Des Moines Metro Opera

Des Moines Metro Opera has taken its place as a major American summer opera festival and is one of the Midwest’s largest performing arts organizations, annually producing over 100 performances across Iowa. The company’s summer festival season runs from May through July of each year during which three operas are performed in repertory. The summer festival season takes place in the intimate Pote Theatre at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola. All productions, regardless of language, are performed with English supertitles above the stage. Unique among local arts organizations and national opera companies, the company’s programming encompasses a distinctive mix of styles from five centuries of composition, with a special emphasis on fascinating combinations of early and mid-20th century masterpieces infrequently heard in the United States. Recent seasons have seen The Love For Three Oranges paired with Bluebeard’s Castle, Wozzeck with Candide, Salome with Pelléas et Mélisande, and The Rake’s Progress with The Cunning Little Vixen. Seasons generally open with a standard from the operatic or American musical theatre canons, and nearly all productions of the festival are presented in new and original productions in one of the world’s most remarkable and intimate performing theatres. We demonstrate that opera is a vibrant, theatrical and creative art form. DMMO enlarges experiences through a curated series of concerts, lectures, art shows, film screenings and unique performance collaborations. We cultivate the next generation of musicians and music lovers through programs like the Apprentice Artist Program and the OPERA Iowa tour. The company has earned a reputation for quality and loyalty that annually draws audience members from more than 40 states and five countries. DMMO believes that an entirely professional theatrical organization should be a cornerstone of our growing region, and we serve that need.