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DMMO, Dale Chihuly and More for May IAS

May is flowering with a bountiful array of arts events around the state! This month’s Iowa Arts Showcase features:

•         Michael Egel, General and Artistic Director of the Des Moines Metro Opera, filling us in on their 45th festival season

•         Gail Naughton, President and CEO of the National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, and Stephanie Kohn, Museum Curator, delving into the glass artist Dale Chihuly’s exhibit currently on display at the museum

•         Head Professor of English and Literature at UNI, Jeffrey Copeland, speaking on his documentary film about the civil rights case of Shelley vs. Kraemer

•         Kim Findlay, Executive Director of the Putnam Museum in Davenport, celebrating the museum’s 150th Anniversary

Michael Egel, General and Artistic Director of the Des Moines Metro Opera, fills us in on their 45th festival season. Their summer festival, running June 23rd – July 16th, 2017, features Puccini’s Turandot, Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, and Britten’s Billy Budd. Turandot was Puccini’s final opera, and is an epic fairy tale set in China where the beautiful Princess Turandot reigns with an icy heart, and makes her suitors face impossible challenges to win her hand. Sondheim’s Night Music is the winner of six Tony awards including Best Musical. Britten’s Billy Budd is based on the novel by Herman Melville and tells the story of the persecution of a young sailor by a predatory master-at-arms.

President and CEO of the National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Gail Naughton, and Stephanie Kohn, Museum Curator, dive into the museum’s exciting exhibit featuring glass works by artist Dale Chihuly. They speak on Chihuly’s background and works. The exhibit runs now through October 1st, and features more than 70 of Chihuly’s unique glass sculptures.

Head of the English and Literature departments at UNI, Dr. Jeffrey Copeland, shares details about his film featuring the civil rights case of Shelley vs. Kraemer. Copeland was contacted by the Missouri History Museum to create a documentary about the landmark civil rights ruling by the Supreme Court. He collaborated with UNI students, faculty, administrators, and locals to produce the final product entitled “The Story of ‘”Shelley vs. Kraemer’”, playing now at the Missouri History Museum after premieres at UNI and in Missouri.

The Putnam Museum in Davenport is celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Kim Findlay, Executive Director, talks about museum history as well as special events happening in May. Putnam provides immersive, hands-on learning experiences to 150,000 visitors annually, including 35,000 schoolchildren each year. Currently on exhibit is “The Magical History Tour: A Beatles Exhibition” featuring four unique galleries all about the Beatles’ beginnings, life on the road, studio work, and their break-up. The museum is also showing “A Hard Day’s Night,” a rock n’ roll comedy film about the beginnings of the Beatles.

Jacqueline Halbloom is a Sr. Music Producer and Classical Music Host