMMO, it is an opportunity to fulfill the company’s programmatic goal to feature stories of our own time and to create performance environments in which our work generates more meaningful and engaging experiences for audiences.

A community talkback session after each performance will allow all audience members—active duty servicemembers, veterans and civilians alike—to engage with the thematic content of the opera more deeply. Audience members will also have the opportunity to enjoy the impressive collections at the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum.

All together, this summer’s The Falling and the Rising is an ideal example of what DMMO’s 2nd Stages Series— and operatic storytelling as a whole—can be: powerful, collaborative, engaging and community-centric.

FREEDOM CENTER, CAMP DODGE

GOLD STAR MUSEUM, CAMP DODGE

Mary Seidler KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE

BY BLAKE CARLSON

Mary Seidler has always believed that there’s nothing a woman can’t achieve. Growing up on a turkey farm outside Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Mary spent summers with her maternal grandparents in Chicago. An office manager with an 8th grade education, it was her grandmother who instilled in Mary that the sky was the limit for what she could accomplish.

Mary attended Cornell College and graduated in 1961 after being the first woman elected Student Body President. Soon after, she returned to Chicago, the beloved city of her childhood, to begin a career. After a brief stint as a recruiter for Cornell in the Chicago area, Mary set out for a new challenge at Harris Bank. In 1976 she was named Vice President, one of the first women to achieve the rank at any major Chicago bank. Until 1974, an unmarried woman in America could still be denied a credit card, and a married woman required a husband’s signature. Her achievements were no ordinary feat.

Mary was also a regular attendee of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which her grandmother introduced her to as a child. “At a young age, my grandmother developed a love for the arts, particularly opera, and she passed that love on to me,” Mary said. She’s a devout Puccini fan—La Bohème and Turandot are among her favorites. Verdi’s Rigoletto also makes the list.

Meanwhile in Des Moines, Mary’s sister Rosalie Gallagher, an accomplished interior designer, met Stan Seidler and his wife after they relocated to the city in 1980 with the consolidation of Stan’s company headquarters. Soon after, Stan’s wife passed away.

TOP Mary Seidler photographed in 2019 for dsm magazine’s “Sages Over 70.” BOTTOM Mary with her sister Rosalie Gallagher (left).

Having been a dear friend, Rosalie encouraged Stan to meet Mary, whose husband had also recently passed. “I told Stan, ‘If you’re ever in Chicago you should look my sister up.’ He tried, but she was out of town on a trip. Mary came for Thanksgiving later that year, they hit it off, and the rest is history,” Rosalie said. Stan and Mary were married in 1983, and Mary relocated to Des Moines.

In 1984 philanthropist Jackie Blank brought Mary to her first performance at Des Moines Metro Opera. “Jackie was a blessed influence in my life. Knowing I am an opera fan she made sure I got to Indianola to attend a performance at Blank Performing Arts Center. I was blown away by the quality,” Mary said. She was quickly recruited to be a member of the DMMO Board of Directors and would become Board President in 1987.

Mary’s presidency was business-as-usual for a budding opera company until Executive Director Doug Duncan’s unexpected death in January 1988. With Founder and Artistic Director Robert Larsen, newly appointed Executive Director Jerilee Mace and “an exceptional Board of Directors,” Mary spearheaded an effort to raise the funds for the 1988 season in just six months while taking steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company.

“Following Doug Duncan’s untimely death, Mary not only fully embraced the role of Board President but became the de facto DMMO Development Director,” recalls Mace, who served as Executive Director until her retirement in 2006. “She was a force to be reckoned with and excelled in this capacity while also becoming both my mentor and valued friend.”

After just 15 seasons, the dream of professional opera in the heartland seemed almost too unlikely to succeed. It may not have, if not for the support and expertise of people like Mary, who stepped up to keep the dream alive. Her legacy is recognized each day through the Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation—the endowment she helped to establish over 35 years ago.

“For the two years I was Board President, I set aside my corporate ambitions and devoted myself fulltime to making sure the company survived,” Mary said. “With the help of dedicated opera lovers and people in the Des Moines corporate community who believed in our viability, we developed an endowment campaign to ensure DMMO would continue to be a thriving cultural asset.”

Mary and Stan have continued to be devout supporters throughout the years, and DMMO is just one of many organizations to benefit from Mary’s leadership. She is also an honorary trustee of the Des Moines Art Center; the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and her alma mater, Cornell College. Mary is a lifetime member of the DMMO Honorary Board of Directors. Mary and Stan also established the Seidler Foundation, which focuses support on education, the arts and food insecurity.

A distinct confidence and a love for opera instilled by her grandmother has led Mary Seidler on a prolific life’s journey—one of great accomplishment, filled with the spirit of giving back. Her community and the world are better because of it.

