Des Moines Metro Opera

Des Moines Metro Opera Festival 2026 runs June 26–July 19 All productions, regardless of language, are performed with English supertitles above the stage.
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“Des Moines has become one of the country’s most ambitious and successful smaller companies.” — The New York Times

Experience world-class opera in a theatre that brings you within arm’s reach of the action on stage. 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 per

formances in the metro area and around the region. 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 467-seat Pote Theater at the Blank Center for the Performing Arts in Indianola, Iowa.

🐐 Opera + adventure + picnic lunch = the perfect family outing!Join Des Moines Metro Opera for Picnic & Puccini Family O...
05/29/2026

🐐 Opera + adventure + picnic lunch = the perfect family outing!

Join Des Moines Metro Opera for Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure!, a fun-filled morning designed especially for children and families. The experience begins with THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, an enchanting children's opera with a strong anti-bullying message, followed by a sack lunch and an interactive backstage tour.

It’s a magical introduction to live theater for audiences of all ages!

Where: Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola
When: June 5 & 6 at 10am
Tickets: $15

Learn more at bit.ly/DMMOPicnic

Day by day, our festival artists keep multiplying. Production staff, apprentice artists, interns and music/directing sta...
05/29/2026

Day by day, our festival artists keep multiplying. Production staff, apprentice artists, interns and music/directing staff are now in residence. Over the next couple of weeks, principal artists and orchestra musicians arrive, bringing our total staff for the summer to over 275.

We hope you'll join us in Indianola this summer to see the three operas we're preparing for the 2026 Festival Season: Puccini's TOSCA, Floyd's OF MICE AND MEN, and the company premiere of Szymanowski's KING ROGER.

Ticket sales continue to defy expectations. Eight performances are already sold out and several more have only a few seats remaining. Secure your seats for the 2026 Festival Season soon before they’re gone!

See you at the opera this summer! Explore the 2026 Festival → bit.ly/DMMO2026

Join Des Moines Metro Opera and Des Moines Film this Saturday for the final Met Live in HD screening EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE ...
05/28/2026

Join Des Moines Metro Opera and Des Moines Film this Saturday for the final Met Live in HD screening EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO 🍿🎵

American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Fashioned as a reversal of the Orpheus and Euridice myth, the famously feuding pair briefly relive their tumultuous love, embracing both the passion and the pain before bidding the land of the living a final farewell.

Met LIVE in HD: EL ÚLTIMO SUEÑO DE FRIDA Y DIEGO
Saturday, May 30 | Noon (CT)
The Varsity Cinema
1207 25th St, Des Moines, IA
Get your tickets today: bit.ly/MetLiveElÚltimoSueño

Join us this Saturday, May 30 at 3:30pm for the 2026 Opera Previews: TOSCA!Hosted by the Des Moines Public Library, Stag...
05/27/2026

Join us this Saturday, May 30 at 3:30pm for the 2026 Opera Previews: TOSCA!

Hosted by the Des Moines Public Library, Stage Director, Joshua Borths will give audiences a look into the creative processes and themes of this cinematic production.

In ONE MONTH, the 2026 Festival Season begins!Join us in Iowa this summer as Puccini's TOSCA returns to DMMO's stage aft...
05/26/2026

In ONE MONTH, the 2026 Festival Season begins!

Join us in Iowa this summer as Puccini's TOSCA returns to DMMO's stage after 17 years, alongside Carlisle Floyd's OF MICE AND MEN and the company premiere of Szymanowski's KING ROGER.

The 2026 Festival runs June 26 through July 19. Nearly half of the performances are already sold-out, so secure your seats soon before they’re gone!

Explore at bit.ly/DMMO2026

📸: Ben Easter Photography | Kim Dragelevich

Experience the magic of live theatre at the Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure!Join us Friday, June 5 or Saturday, ...
05/26/2026

Experience the magic of live theatre at the Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure!

Join us Friday, June 5 or Saturday, June 6 at 10:00am for a special performance of THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, a delightful children’s opera performed by our professional artists. Featuring an uplifting anti-bullying message and music by Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti, this charming production is the perfect introduction to opera for audiences of all ages.

