In March, Des Moines Metro Opera announced the beginning of an Artistic Leadership Transition. Now we would like to invite you to meet the new creative teams assembled for each of our three productions! After each opening night performance, we will celebrate the 2010 season and offer a champagne toast to the new 'maestri' and our stage directors. Join us in the lobby after the opera on June 25 of The Marriage of Figaro, June 26 of Macbeth and July 3 of Susannah for a complimentary glass of champagne and a chance to converse with the cast and creative teams. Don't miss your opportunity to become involved in this exciting new phase for the Company!

Welcome, Leslie!

June 4, 7:00 pm

Hosted by the one and only Wicker Van Orsdel and held at The Temple for Performing Arts Cabaret Night Live is an evening of standards and show tunes mixed with musical favorites from Broadway and American opera, and presented by DMMO's talented James Collier Apprentice Artists. Tickets are $50 per person. Visit www.dmmo.org to learn more or call (515) 961-9661 and order your tickets today!

June 16 at 12:00 pm, Holiday Inn and Suites, Jordan Creek (6075 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines)
Cost: $40 per person

Dine in high style with Des Moines Metro Opera and the Des Moines Metro Opera Guild Chapters! You won't want to miss this gourmet luncheon and sneak peek at the costumes and music from Des Moines Metro Opera's upcoming 38th Festival Season productions: The Marriage of Figaro, Macbeth and Susannah. This is a favorite event for many people and seating is limited so order early! Visit the Des Moines Metro Opera website at www.desmoinesmetroopera.org or call the DMMO Box Office at (515) 961-6221.

From the Director's Desk: Robert Montana, Managing Director, Des Moines Metro Opera, Inc.

This is a very exciting time for us here at DMMO! The Summer Festival is quickly approaching and we are all busy gearing up for what will by an incredible season...the artists have been contracted, the box office and house staff will arrive on Monday, May 24, followed by our production crew on May 25. On Thursday, May 27 our coaches and directors will arrive and thus begins then the influx of the 40 members of the James M. Collier Apprentice Artist Program! On Saturday, May 29 we will have our traditional Death by Aria evening. This begins at 6:00 pm in the lobby of the Blank Performing Arts Center and features all 40 Apprentices - each apprentice does a brief introduction and then entertains us with a fabulous aria!

By the end of May and the beginning of June our principal artists and orchestra members arrive and we are off and running...rehearsals begin immediately and the Company will have almost 200 members in residency. Our first production opens with The Marriage of Figaro on Friday, June 25 but not before we've had the opportunity to enjoy the Cabaret Night Live Show featuring Wicker Van Orsdel and the apprentice artists, Threads and Thrills fashion show and luncheon put on by the DMMO Guild Council and Peanut Butter and Puccini Family Opera Adventure by the Indianola Guild. Hold on there is still 16 performances of three grand operas and let's not forget an evening of STARS...that's right on Thursday, July 15 DMMO will once again host its Stars of Tomorrow apprentice artist and orchestral concert at Sheslow Auditorium at Drake University!

There is something for everyone...Enjoy!

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In 1953, a friend suggested to Floyd the idea of making an opera from the apocryphal Book of Susanna. The story of Susanna and the Elders is related by the prophet Daniel but is only recognized as part of the biblical canon by the Catholic Church, it is not necessarily recognized by the Protestant and Jewish faiths. Floyd quickly set to writing his own libretto, even though, as he later confessed, he did not read the full text of the Book of Susanna until sometime after the opera had been completed. It took him less then seven months to produce the fully orchestrated score, and to schedule workshop performances at Florida State University, where he was on the faculty in 1955. The opera was awarded the New York Music Critics Circle Award for Best New Opera in 1956 and was chosen to represent American music and culture at the World's Fair at Brussels in 1958, with a production (by Frank Corsaro) that featured Phyllis Curtin and Norman Treigle.

The opera reimagines the biblical tale in the American South, in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, and is told in an elemental way, contrasting virtue among the fallen with falling among the virtuous. Floyd's version of the tale is a reflection of American life in the 1950's, when anti-communist paranoia was turning decent people into informants and criminals. The analogy between McCarthyism and the tale of Susanna and the Elders presented a terrific opportunity for a musical setting. Floyd chose to alter the ending of the original tale in which the title character is proven innocent, and by doing so, he creates a tragic ending that paid tribute to those artists and influentials who refused to roll over and give into the hysteria of McCarthyism.

