Des Moines Metro Opera

08/26/2026

Thank you to Oliver Camacho of Opera Box Score for this in-depth podcast chronicling a full weekend at our 2026 Festival! Oliver got the full DMMO experience, attending all three operas, the Prelude Talks, and our annual Stars of Tomorrow concert.

"Oops! All About Des Moines Metro Opera" features conversations with soprano Laura Wilde, who starred in the title role of TOSCA, our own Director of Artistic Administration Allen Perriello, and nine of our 2026 apprentice artists.

Listen to the full episode and relive Oliver's DMMO Festival weekend at the link below!

Take a Free Throw on the company's exceptional Apprentice Artist Program. Then, go Inside the Huddle with soprano Laura Wilde, the star of DMMO's Tosca.

08/24/2026

"Thank you for calling Des Moines Metro Opera. This is Carmen Cat. How may I help you?" 📞😸

We created a purr-fect new addition for our box office, and you can too! DMMO will have our own booth at the Des Moines Symphony Water Works Pops: Cinematic Magic - Family Festival and Concert on Sept. 6, where you can make your own opera puppet. The family festival opens at 4:00 pm and features a variety of fun activities.

Stick around, because the concert begins at 5:30 pm with music from classic family movies you'll know and love.

We hope to see you there!

08/21/2026

“One of the most thrilling evenings I’ve ever spent at the opera.… It seems to me little less than miraculous, given the material, that they made KING ROGER dramatically compelling—not just credible, but moving, edge-of-your-seat exciting; at least once in each act I had literal gooseflesh.”

Our sincere thanks to acclaimed novelist and essayist Garth Greenwell—author of "What Belongs to You", "Cleanness", and "Small Rain"—for joining us in Indianola this summer and for sharing such a thoughtful reflection on our KING ROGER in his substack, "To a Green Thought."

"As Roger sang his hymn to the sun, behind him an old theatrical technology worked its absolute, perfect magic. Very slowly, from the water-covered stage, a backdrop ascended, on it the brilliantly lit half circle of a rising sun. I will never forget it.”

Read the full article with the link below!

A daringly sexy and inventive King Roger at the Des Moines Metro Opera

08/20/2026

Experience cinematic magic! We’re joining the Des Moines Symphony on Sunday, September 6, for Water Works Pops: Cinematic Magic - Family Festival and Concert.

Make sure to visit the DMMO booth prior to the concert to create your own opera puppet! Festivities begin at 4:00 pm, with the concert starting at 5:30 pm.

We hope to see you there!

08/04/2026

The 2026 Summer Festival may be over, but the memories can last a lifetime!

Check out the Opera Boutique digital shop to get all your Des Moines Metro Opera merch. Including 2026 Season posters and mugs; only available while supplies last!

To shop the full Opera Boutique, visit bit.ly/OperaBoutique

07/30/2026

Applications are open for DMMO's 2027 Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program and OPERA Iowa touring troupe!

See our full list of audition deadlines and locations at www.desmoinesmetroopera.org/auditions/

📸 Photo by Cory Weaver

07/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2026 Festival Season!

To give our staff some well-deserved time off, the DMMO administrative office and Box Office will be closed on Friday, July 31, and each Friday in August: August 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Throughout August, the Box Office will be available Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm at (515) 209-3257. You may also order subscriptions or individual ticket reservations for the 2027 Festival Season anytime at https://desmoinesmetroopera.org/tickets/.

07/29/2026

We're thrilled to partner with Moines Metro Opera at this year's Water Works Pops: Cinematic Magic! Young music lovers can create their very own opera puppet and then put on a performance by having their puppet "sing along" to some of opera's greatest hits.

It's a fun, hands-on way to spark creativity, imagination, and a love of music before our free Cinematic Magic concert begins. Join us on Sunday, September 6 at Water Works Park for an afternoon of family-friendly activities, music, and unforgettable memories!

Family Festival: 4:00 PM
Water Works Pops Concert: 5:30 PM
Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park

07/24/2026

"There is simply no other company in the world that could have created such an intimate, overpowering Gesamtkunstwerk with such a fever pitch high level of artistry."

Thank you to James Sohre of Opera Today for this wonderful review of Szymanowski’s KING ROGER. We're thrilled so many people enjoyed this rarely performed Polish masterpiece.

Click the link below to read the full article!

Des Moines Metro Opera’s unsurpassingly ravishing production of Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger has joined the ranks of the finest performances I have ever experienced.

07/23/2026

"The capacity audience was obviously overjoyed that Tosca had made a blockbuster return to Des Moines Metro Opera, as evidenced by the roaring ovation that shook the rafters."

Another wonderfully written review from Opera Today's James Sohre. This new production of Puccini's TOSCA was one of our largest shows performed at the Blank Performing Arts Center, and Sohre expertly packaged all that grandeur into one well-thought-out article.

Click the link below to read the full review!

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca is a Top Ten favorite that hasn’t been seen at Des  Moines Metro Opera since 2009, so the company thought it was high time to give its public another look at this evergreen thriller.