Name: Opera Gala 2026
Start: 2026-06-06T17:30:00
Location: City of Des Moines City Hall

Des Moines Metro Opera

Returning to our stage for the first time in 17 years, Tosca features Puccini’s most memorable melodies and romantic orchestrations. The opera diva Floria Tosca steadfastly lives for art and love. However, when the corrupt Scarpia discovers Tosca’s lover, Cavaradossi, aided the escape of a political prisoner, her world comes down to one final, fatal question: how far will she go to protect the man she loves?

Tosca

Simpson College

Steinbeck’s timeless novella Of Mice and Men becomes a superbly crafted opera of great beauty and power. George and Lennie are two migrant ranch workers who 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.

Of Mice and Men

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.

King Roger

Discover opera’s rising stars at one unforgettable concert! The members of our Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program take the stage for one night only to perform opera’s greatest duets, trios and ensembles alongside our acclaimed Festival Orchestra.

Stars of Tomorrow 2026

Drake University

Des Moines Metro Opera invites you to experience an evening of breathtaking music, glamour and celebration at the 2026 Opera Gala.