Following the performance, families will enjoy a sack lunch and an interactive behind-the-scenes tour of the Blank Performing Arts Center, including visits to the costume shop, hair & make-up department, and even the orchestra pit!

Tickets are $15 per person ($12 per person for groups of 10+). Reserve your spot → bit.ly/DMMOPicnic

Say hello to the nearly 100 production team members who comprise the extraordinary teams behind DMMO’s 2026 Production D...
05/26/2026

Say hello to the nearly 100 production team members who comprise the extraordinary teams behind DMMO’s 2026 Production Department and Internship programs!

With their arrival, work has now begun to set the stage and bring the world-class designs for the 2026 Festival Season to life.

Welcome to Iowa!

For nine weeks this spring, Des Moines Metro Opera’s OPERA Iowa troupe traveled over 4,800 miles across Iowa and Illinoi...
05/22/2026

For nine weeks this spring, Des Moines Metro Opera’s OPERA Iowa troupe traveled over 4,800 miles across Iowa and Illinois to bring live opera and music education experiences to more than 20,000 students! This important work is only possible thanks to partners like the Principal Charity Classic and its Birdies for Charity program, which provides crucial matching funds for Iowa children's charities.

If you’d like a chance to see the impact of this support in action, join us for OPERA Iowa's Picnic & Puccini Family Opera Adventure on Friday, June 5 at 10am and Saturday, June 6 at 10am! The morning begins with a performance of THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, followed by a picnic lunch and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Blank Performing Arts Center. It’s the perfect outing for families! Learn more at desmoinesmetroopera.org/picnic/.

What do OPERA Iowa and golf have in common? Both have a long DRIVE!For 40 years, Des Moines Metro Opera's OPERA Iowa tro...
05/21/2026

What do OPERA Iowa and golf have in common? Both have a long DRIVE!

For 40 years, Des Moines Metro Opera's OPERA Iowa troupe has created magic in schools and communities across the state and around the region. This year alone, the troupe traveled 4,802 miles in nine weeks and presented 79 opera performances, eight masterclasses, and nearly 100 classroom workshops! Bringing professional opera and music education experiences to more than 25,000 students every spring would not be possible without support from the Birdies for Charity program through the Principal Charity Classic, which provides matching support for Iowa children's charities. Since 2007, the Principal Charity Classic has raised more than $73 million for Iowa youth and DMMO is proud to be among the participating nonprofit organizations!

Join us in welcoming the newest member of the Des Moines Metro Opera team: Institutional Giving Manager, Anna Blader!Ann...
05/18/2026

Join us in welcoming the newest member of the Des Moines Metro Opera team: Institutional Giving Manager, Anna Blader!

Anna grew up in a musical family, fostering an early passion for the arts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music business with a minor in general business from Drake University. Under the mentorship of her voice professor, she discovered a new appreciation for opera and its community. During her last two years of college, she worked with the Civic Music Association, where she refined her professional development skills. Anna is excited to step into this new role at DMMO and looks forward to contributing to the engagement and support of opera in central Iowa.

Welcome to Des Moines Metro Opera, Anna!

05/16/2026

We're thrilled to share this fascinating and wide-ranging interview about our new production of Szymanowski's KING ROGER!

Recorded following DMMO’s April event at the Polish Consulate in Chicago, the interview features General and Artistic Director Michael Egel, soprano Lydia Katarina, and Łukasz Dudka of Chicago's Dziennik Związkowy (Polish Daily News). The conversation explores Szymanowski’s entrancing music, the opera’s rich symbolism, why DMMO chose to program KING ROGER, and how this new production will come to life on DMMO’s intimate stage this summer.

Thank you to Łukasz Dudka and the Polish Daily News for helping introduce audiences to one of opera’s most mesmerizing and seldom-heard works!

KING ROGER runs July 4–17 → bit.ly/krolroger

Address

106 W Boston Avenue
Indianola, IA
50125

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 4:30pm
Thursday 10am - 4:30pm
Friday 10am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+15159616221

Website

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