(Photo Credit: Duane Tinkey)

Des Moines Metro Opera will present its first-ever Opera in the Park on Sept. 17 with a free outdoor screening of the company’s 2023 production of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park.

The event, presented in partnership with the Water Works Park Foundation and Iowa PBS, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is open to both longtime opera fans and newcomers.

Iowa PBS recorded “Carmen” live at the Blank Performing Arts Center during Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2023 Festival Season. The resulting broadcast, Des Moines Metro Opera Presents Carmen, received an Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Program in Entertainment: Long Form Content.

The approximately two-and-a-half-hour presentation features the complete opera along with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with members of the cast and creative team. The opera is sung in French with English captions.

Prior to the screening, guests can enjoy food trucks, the Des Moines Biergarten and a special preview of the opera beginning at 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnics.

The event is supported by the Burnett Family Foundation Cultural Series at Water Works Park.

The company’s 2027 Festival Season will run July 2–25.