For Immediate Release: 26 June 2025
Noah Lucy | nlucy@dmmo.org | (515) 200-5385
Des Moines, IA—Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO)’s Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director, Michael Egel, has announced the complete repertory and preliminary casting for the company’s 2026 Festival Season. The season runs June 26 through July 19 and features the return of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, a new production of Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men and a company premiere and new production of Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger.
“The 2026 Festival Season presents a wide-ranging repertory that continues our commitment to present operas new to our company while carving out a niche as champions of major pieces from the first half of the 20th century that are often well known, but not-yet-core standard works,” said Egel. “The season begins with a Puccini classic not seen here since 2009. We mark the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Polish composer Szymanowski’s King Roger in a new production. Then we join the music world in honoring the centennial of Carlisle Floyd with one of his greatest works. Traversing wide-ranging musical and artistic ground, the 2026 season provides audiences a far-reaching story-telling experience with something for everyone.”
2026 Festival Season Information
All three productions will be presented in rotating repertory in the intimate 467-seat Pote Theatre at the Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola, Iowa. Each opera features English supertitles projected above the stage. The Des Moines Metro Opera Festival Orchestra, made up of professional musicians from across the country, will perform for all three productions.
Subscription packages and early-bird individual ticket reservations are available now. Select-yourown subscriptions and individual tickets go on sale November 20 at 10am (CT). Full production and ticket information is available by visiting www.desmoinesmetroopera.org/2026 or by calling Des Moines Metro Opera's box office at (515) 209-3257.
Additional production information:
TOSCA
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Premiered: January 14, 1900, at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Seven performances: June 26, 28, July 3, 8, 11, 16, and 19
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
Previous DMMO productions: 1981, 1998 and 2009
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Floria Tosca: Laura Wilde
Mario Cavardossi: Brian Michael Moore
Baron Scarpia: Norman Garrett
Conductor: David Neely
Director: Joshua Borths
Chorus Director: Lisa Hasson
The year is 1800, and Rome is caught in the middle of a war between Napoleonic France and the Austrian Empire. Above the chaos, the opera diva Floria Tosca steadfastly lives for art and love. However, she too is pulled into the fray when the corrupt Baron Scarpia discovers Tosca’s lover, Cavaradossi, aided the escape of a political prisoner. In this epic battle of wills, Tosca’s world comes down to one final, fatal question: how far will she go to protect the people she loves? Returning to our stage for the first time in 17 years, Tosca is one of the world’s most beloved operas featuring Puccini’s most memorable melodies and romantic orchestrations. Star soprano Laura Wilde returns to take on the title role, rapidly rising tenor Brian Michael Moore makes his company debut as Mario Cavardossi after several recent successes in Europe, and baritone Norman Garrett, last seen as Jochanaan in Salome in 2024, returns as Baron Scarpia. Maestro David Neely conducts the first Tosca of his career, and Joshua Borths returns to direct.
OF MICE AND MEN
Music and libretto by Carlisle Floyd
Premiered: January 22, 1970, at the Seattle Opera
Five performances: June 27, July 5, 10, 15, and 18
Sung in English with projected English text
Previous DMMO production: 1985
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Lennie Small: John Findon
George Milton: John Moore
Conductor: Christopher James Ray
Director: Kristine McIntyre
Scenic and Projections Designer: Luke Cantarella
Costume Designer: Kara Harmon
Lighting Designer: Kate Ashton
Chorus Director: Lisa Hasson
Of Mice and Men is a Co-Production of Des Moines Metro Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Florida State University, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
John Steinbeck’s great American novella Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two migrant ranch workers, George and Lennie. They hustle for work when they can, living hand-to-mouth, and dream of owning an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. But George cannot guard Lennie—a childlike giant of a man with a love for soft things—from the bullying of the ranch boss and his flirtatious yet unhappy young wife. Steinbeck’s timeless story—in the hands of the Dean of American Opera, Carlisle Floyd—becomes a superbly crafted opera of great beauty and power. Celebrating the centennial year of one of American opera’s most important composers, this new co-production features the company debut of John Findon as Lennie, the return of Iowa baritone John Moore as George, Artistic Partner Kristine McIntyre as stage director, and the debut of conductor and leading Floyd interpreter, Christopher James Ray.
KING ROGER
Music by Karol Szymanowski
Libretto by Karol Szymanowski and Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz
Premiered: June 19, 1926, at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera
Five performances: July 4, 9, 12, 14 and 17
Sung in Polish with projected English translations
Company premiere
When an enigmatic Shepherd from the East arrives at the Christian court of King Roger, his presence disrupts the court’s established values and view of the world. Do his teachings bring goodness and joy—or destruction and chaos? King Roger himself grapples with questions of self-knowledge, spirituality and his very identity as a monarch and a man. Though this masterwork by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski premiered in Warsaw in 1926, the magnetic appeal of its glorious and sensual music and challenging philosophies is still winning new admirers around the world. Des Moines Metro Opera’s new production marks the 100 th anniversary of the work’s premiere and will be led by Music Director and Principal Conductor David Neely with Artistic Partner and Stage Director Chas Rader-Shieber. Baritone Alexander Birch Elliott returns for a role debut as the titular king after his triumph in The Barber of Seville in 2024. Tenor Christopher Sokolowski, last seen as the Prince in The Love for Three Oranges in 2023, returns as the Shepherd. Soprano Lydia Grindatto, a 2023 Grand Prize winner in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition makes her company debut as King Roger’s wife, Roxana.
About Des Moines Metro Opera
Lauded by The New Yorker as “one of America’s boldest smaller companies,” Des Moines Metro Opera is a progressive opera company located in the heart of Iowa that has taken its place among America’s leading opera festivals. Founded in 1973, it’s one of the largest performing arts organizations in Iowa, annually producing over 100 performances in the metro area and across the region.
Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2025 Festival Season, running June 27 – July 20 and includes the long-awaited return of Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, a new production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and a new production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.
The 2026 Festival Season runs June 26 – July 19 and includes the return of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, a new production of Floyd’s Of Mice and Men and a company premiere of Szymanowski’s King Roger.
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