Des Moines Metro Opera mixes classics, innovation for summer festival
Indianola is once again home to a season of "astonishing combinations" as the Des Moines Metro Opera becomes a cultural haven for fans of world-class talent and creativity.
Curated by Michael Egel, the general and artistic director, the 47th summer festival season of the Des Moines Metro Opera is on track for its best ticket sales ever. Opera lovers will set out from Alaska, Arkansas and even Auckland, New Zealand, for the performances.
Staged while larger companies are on a summer break, the 15-performance season launches on June 28 with "a quintessential opera. It's one of the best operas for a reason," Egel said.
"I've never failed to be moved by 'La Bohème,'" he said, and this new staging is a revival from early in his tenure as artistic director. Youthful, euphoric and perfect for first time opera-goers, audiences will be swept away by a Puccini score, composed without "a wasted note or melody," and a tragic love story set among starving artists in 19th-century Paris.
Much darker in tone, a rarely seen "towering masterpiece of the 20th century," is "Wozzeck." Overseen by an "all-female creative team," Alban Berg's 1925 daring and intense work is the type of bold production that has secured the Metro Opera its prestigious national status.
"The decision to program 'Wozzeck' is never one that a company makes lightly," Egel said. It features a famously atonal score and a deeply troubled lead character. But Egel said he is wildly enthusiastic about the inventive production, the return of Michael Mayes and Sara Gartland to the Indianola stage, and the public's early rush to secure a seat.
At the other end of the spectrum, the globe-trotting "Candide" is a much-requested audience favorite. Adapted from an 18th-century novella by Voltaire, the work is best known for its eclectic Leonard Bernstein score and show-stopping numbers. Egel describes the Des Moines version as both a big show and a big challenge, keeping tabs on Candide's colorful journey as he "sprawls all over the world," learning valuable lessons and chasing the love of his life.
For this year's innovative off-site production, tickets sold out "almost instantaneously" for the chance to witness Joyce Castle transform into the iconic Julia Child and convey the beloved chef's recipe for "Le Gateau au Chocolate l’Eminence Brune" through song.
"Bon Appétit!" will be produced in conjunction with Ankeny's Iowa Culinary Institute, accompanying three evening performances with dinner, wine and a piece of that decadent chocolate cake for dessert. There's a waiting list for tickets, but Iowa Public Television will stream one performance on its website in connection with its own Julia Child event.
Hungry guests arriving early to performances can enjoy themed menus prepared by chef Michael LaValle and then head to a free talk delivered by the music and directing staff, setting the scene and providing valuable historical context for each opera. And following the entertainment, performers and members of the production team will head to the lobby to mingle with the audience.
Egel said “opera is the perfect art form for the times in which we live. There's something about the cathartic experience, the emotional sweep, the grand canvas that opera provides, that makes it the antidote to everything around us today."
If you go
WHAT: The Des Moines Metro Opera’s 47th summer festival season.
WHEN: 15 performances from June 28 to July 21.
WHERE: Blank Performing Arts Center, 513 N. D St., Indianola.
TICKETS: Remaining tickets range from $37 to $106.
INFO: 515-961-6221, desmoinesmetroopera.org.