Rochelle VanderHelm–Staff Writer

The Des Moines Metro Opera’s touring troupe, OPERA Iowa, performed the German fairy tale The Magic Flute by Mozart in the B. J. Haan Auditorium last week. The vocals were, well, too good to be true.

The Magic Flute is a tale of young prince Tamino, who is sent on a quest to find the beautiful princess Pamina by her mother, the Queen of the Night. He travels with a bird-catcher named Papageno. When Prince Tamino finds Princess Pamina, he unexpectedly discovers something quite surprising. Act II follows Prince Tamino and Papageno through a series of quests to earn the hand of Pamina and Papagena—Papageno’s true love.

Gretchen Pille serenaded the audience as the Queen of the Night. Her vocals were especially commendable, clearly ringing a very high F. The audience’s socks where figuratively and unceremoniously removed.

OPERA Iowa is a group of singers from around the world who bring the opera to schools throughout Iowa. They also performed Little Red’s Most Unusual Day at Dordt and made their appearance in schools around Sioux County. Later this month, they will be playing in Sioux City, Des Moines and Kansas City.