Washington to host ‘Cinderella’ by OPERA Iowa

A group of performers from the Des Moines Metro Opera will soon be creating magic for Washington's schoolchildren—and the community as a whole.

The next offering on the Washington Performing Arts Series calendar is Joshua Borth's adaptation of Rossini's Cinderella presented by OPERA Iowa, Des Moines Metro Opera’s educational touring troupe. In a new reworking of the classic fairytale, Cinderella overcomes her circumstances and transforms into the person she was always meant to be. . .which is who she was all along!

Featuring new twists, this timeless tale of kindness, love, and self-realization is sure to enchant young—and young-at-heart—audiences of all ages. With hilarious characters and set to some of Rossini's finest music (and sung in English), it becomes comic opera at its most exhilarating best!

The performance will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, at the Washington Area Performing Arts and Events Center at the Washington High School. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for college students; all young people grades twelve and under will be admitted free of charge! Tickets may be purchased online at washingtonauditorium.org or at the door.

The evening performance will follow a half-day's worth of activities at Lincoln Upper Elementary School—two classroom workshops for small groups, then a performance for a large audience. Over the past thirty-nine years, the OPERA Iowa Educational Touring Troupe has performed in rural schools, city classrooms, cafetoriums, community centers, concert halls and gymnasiums in states throughout the region and even in Japan and China, spreading the joy of opera to more than one million students and adults.

Their work provides a quality arts experience today while building new enthusiastic opera audiences for tomorrow. This year, they will be featuring John Davies’ The Billy Goats Gruff, a completely different show from the evening performance. In keeping with OPERA Iowa’s mission to educate as well as to entertain, this piece teaches valuable lessons about the consequences of bullying. On the way home from school, three little billy goats encounter a steep bridge, a mean troll and a sticky situation that they must try to solve—and all set to some of the greatest classical music by three very famous Opera composers: Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti!

As the state's largest and most-expansive program in arts education—and one of the most innovative programs of its kind—Des Moines Metro Opera's award-winning, regional arts education program features comprehensive study guides, curriculum-based workshops, as well as professional musical performances designed specifically for young people and families.

The seven-member OPERA Iowa Troupe features young professionals from across the country who are committed to inspiring their audiences through exceptional theatrical experiences of the highest quality.

OPERA Iowa is an Education Division program of Des Moines Metro Opera, which is located in Indianola, Iowa, just south of Des Moines. Des Moines Metro Opera will be celebrating its 53rd Festival Season, featuring Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress during its Summer Festival which will run from June 27 through July 20, 2025.

The Washington Performing Arts Series will end with "An Evening of Improvisational Theater" on Saturday, April 26. More information on that show can be found on the WAPAEC website.