TOP Mary with Stan Seidler. LEFT Mary and Jerilee Mace are presented with an award from former Governor Terry Branstad.

OPERA IOWA CONCLUDES TOUR

On May 8 Des Moines Metro Opera’s OPERA Iowa troupe presented the final performance of its 37th annual statewide music education tour. Over the course of nine weeks, the eight-member troupe drove over 6,000 miles across Iowa and Missouri to present 70 classroom workshops, five aria concerts, six masterclasses and 93 performances of two operas: Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing and Grétry/Borths’ Beauty and the Beast. Over 24,000 students were impacted by the 2023 tour! Bravi to troupe members Alyssa Barnes, Logan Dell’Acqua, Brandon Hearrell, Nicholas Huff, Dura Jun, Sarah Rosales, Ariana Warren and Micah Zimmerman!

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Halfway through the OPERA Iowa tour, DMMO’s education and guest services director Kaylah Rude saved the day when she stepped in to sing the role of the Clown in Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing with only 24 hours’ notice! Kaylah sang the role at seven elementary schools with only four hours of staging rehearsal and a three-anda-half-hour drive to memorize music before her first performance. Thank you, Kaylah!

FAREWELL TO CHARI KRUSE

On March 24 DMMO bid a fond farewell to Chari Kruse, who retired after 25 remarkable years at the opera. Chari served in multiple capacities over the years, including Administrative Assistant, Front of House Manager, Housing and OPERA Iowa Tour Coordinator, as well as guiding the Indianola chapter of the Des Moines Metro Opera Guild. Thank you, Chari, for over two-and-a-half decades of memorable service!

WELCOME TO SUE HOSS

DMMO also welcomed Office and Company Manager, Sue Hoss. Sue comes to DMMO after a 25-year career in food media. She is excited to draw on her experiences in the hospitality industry to welcome artists and professionals and work with the DMMO team to create a one-of-a-kind cultural experience in Central Iowa.

The 2023 Opera Iowa troupe (L-R: Micah Zimmerman, Brandon Hearrell, Dura Jun, Ariana Warren, Nicholas Huff, Alyssa Barnes, Logan Dell’Acqua)

THANK YOU TO DRAKE UNIVERSITY

Due to residence hall renovations this summer, DMMO learned recently that Simpson College will be unable to provide the usual number of units necessary for housing our 225-person seasonal staff. DMMO reached out to Drake University earlier this year to inquire about housing part of our company on campus to fill this gap. We are grateful to President Marty Martin and the Drake Residence Life staff for responding with a resounding “yes!” and working diligently to prepare accommodations. The DMMO Festival Orchestra will live and rehearse on Drake’s campus this season and commute to performances at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola. A generous gesture in our time of need!

DINING AT THE OPERA

Enhance your DMMO experience by adding dining to your day!

INDOOR CAFÉ DINING

Enjoy our own white-linen gourmet restaurant located in the air-conditioned comfort of the lobby at Blank Performing Arts Center. Chef Matt Uitermarkt and the Des Moines Embassy Club team have created menus themed for each opera. The Café is open for evening performances only. Dinner begins at 5:30PM. $65 per person. Reservations required.

À LA CARTE DINING

PATRON TRIP TO EUROPE

Between April 1 and 10, a group of intrepid art and music lovers journeyed to Europe for a patron trip with DMMO and the Des Moines Art Center. Patrons joined DMMO General and Artistic Director Michael Egel and Art Center Director Jeff Fleming in Zurich, Vienna and Budapest for 10 days. 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 above). Fleming curated day tours of numerous museums and private collections both large and small. The trip concluded with a memorable celebratory dinner honoring Fleming’s retirement and a milestone birthday for Egel on Easter Sunday in Budapest. Plans are already underway for future patron trips!

Create your own picnic meal from an assortment of sandwiches, salads and other goodies from local vendors including Nourished, Savor the Rise, Thistle’s Summit, Purveyor and Doré Bakery, and enjoy at any of our outdoor dining areas under the shade sails in the theatre plaza. We have curated a wide variety of options that include vegetarian, vegan and glutenfree items. À La Carte Dining items will be available at the outdoor concessions beginning at 5:45PM for evening performances and 12:15PM for matinees. No pre-order or reservation is required.

Visit dmmo.org/dining or call the box office at (515) 961-6221 to make reservations.

