Earlier this year, I experienced Des Moines Metro Opera for the first time. It is a smaller company, born in the same era and with a similar mission to Chicago Opera Theater and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and one that occupies a particularly brave space in Iowa and the larger Midwest cultural landscape.
Last summer was an excellent example. Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger and Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men. shared the festival bill with Tosca. King Roger was sexually subversive, well cast and given a production that met Szymanowski’s strangeness without indulging in unnecessary conceit. It was great.
Today, DMMO announced that Michael Egel, the company’s long-serving General and Artistic Director, will be sticking around through at least 2032.
Full release after the jump.
Indianola, IA—The Board of Directors of Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) today announced the extension of Linda Koehn General and Artistic Director Michael Egel’s contract through December 31, 2032.
Egel has served as DMMO’s General and Artistic Director since 2013 and has led the company’s artistic planning since becoming Artistic Director in 2010. His association with DMMO spans more than three decades, beginning in 1994 as a front-of-house intern during the summer festival.
“Michael’s vision for each season’s repertoire, his eye—and ear—for talent, his relationships with our patrons, and his ability to build an extremely hard-working staff have propelled DMMO to new heights,” said Board President John Wild. “He is the embodiment of our mission to create distinctive theatrical experiences for our artists and audiences. We are grateful he will continue to share his ambitious and visionary leadership with us for years to come.”
“Together with an amazing board, a motivated and devoted staff, extraordinarily gifted artists, designers, musicians, and an incredible production team, it has been a privilege to lead this organization these last 15+ years. As DMMO continues to establish its place among America’s leading festivals, the company’s adventurous programming model has enabled DMMO to redefine what it means to build new audiences for opera in the 21st century. I look forward to continuing this important work—cultivating curious opera-goers from around the world and bringing to life the exciting major projects that lie ahead on the company’s horizon,” said Egel.
During Egel’s tenure, Des Moines Metro Opera has significantly expanded its artistic ambitions, national profile, and institutional strength. He has made new productions, company premieres, and repertory expansion as hallmarks of his leadership, with a special emphasis on major works from the early and mid-20th century. He has introduced festival audiences to works including Eugene Onegin, Elektra, Dead Man Walking, Jenůfa, Billy Budd, Flight, The Queen of Spades, Platée, Wozzeck, Porgy and Bess, Bluebeard’s Castle, The Love for Three Oranges, Pelléas et Mélisande, The Cunning Little Vixen, King Roger and Philip Glass’s Orphée in 2027. Under his leadership, DMMO presented its second and third world premieres: Kristin Kuster and Mark Campbell’s A Thousand Acres in 2022 and Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo in 2024.
Egel has also overseen substantial institutional growth. He spearheaded a $20 million endowment campaign in celebration of DMMO’s 50th anniversary in 2022 and a $4 million campaign to restore the company’s historic Carnegie Library headquarters and transform it into the Lauridsen Opera Center, which opened in 2019. During his tenure as General Director, DMMO’s annual operating budget has grown by more than $3 million, while subscription sales have grown exponentially—reaching near-record levels.
Egel’s responsibilities encompass both the artistic direction and overall management of the company, including strategic planning, opera production, fiscal stewardship, and relationships with the community, donors, and Board of Directors. He selects repertory, casts principal artists, engages conductors and stage directors, and oversees collaborations with the creative and design teams responsible for DMMO’s productions. During the Summer Festival, he leads a company of more than 275 artists, artisans, and staff members.
Egel has also strengthened DMMO’s relationships with broadcast partners Iowa Public Radio and Iowa PBS. DMMO productions broadcast by Iowa PBS have received numerous Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award nominations, with Manon, Billy Budd, Bon Appétit!Carmen, and American Apollo earning Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Awards for Arts and Entertainment Programming.
In 2025, Egel was named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year in recognition of his influence and leadership in the performing arts. He is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee and has served on the executive committees of the boards of both OPERA America and Bravo Greater Des Moines. He is also a frequent adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
Egel holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance and Education from Simpson College and a Master of Music from the University of Memphis.
The company’s 2026 Of Mice and Men will debut on Iowa Public Television September 18 with streaming enabled for 45 days after the initial broadcast.
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