The opera's story focuses on 18 year-old Susannah Polk, (Floyd chose to add an ‘h' to the name), an innocent girl who is targeted as a sinner in the small mountain town of New Hope Valley, Tennessee. Influenced by the Elders and Elders' Wives, traveling preacher Olin Blitch and the town push her away. After Susannah refuses to repent for sins she did not commit, events are set into motion that offer a study on the devastation wrought by hypocrisy, on its victims as well as its practitioners. As the story unfolds, Floyd gives us some of the most beautiful and heartfelt music in the American repertory. Susannah's great aria, "Ain't it a pretty night", remains one of the most touching and beautiful contributions to the repertory. The score is largely characterized by Appalachian folk melodies, Protestant hymns and square dances woven together with sweeping vocal lyricism to create a unique and purely American world of musical sound. A particularly prominent part of the opera is Susannah's soaring and melancholy aria in Act II, "The Trees on the Mountain", which is similar to Appalachian folk tunes, but in fact Floyd's own composition.

Not seen at Des Moines Metro Opera since the 1976 season, the return of Susannah to our stage will also feature the return of Iowa native Beverly O'Regan Thiele - last seen as Abigail in The Crucible in the 1989 season. Since then, Beverly has enjoyed a major career on both sides of the Atlantic, with recent credits at the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. John Marcus Bindel will debut as Olin Blitch, the traveling preacher, after recent successes with Washington National Opera and the Hawaii Opera Theatre. Thiele and Bindel are featured in this month's "Getting to Know You" section in this month's Operazzi. The cast is completed by Benjamin Bongers as Susannah's somewhat derelict brother Sam, Travis Richter as Little Bat McLean, and David Ward and Cindy Sadler as Elder and Mrs. McLean. The production will be conducted by Joseph Mechavich (see "Getting to Know You" below). Stage Direction will be provided by Dugg McDonough, who has a significant long-time relationship with DMMO and a particular affinity for American works, particularly those of Carlisle Floyd. McDonough worked closely with Floyd himself on the only commercially produced DVD performance of his opera, Willie Stark. With only four performances scheduled, Susannah will sell out quickly!

As part of the 2010 Season, DMMO is pleased to announce that Carlisle Floyd will be in residence with the Festival. The James M. Collier Apprentice Artist Program will present two of Floyd's seldom performed one-act operas, Markheim and The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair on July 10 at 1:00 pm at Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre. As a part of the residency, Floyd plans to attend the July 11 matinee of his opera, Susannah.

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I spent an amazing summer as Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor in 2003 and instantly succumbed to the infectious atmosphere created by Dr. Larsen. Dr. Larsen embodies and celebrates the union of music and drama and once again I am thrilled to be a part of DMMO.

I am extremely proud of being an Iowan and especially being an Iowa farm girl! No matter how long I've lived off the farm, my heart is there and I have always been torn living away from home. I wish I could get back home more often; my husband always says I "need to breath Iowa air." He's right! I'm the youngest of 7, grew up on a dairy farm in northeastern Iowa. I still have dreams of being a part time farmer....but I married a native New Yorker. I never dreamed of being an opera singer, but that's the next question. I've been married for five years to Bill Knoess. Bill is a stagehand at the Metropolitan Opera, where we met during my first season there. He has the patience and understanding of a Saint to put up with my lifestyle and career choice but he is the most devoted man I could ever have asked for! I loved living in Chicago (Go CUBS! Go BLACKHAWKS!) and still go there often to visit friends and sing and bike along the lake front! I love traveling and seeing and getting to know new places. I lived in Vienna for a summer, Germany for a bit less than two years and love going to Ireland and all things Irish! I love swimming and running but haven't run for over a year due to a knee injury as opposed to a life of running with knee pain anyway. I love to bike and almost always take my bike with me when I sing; and if I can get miles in, I plan on doing RAGBRAI this summer! As of now, I've not been on my bike yet this Spring! I'd rather be outdoors doing anything than indoors.

How did you decide to be an opera singer? What do you love about opera?

It was the summer after my sophomore year at Simpson College. Now understand, I was singing country music when I came to Simpson. Sometimes I'm not even sure why I fell in love with Simpson to come here or why I came back after my Freshman year! Doug Duncan (DMMO Founder and first Managing Director) was my voice teacher and he and I really didn't like each other. Dr. Larsen was at a total loss. I remember Dr. Larsen coming out screaming at me in the lobby of the music building as I was playing guitar and singing "Queen of Hearts" not far from his office door where he was hearing piano juries! I started becoming a more serious student and Doug Duncan asked me to work with DMMO as House Manager and Head Bartender. The shows were Of Mice and Men, Cenerentola and Faust. I would watch from the center vaum every night and was so blown away that I talked to Doug, and that very next Fall I asked him honestly if he thought I had what it took to be a performance major -- and the rest is history! As I always say, "it's all Doug and Dr. Larsen's fault."

