4/9/2026
Come enjoy an evening of performance as ELC HS Chorus in collaboration with ELC Patrons of the Fine arts hosts the Des Moines Metro Opera. For this community performance, the troupe will be presenting a selection of opera and aria repertoire. The 2026 OPERA Iowa troupe is comprised of seven professional artists, including four singers, one music director and two technicians. The singers are selected from nationwide auditions held in New York City, Houston, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Des Moines. From over 1,000 applications, these artists were selected to join the OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe and then return for Des Moines Metro Opera’s Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist Program this summer.
The members of the 2026 OPERA Iowa troupe are: soprano Emily Finke of Hudson Valley, NY; tenor Spencer Greene of Chicago, IL; mezzo-soprano Anya Newsome Hill of Geneva, IL; and baritone William Raskin of Madison, WI. The music director and pianist is Alissa Cox of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; the technicians are Cameron Driggers of Hoboken, GA and Cole Bozung of Greenville, MI. Matthew J. Schulz from Waverly, IA provided stage direction for The Billy Goats Gruff and Cinderella.
