Des Moines, IA—Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO)’s Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director, Michael Egel, has announced the repertory for the company’s 2027 Festival Season. The season runs July 2 through July 25 and features a new production of Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, a new production and company premiere of Philip Glass’s Orphée, and the revival of the company’s acclaimed 2017 production of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd.

 

“Our primary goal in curating a festival season is to create unexpected connections between works that span different centuries and musical languages,” said Egel. “Our 2027 season invites audiences to step into three extraordinary musical and theatrical worlds where imagination, beauty, and innocence intersect with the realities of the human experience. From the fantastic imaginings of The Tales of Hoffmann to the moral courage of Billy Budd and the dreamlike journey of Philip Glass's Orphée, these three masterworks explore the timeless search for truth, identity, and transcendence. Together they reveal the enduring power of art to illuminate the deepest hopes, struggles, and mysteries of the human spirit while continuing Des Moines Metro Opera's tradition of adventurous repertory presented at the highest artistic level.”

 

THE TALES OF HOFFMANN 
Music by Jacques Offenbach 

Libretto by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann 
Premiered: February 10, 1881, at the Opéra-Comique, Paris 

Seven performances: July 2, 4, 9, 14, 17, 22, and 25 

Sung in French with projected English translations 

Previous DMMO productions: 1977, 1989, 2005 

 

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM 

Hoffmann: Oreste Cosimo 
The Heroines: Lydia Katarina 

The Villains: Barnaby Rea  

Conductor: David Neely 

Director: Chas Rader-Shieber 

Chorus Director: Lisa Hasson 

 

Step into a world where romance and imagination collide in Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann—a dazzling masterpiece filled with famous melodies, unforgettable characters, and spellbinding fantasy. Inspired by the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann, this enchanting opera follows its poet-hero through three love stories, each more magical and captivating than the last. From sparkling choruses and lively drinking songs to soaring lyrical passages, Offenbach’s irresistible score brings to life mechanical dolls, doomed lovers, diabolical villains, and the transformative power of artistic inspiration. In a new production by Chas Rader-Shieber, humor, passion, and wonder intertwine in one of opera’s most imaginative and beloved works.

ORPHÉE 
Music by Philip Glass 
Libretto by the composer based on the film by Jean Cocteau 
Premiered: March 14, 1993, at the American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA 

Five performances: July 3, 11, 16, 21, 24 

Sung in French with projected English translations 

Company premiere 

 

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM 

Orphée: Edward Nelson 

The Princess: Brenda Rae 

Conductor: Christopher Allen 

Director: Kristine McIntyre 

Visual Composer: Oyoram

 

Philip Glass’s Orphée transforms Jean Cocteau’s celebrated reimagining of the Orpheus myth into a luminous meditation on art, love, and mortality. The poet Orphée, disillusioned by fame and estranged from those closest to him, is drawn into an enigmatic realm where the boundaries between life and death begin to dissolve. As he encounters a young poet, a mysterious Princess, and the ghostly forces that shape his destiny, Orphée embarks on a journey of self-discovery and artistic renewal. Set to Glass’s hypnotic score, Orphée is a haunting exploration of creativity, transcendence, and the enduring search for meaning. This striking new production once again showcases the artistry and imagination of visual composer Oyoram (Bluebeard’s Castle, 2023; The Cunning Little Vixen, 2025).

BILLY BUDD 
Music by Benjamin Britten 
Libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier 

Based on the novella by Herman Melville 

Premiered: December 1, 1951, at the Royal Opera House, London 

Five performances: July 10, 15, 18, 20, 23 

Sung in English with projected English text 

Previous DMMO production: 2017 

 

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM 

Billy Budd: Ian Rucker 

Edward Fairfax Vere: Brandon Jovanovich 

John Claggart: Thomas Faulkner 

Conductor: David Neely 

Director: Kristine McIntyre 

Chorus Director: Lisa Hasson

 

Charismatic, good-hearted, and beloved by his fellow sailors, Billy Budd is pressed into service aboard a British warship during the Napoleonic Wars. His innocence and integrity inspire the crew, but also awaken jealousy and obsession in those around him. Based on Herman Melville’s classic novella, Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd is a gripping drama that explores the moral grey zones between innocence and corruption, justice and mercy, duty and conscience. At its center stands Captain Vere, forced to make an impossible choice that will alter the lives of everyone aboard his ship. Featuring one of opera’s most powerful scores, this searing tale of morality and fate returns to Des Moines Metro Opera in Kristine McIntyre’s acclaimed production ten years after its celebrated premiere.

About Des Moines Metro Opera 
Lauded by The New York Times in 2025 as “one of the country’s most ambitious and successful smaller companies,” Des Moines Metro Opera is a professional opera company located in the heart of Iowa that has taken its place among America’s leading opera festivals. Founded in 1973, DMMO is one of the largest performing arts organizations in the region, presenting over 100 performances across Iowa every year. Learn more about Des Moines Metro Opera.

 

The 2026 Festival Season runs June 26–July 19 and includes the return of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, a centennial celebration of composer Carlisle Floyd with Of Mice and Men, and a company premiere of Karol Szymanowski’s rarely performed Polish masterpiece, King Roger. 

 

The 2027 Festival Season, running July 2–25, features a new production of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, a new production and company premiere of Philip Glass’s Orphée, and a revival of the company’s 2017 production of Britten’s Billy Budd.