The original grand dames of Des Moines culture

Des Moines Metro Opera’s season opens the last weekend of June with sell-outs now the rule.

One hundred years ago, Elsa Neumann, Gertrude Shloss and Elizabeth Cowles — the original grand dames of Des Moines culture — created Civic Music Association of Des Moines (CMADM) and were determined to convince the world’s best musicians to perform in the city. By sheer force of their personalities, and invitations to lodge with them while here, they put Des Moines on high culture’s global map. 

That was 12 years before we had a symphony orchestra and 48 years before we had an opera. Those magnificent ladies recruited the greatest musicians. Sergei Rachmaninoff, Marian Anderson, Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, Van Cliburn, Itzhak Perlman and George Shearing found their way here because of them and their successors. 

Many of them returned multiple times. So did the Russian Don Cossack Choir, the Vienna Boys Choir and the Boys Choir of Harlem. The entire original London cast of “Beggar’s Opera” played Des Moines. The Chicago Symphony came regularly during the time when they were considered the best orchestra in the world. Czech and Hungarian music organizations were particularly patronized by the group during their dark years of Communist suppression. 

Few organizations ever get a chance to celebrate a centennial. CMADM is doing so with most appropriate flair. Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, most arguably the best cellist and pianist in the world, have signed up. So have jazz greats Bria Skonberg Quintet, Fred Hersh Trio, and New York Voices. Season tickets are $72-$264, ridiculously good deals to see these stars in the intimacy of Sheslow Auditorium, Valley High School’s auditorium (Voices only) and Des Moines Civic Center (Ma only). 

Des Moines Symphony (DMS) concluded its season in May with a romping rendition of “The Pines of Rome” with big brass playing from all corners of the Civic Center. DMS announced next season’s schedule, which headlines Tchaikovsky’s “Fifth,” Dvořák’s “Sixth,” Arnold’s “Four Scottish Dances,” Beethoven’s “Eroica,” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Mozart’s “Prague Symphony,” Smetana’s “The Moldau,” Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” Richard Strauss’ “Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare” and “Alpine Symphony” featuring 34 brass instruments and promising a season ending like 2025’s with all horns blasting.  

Des Moines Community Playhouse announced its 107th year of live theatre will include “Bright Star,” a new musical about finding love once lost with music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, “New Bohemians,” Disney’s “Frozen,” Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” George Gershwin’s “Crazy for You,” the backstage farce “Noises Off” and “Legally Blonde.”

Their Kate Goldman Family Series’ 31st season will include “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” “Red Riding Hood,” the new musical “The Lightning Thief,” “Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical,” and “Finding Nemo Jr.” In addition, The Playhouse’s radio troupe, Final Act Ensemble, will present two shows at the theatre and Adventure Clubhouse, an introductory theatre series for youths ages 4-6 with monthly performances during the school year.

June touts 

Des Moines Art Center continues its years’ long promotion of Caribbean art with “Firelei Báez” debuting on June 14. The 44-year-old artist is half Dominican and half Haitian and embodies the folk art of both cultures. This show has played Wolfsburg and Boston to strong reviews. Báez works within monumentally scaled spaces for the unheard voices of the past and present. It adds up to a most exciting payoff for DMAC’s speculative Caribbean investment.  

Tallgrass Theater Company brings Cole Porter’s classic “Anything Goes” to the stage June 13-15. 

Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2025 Festival Season begins the final weekend of June with the return of Richard Wagner’s doomed “The Flying Dutchman,” Leoš Janáček’s charming “The Cunning Little Vixen” and Igor Stravinsky and W. H. Auden’s buffoonish “The Rake’s Progress.” Jonas Hacker, a Wisconsin-born tenor who lives in Norway and specializes in dream-come-true magical roles (like Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte” and Alfredo in “La Traviata”) sings the rake. Englishman Sam Carl and New York born soprano Joélle Harvey reprise roles they have performed with larger companies in the romp.