A group of current and former Iowa State music students will have the opportunity to sing in the chorus of Mozart’s The Magic Flute performance at the Des Moines Civic Center.

The Magic Flute performances will kick off the Des Moines Metro Opera’s 50th anniversary season.

Iowa State student performers include Sadie Etzel, Cole Stephenson and Robert Wise. Iowa State alumni performers include Braeden Irvine, Samantha Schmitz, Bridget Johnston and Olivia Gasper.

Hope Metts was accepted into the chorus as a soprano but was unable to perform due to a scheduling conflict.

“I’m feeling excited with a touch of nervousness. This is my first professional gig, so although my part is small relative to other productions I’ve participated in, the stakes are much greater,” Wise said. “The musical standards and professionalism are more than I’m used to, but I feel my past work has more than prepared me to take this on.”

Students involved in the Iowa State vocal department were given the opportunity to audition for the production’s chorus. The artistic director for the Des Moines Metro Opera came to Iowa State to hear auditions.

The audition process included performing two opera arias or art songs, with one being in German.

“Currently, as of Feb. 25, the chorus is having rehearsal four days out of the week; including staging, costume fittings, makeup trials, going over music with the orchestra for the first time and running through the show together for the first time,” Etzel said.

A sneak peek from a chorus rehearsal can be watched here.

The Magic Flute will perform March 5 at 7:30 p.m. and March 6 at 2 p.m. The performances will feature the musicians of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. The Magic Flute marks the first-ever collaboration between the Des Moines Metro Opera and the Des Moines Symphony.

Des Moines will be the 8th U.S. city to put on this production after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and St. Paul.

According to Des Moines Metro Opera website, this “reimagining of Mozart’s final opera pays homage to silent films of the 1920s and features fantastical hand-drawn animations projected onto the set that interact in real-time with the singers, creating the impression that gigantic comic strips and cartoons are coming to life before your eyes.”

“Rather than using props and set pieces, this production uses projections to create the atmosphere of the show, allowing us to have an incredibly dynamic set that uniquely portrays Mozart’s Magic Flute,” Wise said.

Tickets begin at $25 and are available on the Des Moines Metro Opera website or by calling Des Moines Performing Art’s box office at 515-246-2300.