Save the Date:
April 11--Celebrate the publication of DMMO's 35th Anniversary book at East Village Books in Des Moines with the OPERA Iowa troupe! The evening begins at 6 with refreshments and continues with a brief performance at 6:30.
April 18--"West Side Story at 50: The Music and Mind of Bernstein," a benefit concert for the Iowa IBD Center featuring Dr. Richard Kogan.
May 31--Cabaret Night Live hits the stage at the Temple for Performing Arts! Now in its third year, this is one of DMMO's most popular events...you won't want to miss it! Order your tickets now.

by Michael Egel

Regina Giddens and her two brothers, Ben and Oscar Hubbard, are greedy, new-money Southerners at the turn of the last century who have risen in the ranks of Bowden, Alabama society through cleverly planned marriages, the mistreatment of townspeople, servants and employees, and other schemes. Now, with a major deal for a new cotton mill in their sights, they resort to thievery and deceit, in the process, they turn on one another and hurt their own in their quest for wealth and power. In the end, it is Regina herself — as mother, sister, wife, and aunt — who is most frightening, bullying her family to get what she wants, only to be left victorious and alone, as her daughter, Alexandra, is finally able to escape the hurt of this dysfunctional family.

by McB Smith

This month I chatted with one of DMMO's favorite mezzo-sopranos, Gwendolyn Jones. Gwen has performed a remarkable 17 roles with us since her company debut in the 1989 production of The Tales of Hoffmann. She has been heralded by critics for her "tremendous acting ability ... matched by her sensitive singing." Gwen returns to DMMO's mainstage this summer as the title character in Marc Blitzstein's Regina. Read on to get to know this amazingly talented and wonderfully gracious artist.

Regina Giddens is a new role for you. Tell us a little bit about what attracted you to the role and how you are preparing for it.
I first saw Regina many years ago at the Long Wharf Theater in New York City and saw Rosalind Elias do the role. Several years ago, DMMO did a wonderful production with Sally Williams in the title role -- both remarkable characterizations, and very different. I think I am attracted to strong characters -- people who take life in their hands and try to take what they want from it.  You see this in Carmen, in Desideria (Street Scene), in Amneris, in so many others. I like a strong, decisive character with lots of "edges" -- the more the better.

I started preparation by reading the Lillian Hellman play The Little Foxes and of course, watching the wonderful old movie starring Bette Davis. Now, neither are the opera -- but they start the wheels turning in my brain about the character and her "edges", her relationships within her family, her goals, and the hurdles she must cross to achieve those goals.

You have such a varied repertoire of roles...from Der Rosenkavalier to Gloriana to Carmen. Do you have a favorite role? A favorite opera?
I love each of the characters I play...and there are too many to go one by one and tell you why. The most joyful character I've played is Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. I love the elegance and ardor of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier plus the added benefit of getting to do the comedy of Mariandel when he masquerades as a girl. Elizabeth I in Gloriana combines intelligence, impulsive emotions tempered by rueful awareness of reality. Carmen has a great need to be free -- never controlled or restrained. Indeed, she likes to be in control. Playful, willful, spontaneous -- she is a force of nature. I love the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos -- love his passion, angst, and vision. I love, respect, and will defend Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe) for her sacrifices, her pain, and the inevitability of loss. I love Desideria (The Saint of Bleeker Street) for her brash vulnerability, and I love Adalgisa (Norma) for the purity and innocence of her love. Also, I love singing her bel canto line. In general, I enjoy roles that lie high, rather than low -- but I had a great time this past year singing Baba in The Medium and the Principessa in Suor Angelica with New Orleans Opera.

Do I have a favorite role? Usually, whatever I'm doing at the time. I have to believe in her (or him -- remember, I'm a mezzo!) or no one else will. A favorite opera? No, I love them all...and love operas with no part for me.

How did you decide to be an opera singer? Did you have a mentor along the way?
I have always heard music with imagination. I just hear stories within the colors and phrases of music. I have always loved acting. The first time I saw an opera (Dialogues of the Carmelites on TV), I was entranced. I loved it, and started to "act" just about everything I did -- much to the chagrin of my mother. I started singing almost from birth, started public performances at 9 years old, and sang my first operatic role at 16.

Many, many people encouraged me. My church choir director, Robert Hale, now a star at Bayreuth and throughout Europe, saw something in me and sent me to my teacher, Inez Silberg,who gave me the technique I have used for almost 40 years. I was guided and challenged in my Young Artist days with San Francisco Opera -- and of course, I have had the great good fortune to work with visionaries like Robert Larsen.

Gwen, you are a pillar of the DMMO family. Can you share some of your favorite memories from your time with us?
McB, you are too kind! It's hard to think of myself as a "pillar" of anything. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was singing Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible my first season here. Favorite memories? Many. The arching high notes of Ted Lambrinos in the Diamond Aria in Hoffman; the look in Kimm Julian's eyes as he sang John Proctor's final scene; the goldfish the tech people put in the Carmen fountain final performance; anytime I was onstage with the unforgettable Anne Larson; Ted Green singing "Nothin's gonna harm you, not while I'm around" in Sweeney Todd (I cried every time); Brian Nagore in Carmen and Saint of Bleeker Street -- always fresh, always new, always committed. The many performances I sang with my good friend Evelyn de la Rosa and the many times I sat in her audience, marveled and applauded. The gorgeous Gloriana production and the wonderful cast Robert Larsen assembled. Oh, speaking of Robert  -- and I could do many pages of happy memories of his friendship, guidance and support -- I was in Iowa two years ago to sing the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Rehearsals were at Simpson and, of course, were during the Christmas holidays. I went to his home for the Christmas party for the School of Music. It was an evening in which every group got up and performed. It was magical -- the feeling of family, of roots -- I will never forget it.

