In Remembrance

With heavy hearts, Des Moines Metro Opera shares the loss of our beloved Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Robert L. Larsen. He passed away peacefully in Indianola on Sunday, March 21, 2021. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and former students at this time of immense sorrow.

Visionary conductor and stage director Robert Larsen was born in Walnut, Iowa, in 1934. Against the backdrop of that rural Iowa community, he developed an unlikely interest in opera. Early in his career, he declined an offer from the Metropolitan Opera in order to remain in his home state to share his love for music and theatre with his fellow Iowans. Dr. Larsen believed that quality performances of great music should not exist exclusively in America’s largest cities, but could belong to everyone. With that in mind, in March of 1973 and with little time to spare, he selected opera titles, hired singers, formed a board of directors and raised $22,000 to launch Des Moines Metro Opera just a few months later on June 22, 1973. That first season, professional singers worked alongside his students to create something out of nothing via sheer determination and loyalty to their beloved leader.  Larsen served as Conductor and Stage Director for every one of the nearly 120 productions for the Company’s first 38 seasons – an unparalleled accomplishment in American music. He worked and collaborated with more than a thousand singers, orchestra musicians, designers, technicians, and he motivated colleagues to reach the peak of their own capabilities. Today as the company he founded approaches its 50th Anniversary Season, he remained immensely proud of its next generation and the Company's continued success following his retirement in 2009.

His love of Iowa and great music was boundless. Nothing delighted him more than great singing and marvelous young voices. His passion for music-making inspired all those who had the opportunity to work alongside him including artists, colleagues, students and members of the community. He instilled in them the same awe and wonder that surrounded his earliest memories of music and the joys of his life. The strength of his vision to bring quality opera performances to Iowa brought thousands of people to this magnificent art form, forever changing the lives of so many. He will live on in our hearts forever.

Read Dr. Larsen's Obituary

Memorial Services
Visitations will be held on Friday, March 26, from 3-8pm at the Overton Funeral Home in Indianola and on Saturday, March 27, from 9:00-10:30am at the First Presbyterian Church in Walnut, IA. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, no public graveside service is planned. When it is safe to do so, Des Moines Metro Opera will host a Memorial Concert to celebrate this extraordinary life. Further details will be available at a later date.

Memorial
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Robert L. Larsen Scenic Fund at the Des Moines Metro Opera Foundation, which provides annual funding to support the design and construction of new scenery and original productions each season.

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I worked on the repetiteur staff at DMMO for 6 seasons and was a Director of Opera Iowa. I am grateful and happy to have been associated with Dr. Larsen's fine company. He was an excellent musician. May he rest in peace.
– John McCauley
Bryan Stanley's Testimonial
America has lost one of its musical titans. I feel privileged to have experienced music-making, as a student and colleague, and life itself with this man who was so giving of his time and talents–an example to us all to follow in our own way. He was a true original, an artistic bastion for our times–but ultimately, he was not of this century. Rather, he was timeless whose roots, when uncovered from the soils of a Western Iowa upbringing and traced, take us back to the charms of early twentieth-century France, then to the musico-dramatic genius of Mozart’s score autographs...
– Bryan Stanley
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I am sad and sorry to hear of the passing of Dr. Robert Larsen. As Assistant Concertmaster of the DMMO orchestra for many years, I knew him well. He was a towering figure in the world of opera, expert in everything from Mozart to Verdi to Stravinsky, a remarkable pianist and teacher. His tireless work ethic was legendary. Eighteen hour days studying scores, rehearsing, conducting, were not unusual for him. And yet he found time to support all of us in the pit, attending chamber music concerts and taking an interest in our careers as instrumentalists. He was generous and...
– Debra Akerlund
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Dr. Larsen was a giant among men. I spent 2 wonderful years with DMMO and Opera Iowa when it was just starting up and I was just beginning my career in opera. He was such an inspiring passionate man who lit the opera passions within me. I also loved it when he laughed at a joke. We will never forget you.
– Robin Jensen
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