The Minnesota Opera will make its way to Central Iowa this weekend, bringing a performance of Paccini’s emotional opera “Madame Butterfly” to area high schools.

Carole Horowitz, publicist for the show, said one of the main missions of the show is to spark interest in young people for the arts.

“With modern English versions of operas like ‘Madame Butterfly’ and ‘Rent,’ young people are becoming more interested in this type of art,” Horowitz said. “Some students have even been overheard singing Paccini in the hallways at school.”

This 90-minute adaptation is meant to be very approachable to the younger audience.

Something special about these performances is that students and professional singers alike are collaborating to make a truly unique event happen.

Horowitz said 121 students were selected from five local high schools to be a part of the chorus.

Students from Ames, Gilbert, and Nevada high schools will be included in Saturday night’s performance, and Sunday’s performance will contain students from Boone and Roland-Story high schools.

Along with the performances, five of the professional singers from the Minnesota Opera have been at the high schools’ teaching classes and workshops on voice, piano and acting techniques.

The performances, funded by 3M, will be presented Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ames High School Auditorium and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Boone High School Auditorium.

Tickets for both performances are available at all participating high schools and locations in Ames including the Mary Greeley Medical Center, Reiman Music, and 3M; in Boone at Redecker’s Furniture and at the Ivy Cottage in Nevada.

Tickets cost $5 for students, $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens. All proceeds will be donated to the Israel Family Hospice House in Ames.