Des Moines Metro Opera Opens 45th Anniversary Season with SOLDIER SONGS

Des Moines Metro Opera, in an historic partnership with the Iowa National Guard and Camp Dodge, will open its 45th Anniversary Season with a production of David T. Little's poignant and chilling one-act opera Soldier Songs in late January 2017. As part of Des Moines Metro Opera's 2nd Stages Series, an initiative committed to creating collaborative performances designed to engage audiences in creative spaces, Soldier Songs will be fully produced in the Freedom Center at Camp Dodge with performances on January 27 and 28 at 7:30pm and on January 29 at 2:00pm. Each performance will be immediately followed by a curated talk-back session featuring reflections from Iowa combat veterans. "We greatly appreciate the Des Moines Metro Opera exploring the deeply personal experiences of American servicemembers and bringing forward the unique emotional, physical, mental and spiritual issues engendered by combat operations," said Colonel Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer.

Created in 2006 by American composer David T. Little, Soldier Songs is a multimedia event that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused concert music and videography to explore the loss of innocence and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. The libretto is adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five different American wars, some of them Little's own family members. The opera centers on the abstract Soldier and follows his path through three different stages of his life: as a boy playing with his plastic soldiers and guns, heavily influenced by media images of heroes and war; as a young adult soldier, both thrilled and terrified by the grim reality of modern combat; and finally, as the older veteran returned home, struggling to confront his memories and consumed by grief when two marines come to tell him that his son has been killed in combat. The opera asks us to examine the real human costs of warfare and the part we all play as audience and media consumers in creating the culture of war and the emotionally-devastating cult of the real American hero. "Artistic performances have their greatest impact when they are offered in close partnership with the community," said Michael Egel, General and Artistic Director of Des Moines Metro Opera. "The opportunity to offer this important contemporary work on-site at Camp Dodge underscores the power of the work and the role that live performances can play in building understanding around critical issues."

Soldier Songs stars baritone Michael Mayes who made his Company debut in 2010 as Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro and was last seen in 2012 as the titular character in Don Giovanni. Des Moines Metro Opera Music Director and Principal Conductor David Neely will conduct the performance, which features an amplified seven-person orchestra. Soldier Songs will be directed by Kristine McIntyre who made her Company debut as the director of La Bohème in 2011 and most recently directed Manon in 2016. This production will be designed by Adam Crinson and will incorporate actual military transport vehicles supplied by Camp Dodge.

Tickets for Soldiers Songs are $40 and can be purchased online at desmoinesmetroopera.org/soldiersongs or by calling our box office at 515-961-6221. As with all 2nd Stages Series performances in alternative venues, seating capacity is limited. The opera will be performed in English. Photo IDs (a driver's license is an accepted form of identification) will be required for admittance to the Camp. The final preview rehearsal on January 26 will be offered as a free event to all Iowa veterans of combat. The composer, David T. Little, will be featured in a to-be-announced special event and will also be attending the opening night performance.

Soldier Songs contains strong language, simulated gunshots, explosions and other combat-related sounds. Events related to Soldiers Songs received funding from OPERA America's Opera Fund.