Des Moines Metro Opera's OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe to perform at Waukon Jr. High March 12

OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe, a program of Des Moines Metro Opera, Inc., has taken to the road for its 2014 tour and will be performing at the Waukon Junior High School next week for Kindergarten through fourth grade students. The group will perform John Davies’ "The Three Little Pigs," a telling of the classic fairy tale through the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a reduced version of Gaetano Donizetti’s romantic comedy "The Elixir of Love".
OPERA Iowa will visit nearly 70 schools and communities, giving 80 or more performances for approximately 24,000 school-aged children starting February 3 and extending through April 18. The troupe will perform at the Waukon Junior High School Wednesday, March 12 at 2 p.m.

"One part of the Allamakee Music Boosters' mission is to increase student and public appreciation for music," said Sarah Holmes, elementary music instructor in the Allamakee Community School District and Music Boosters member. "Each year, we aim to bring at least one outside musical group to Waukon for our students to enjoy. In addition to the performance of "The Three Little Pigs," the group also offers three simultaneous workshops to work with smaller groups of kids prior to the start of the show. These workshops will teach students about Opera, designing and directing a performance, and exploring other musical styles. OPERA Iowa has visited Waukon in the past and we are so excited to have them back in a few weeks!"
The number of children served and the statewide span of its efforts make the OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe Iowa’s largest and most comprehensive effort in music education. The school performances are presented in conjunction with interactive and engaging workshops that meet the National Standards for Arts in Education guidelines.
For the 28th annual tour, OPERA Iowa will present John Davies’ perfect introduction to the music of Mozart, "The Three Little Pigs," for elementary and middle school performances. This operatic version of the childhood favorite tells the tale of two sassy pigs and their older and wiser sister. "The Three Little Pigs" lasts 40 minutes.
OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe members are handpicked from nationwide auditions of more than 800 singers to share their love of opera with audiences of all ages.

Des Moines Metro Opera, founded in 1973, is an independent, non-profit, professional opera company dedicated to bringing world-class opera productions and vital performing arts education to central Iowa. In addition to providing mainstage productions, Des Moines Metro Opera is responsible for OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe, which brings opera to classrooms across Iowa and to nearly 24,000 students, OPERAtion Opera Community Outreach Program, which works with more than 30 human service agencies to provide opera to underserved and at-risk audiences, the Apprentice Artist Program, one of the largest singer-training programs in the country, and two new programs: The Design and Production Internship Program, a training program for students within the theater arts who wish to expand experience and gain the skills necessary for a successful professional career; and Raising Voices -  Rising Stars program which gives high school musicians the opportunity to explore career opportunities from the rare vantage point within a professional opera company.
More information is available at www.desmoinesmetroopera.org.