What I love about opera is the all-engaging art form that it is! I love delving into the intense drama and making it real, then stepping back "inside" and being calm and collected enough to add the intricate technique of singing. I love (most of the time) the collaboration of all the different kinds of directors, designers, conductors, pianists and colleagues. It's different every time! When it all comes together, it's magic. I LOVE the rehearsal process (usually). The bonds I have made with my colleagues are life-long! One may go 10-15 years before seeing someone again and you can pick up like little time has gone by. I love the people, I love becoming familiar with new cities and countries. I also love contemporary opera - the drama is just more realistic to me and I can relate to the drama and the characters more. I guess my voice just lends itself better to it and I love the new and different harmonies and exciting rhythms. Three of my favorite operas are Wozzeck, Elektra and The Turn of the Screw.

It's been a few years since you sang with us. What are some of your career highlights of your time since then?

Singing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Magda Sorel in The Consul with Washington Opera - being hired by Placido Domingo! Those two roles/women are so incredible in their own distinct ways. Their strength to survive and the ways they deal with what their lives have become! They are such amazing "character studies" of the human animal! Susannah is also like this. I got into the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists right after I did the role of Abigail in The Crucible with DMMO in 1989. Those were some of the best years of my life - the training, the friendships and Chicago! To watch Leonie Rysanek sing Klytamnestra in Elektra (I was the 4th Maid), the first time I heard Placido Domingo live a few feet from me - I cried it was so amazingly beautiful, the traveling and living in Germany, Vienna, England, singing the Third Maid in Elektra with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony. I still think of those moments with the same awe.

You're known as a terrific singer and actress - How do you prepare each role? How do you get into each character?

Something I used to do only now and again, but now often, I sing the entire role through only on the vowels; not the entire thing all the time, obviously, but often as a warm up, I'll sing parts of a role or songs that way. New roles are amazing that way, but old roles are always difficult to get over old habits. Susannah is particularly difficult technically for this reason and particularly challenging in an exciting way, character-wise. When a role fits perfectly, like "Kat'a Kabanova", I try to bring that perfect technical sensation to roles that don't feel as good, like I said, especially old roles. Acting wise: honesty. I start with what would be my sincere reaction, then I put myself into that person's shoes, live their life and history, what got them to that particular point and be in the moment. I can't always just "be me" as that would be boring. A character may be much calmer than I might be, their life experiences are different than mine, but I always try to make it my own. I allow myself to feel the different emotions and reactions both in the rehearsal period and in performances. The way I would handle and react to something now is different than how I would have 10 or 15 years ago, obviously, but I remember so clearly what it was like to be 18, of walking barefoot and the importance of a small community - what people thought of you - everyone knows you and that's important to you. But in Susannah's case, it's not always pleasant. To get so deep and often into such dark places as to make these characters be what and who they are, can get VERY intense and very draining!

Are there distinct preparation differences in performing a more contemporary American role as opposed to more stereotypical operatic characters?

Well, yes and no. I can relate to contemporary characters more obviously, especially American roles. The historical studies are still there. Vocally, I feel I can be more myself in contemporary opera. There isn't as much of the stigma of "this is the big aria" -- though the two in Susannah are quite well known, I can still keep them as part of the running story. They are not easy, technically, but they are so beautiful emotionally and musically. For me, it's much more interesting to be able to bring the character into the aria and not just be concentrating on vocal pyro-techniques. I am not a "park 'n bark" kind a singer. I sing better when I'm having fun! Contemporary roles, to me, are FUN! and I think the characters have the chance to be much more realistic. I like singing things more in the natural time they would be said, than taking ten minutes to sing two sentences.

Has being someone who grew up here in Iowa given you a unique perspective on the opera world?