You give such incredible performances. What do you draw on to truly become your character?
Thank you for your kind words. I try to bring a belief, a reality that I visualize and feel to the audience. I absolutely believe in what I am doing and I am totally freed by that belief. To some extent, I truly do become that character with his or her joys and griefs. I feel it all as completely as my character does...but within a disciplined framework. I build my character and performance during rehearsals and then just try to keep the same work going throughout the performances. I love what I do. I love this artform and I am passionate about it. I know in any given audience there are many who have never been to an opera and what they see and hear in my performance and others' will influence their opinion about opera forever. It is a responsibility, but a glorious one.

Is there anything you want to share with DMMO audiences about Regina?
What I have to share will be shown during the performance, I hope. Please come.

I don't yet know everything about her -- but I will know more by the time we are all together. She is not a kind or easy character, but I think she can be unforgettable.

She is determined, she is powerless and powerful, she is cunning and clever -- but not as much as she wishes perhaps. She is a survivor...and doesn't count the cost.

Kimm Julian, Anna Vikre, Ryan Allen, and Rod Nelman

A case can be made that Regina is one a handful of truly great American operas. Des Moines Metro Opera has performed it once before, in 1994, in a production that for many is one of the highlights of the Company’s history. This summer's production is certain to be memorable for the outstanding cast that Dr. Larsen has assembled.

This year, we welcome back Gwendolyn Jones in the title role. Gwen is an audience favorite and a terrific singer and actress who will inhabit the role in a very special way for the very first time in her career. We also welcome back Kimm Julian as Regina’s conniving brother Ben. Real-life couple Anna Vikre and Rod Nelman will play husband and wife Oscar and Birdie Hubbard. Ryan Allen returns as Regina’s husband, Horace, the role in which he made his DMMO debut in the 1994 production. The younger generation of the family, Alexandra, Regina’s daughter, and the weasel Leo, her nephew, will be sung by Sara Gartland and Jeremy Little, respectively. In a beautiful production originally designed by R. Keith Brumley and newly refurbished, this splendid American work is sure to be one you won’t want to miss.

The 1941 film version of the play that inspired the opera, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, is available on DVD and stars the incomparable Bette Davis. The movie is well worth seeing.

Save the date for the annual Threads & Trills luncheon and costume show on June 11 at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines. Hosted by the Guild Council, Threads & Trills offers opera fans a chance to get a sneak peek at the costumes from the upcoming season’s operas while enjoying arias and duets sung by principal artists from each show. Lunch is included with the purchase of a ticket. Click here to reserve your tickets now.

The Des Moines Chapter  will hold its next Preview on April 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 39th and Grand in Des Moines. DMMO Executive Director Tom Smith will preview A Masked Ball.

The Des Moines Chapter has begun its fundraising season. This year we have come up with a selection of 8 different events ranging from an "April in Paris" cocktail party to a "South of the Border" fiesta to a Swedish Smorgasbord. There will also be a garden party, a pool party in Osceola, a May Wine party and a tea party at Salisbury House. The prices range from $20-$40 per person and run from April through June. If you are interested, you can contact Joan Burke at 274-3473 or e-mail joaneo59@aol.com after April 14.  We would love to see you at any of our events.

 The Indianola Chapter will meet on Thursday, April 17 at 7:00 pm for a preview of A Masked Ball by Tom Smith. The meeting will take place at The Wesley Village.

Des Moines Metro Opera's three Guild chapters are dedicated to supporting the Company, learning more about opera and having fun with other opera lovers. Each chapter has great programs, events and fundraisers lined up for the coming year!

Click here to learn more about joining the Guild.

West Side Story at 50! The Music and Mind of Bernstein

Friday, April 18, 2008 at 7:30 pm

Temple For Performing Arts, 1011 Locust Street, Des Moines

Distinguished psychiatrist and concert piano virtuoso Richard Kogan, M.D. will explore the music and mind of American music icon, Leonard Bernstein, in a concert to benefit the Iowa IBD Center. Dr. Kogan will perform some of Bernstein’s most noted work, including music from West Side Story, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Click here to learn more.

Dr. Kogan is a renowned concert pianist who has played such venues as Carnegie Hall, and with such musical legends as Yo-Yo Ma. Dr. Kogan, a psychiatrist residing in New York City, presents programs whereby he analyzes the mind of the composer and how it influences the music. He examines the composer’s psychopathology and how that is reflected in his musical composition.

Dr. Bernard Leman, Medical Director of the Iowa Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and a member of DMMO's Board of Directors, is quoted as saying, “Last year I was fortunate enough to have witnessed Dr. Kogan’s examination of George Gershwin. I was simply blown away. West Side Story at 50: The Music and Mind of Leonard Bernstein is not to be missed”. 

Tickets are $52.50 and are available in person at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 515-243-1888, or online at www.civiccenter.org. Proceeds will benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America – Iowa Chapter and the Iowa Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fund for Patient Education.

My first opera performance was one in which I was a spear carrier: Tosca at the old KRNT Theater in Des Moines. It was presented by the Met's touring company, and featured Licia Albanese and George London. 

I was a junior at Dowling High School in 1956. Our choir director, Father Fred Reece, was asked to get some people for the walk-on roles of spear-bearers for the Te Deum at the end of Act I. When we got to the theater, a staff person showed us around back stage where we saw the singers.

What I remember most is the hissy fit that Licia was throwing in Spanish about something she obviously didn't like. After our procession across the stage we got to sit in front row seats for the rest of the performance. No wonder I love opera!