2O23 FESTIVAL CALENDAR

23 CARMEN*

CARMEN

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE THE LOVE FOR THREE ORANGES

UPCOMING EVENTS

JUNE 3 & 17 OPERA PREVIEWS

2:00PM | Franklin Ave Library, Des Moines

DWB (DRIVING WHILE BLACK)

THE FALLING AND THE RISING STARS OF TOMORROW

Shuttle Service

JUNE 17 THREADS AND TRILLS

11:30AM | Embassy Club West, West Des Moines

Get a sneak-peek of Carmen, Bluebeard’s Castle and The Love for Three Oranges from DMMO Lecturer-in-Residence Joshua Borths, presented at and in partnership with Franklin Avenue Library. FREE

JUNE 3 APPRENTICE SPOTLIGHT CONCERT

6:30PM | Blank Performing Arts Center, Indianola

DMMO’s Apprentice Artists, selected from a national audition process, open the season singing their signature arias. FREE

JUNE 9 & 10 PICNIC & PUCCINI FAMILY ADVENTURE

10:00AM | Blank Performing Arts Center, Indianola

Join us for this family opera adventure that includes a tour of the theatre, a special performance of Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing and lunch. $12 (cash/check) or $15 (online), dmmo.org/picnic

JUNE 10 OPERA GALA

5:30PM | American Enterprise Group, Des Moines

Join the celebration with DMMO! Enjoy an elegant evening with a stunning musical program featuring mainstage artists, followed by the Afterglow Party with dancing and live music. dmmo.org/gala

Enjoy a delicious lunch and captivating arias from mainstage artists as special guests model some of DMMO’s most extravagant costumes. $55/person, dmmo.org/guild

JUNE 17 (4PM), JULY 5 (2PM), JULY 9 (4:30PM), JULY 14 (2PM)

APPRENTICE SCENES PROGRAMS

Lekberg Recital Hall, Amy Robertson Music Building, Indianola

The 2023 Apprentice Artists take the spotlight in fully staged excerpts from across the operatic spectrum. All scenes programs will be held in Lekberg Recital Hall in the Amy Robertson Music Building on the campus of Simpson College. FREE

JULY 12 STARS OF TOMORROW

7:30PM | Sheslow Auditorium, Drake University, Des Moines

The rising stars of the Apprentice Artist Program perform arias, duets and ensembles with members of the Festival Orchestra in Des Moines. $40 premium seating, $25 general, $10 student, dmmo.org/tickets

Dates and times subject to change | All times are CT

TICKET INFORMATION

SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES

See all three mainstage operas—Carmen, Bluebeard's Castle and The Love for Three Oranges—to take advantage of savings off single ticket prices. Subscribers earn additional benefits like free date exchanges, ticket discounts to other DMMO performances, and more.

SINGLE TICKETS

Select-your-own single tickets for the mainstage operas—Carmen, Bluebeard's Castle and The Love for Three Oranges—are now available.

ADD-ONS

dwb (driving while black) $40 PREMIUM $30 GENERAL

THE FALLING AND THE RISING $50 PREMIUM $40 GENERAL

July 8, 15, 21

July 20, 22

July 12 SHUTTLE SERVICE from Ames & Des Moines

June 30,

July 1, 2, 8, 9, 16

READY TO ORDER?

BY PHONE: 515-209-3257 (MON - FRI, 9:00AM-4:30PM, CT)

ONLINE: DMMO.ORG/TICKETS

PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS

HOTEL POMMIER

1215 N Jefferson Way, Indianola (515) 961-0551 | hotelpommier.com

TICKET EXCHANGES must occur at least 24 hours in advance of the affected performance. Seating is subject to availability. Subscribers may exchange tickets at no additional cost. Single ticket buyers incur a $10 exchange fee. A price increase may be incurred based upon performance date (no refunds for lower priced dates).

SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT & PAYMENT PLANS Subscribers may receive 10% off their 2nd Stages Series and Stars of Tomorrow tickets. Subscribers may also opt-in to a monthly payment plan for their season tickets. To redeem, call the Box Office.

ACCESSIBILITY The Blank Performing Arts Center is ADA accessible. Please let the Box Office know your needs in advance. Call the DMMO office at 515-961-6221 for more information.

FEES & REFUNDS No refunds or cancellations. Casts, repertory, seat map and ticket prices are subject to change. The credit card processing fee is $5 per order for single tickets and $10 per order for subscriptions. Full ticketing and box office information can be found at: dmmo.org/boxoffice.

You deserve local hospitality. At Hotel Pommier our guests enjoy friendly service, generous amenities and a break from cookie cutter hotel chains. We are local ambassadors who go the extra mile to ensure our guests enjoy everything Indianola has to offer. Get 10% off your booking by using the code DMMO23 when ordering online or over the phone.

COUNTRY INN & SUITES

501 E Trail Ridge Ave, Indianola (515) 808-4054

Enjoy a relaxing stay at our hotel in Indianola, Iowa. Located off Highway 65 just 30 minutes south of Iowa’s capital, the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Indianola, IA, provides a comfortable getaway in the Greater Des Moines region.