I think it does. I had (and still do sometimes) a naiveté that I think helps me bring an honesty to my characters. I mentioned that time I cried upon hearing Placido Domingo sing eight feet from me: one old queen came up (I know you can't print that) and made some sarcastic remark about my crying but another guy came up and said, "Don't you ever lose that," and I thought, "Well, why would I"?! I can see now how people do, but how sad. I remember thinking how I'd wished I'd had a more Classical background, and that I had proper lessons other than guitar, grew up hearing the greats opera singers and instrumentalists; but I wouldn't change growing up on a farm and singing country for the WORLD! I never had that..... I don't want to say "bitterness" but the preconceived notions of what something has to sound like. I guess that's not just from growing up in Iowa, that is my personal background. I have the most honest parents with the most integrity of anyone I know. That to me is Iowa. I think growing up picking rock, walking beans, de-tasseling corn, bailing hay as a family, driving tractor, "helping" Mom and Dad (I probably wasn't as much help as I thought..), and milking cows as a kid really instilled a work ethic in me.

What is on your iPod right now (in addition to opera)?

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill (Irish fiddle and guitar), kd lang, U2, Allison Krauss and Union Station, ELO, Boston, Fleetwood Mac, Brandi Carlisle, The Cars, Pat Benetar, John Mellencamp, Maura O'Connell, Norah Jones, Cat Stevens, Abba, Steve Miller Band, lots of various Irish music (Dolores Kean, Altan, Solas, The Saw Doctors, Luka Bloom, Eileen Ivers, Altan, Iarla O'Lionaird, Brian Kennedy), yoga chants for meditation and exercise, soundtracks to Moulin Rouge and In the Name of the Father, David Gray, Bonnie Raitt, Dixie Chicks, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson!, Glenn Miller, Tony Bennett, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Mark Knopfler, The Chieftans "the Long Black Veil", Sting, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, and Bing Crosby.

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I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but never attended the opera there until I was an apprentice. I always sang in church but never thought of it much more than a natural ability that I enjoyed doing. I played sports through college, and allowed that as a priority. I began studying voice later in college, and received a Bachelors and Masters in Vocal Performance which led to some wonderful opera performance opportunities throughout the U.S. and Europe.

What do you love about opera?

The ability to portray a character different from myself and make that character have a life of its own and believable to the audience is truly what I love about opera. Singing the beautiful music is just an added benefit.

What is your favorite role? Jochanaan in Salome and Scarpia in Tosca

What would your dream role be? Wotan in the The Ring

What are some of your personal favorite career highlights?

Singing with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Sam Ramey, Renee Fleming, and being nominated for two Grammy's are just a few favorites...and there are many more to come.

How do you prepare each role?

Preparing a role is something I continue to strive to grasp a better, more exact, precise manner. I learn new things every production that aid in making me more of a singer-actor.

How do you get into each character?

I feel I can play several characters, and a highly developed, creative imagination helps. I also learn so much from the singers I work with in production to production.

How do you get ready for each performance? Do you have a ritual before going onstage?

I thank God before I step on the stage that He has given me a gift that I can use that reaches many different people, and is an absolute joy to do. I always speak to my daughter before a performance.

If there were one thing you could tell audience members, what would you want them to know?

Sit back...relax...enjoy the ride. For a few hours let your troubles go...and most of all, thank you for letting me entertain you!!!

What is on your iPod right now (in addition to opera)?

Everything!!! Not a big rap fan. But, it truly has a little bit of everything.

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Grades K-8: Sid The Serpent Who Wanted To Sing

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the OPERA Iowa program, the opera that started it all returns to the repertory! First presented here in 1987 and again in 1999, Sid The Serpent Who Wanted To Sing has led multiple generations of Iowa school children to the wonders of the art form. This wonderful opera for children, with its loveable title character, has been our most requested opera for young people. Sid The Serpent Who Wanted To Sing can be booked alone for school residencies or together with an evening performance of The Magic Flute for community audiences.

The Magic Flute (Evening Concert)

Mozart's delightful commentary on love, forgiveness, tolerance and the brotherhood of mankind has become one of the most beloved operas in all the repertory. Filled with star-studded queens, dragons, bird-catchers, heroes and heroines and noble priests, The Magic Flute is a spectacular potpourri of worldly and heavenly delights all set with sublime enchantment to some of Mozart's greatest music! One of our most popular shows, The Magic Flute returns to OPERA Iowa after a ten-year absence and is the perfect opera to delight and dazzle audiences of all ages.

School Performance: $575 (Additional school performances are $460 each)
Evening Performance: $1,525
School + Evening Performance: $1,800
Prices reflect in-state rates. Out-of-state rates are negotiated individually. School fees include student, teacher and promotional materials, workshops and performance. In addition to the booking fee, morning schools are asked to provide lunch for the ten-member troupe. Booking preference will be given to communities where a concert is scheduled in addition to a school performance.

For more information contact Des Moines Metro Opera: www.desmoinesmetroopera.org or (515) 961-6221.

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