An acclaimed Iowa novel adapted from a Shakespeare play is now slated to take a third form: opera.
"A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley, published in 1991, won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for its artful re-envisioning of the harrowing "King Lear" drama in a 1970s Iowa farm setting. The Des Moines Metro Opera announced Thursday it will premiere the operatic version on July 9, 2022, thanks in part to a $1.5 million gift by Des Moines art lovers Linda and Tom Koehn.
The performance will be the centerpiece of the Indianola-based opera's 50th anniversary year, the organization said in a news release. It comes as the company and its patrons commemorate the life of Robert Larson, the longtime director and stage conductor who helped found the opera as a Simpson College music professor. Larson died March 31.