Oakdale prison choir to be part of New York opera performance

A choir of inmates at a Coralville prison will soon be making their New York opera debut. 

Members of the Oakdale Community Choir on Wednesday performed the "Prisoner's Chorus" in Beethoven's "Fidelio" for a recording that will be broadcast during a live performance in New York City in May. A group of inmates at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center, formerly the Oakdale Prison, have been learning German and perfecting the right inflection for their part in the song for weeks. 

More than putting on a good show, members of the Oakdale Community Choir hope their part in a New York opera will show they are trying to become better Iowa neighbors one day. 

The choir, consisting of about 40 inmates and 30 volunteers from the community, was asked by Heartbeat Opera to take part in a modern-day performance of "Fidelio," an opera about a woman’s journey to free her falsely imprisoned husband.

The group is visiting and recording six choirs such as Oakdale’s, each performing a different portion of the Prisoner’s Chorus.

The production’s director, Ethan Heard, traveled to the prison Wednesday to record the Coralville choir’s performance of the "Prisoner’s Chorus" in German. Videos of four choirs and audio of another two will be combined and projected during a pivotal scene of the opera, where prisoners are released into a courtyard for a breath of fresh air.

“This is that moment right in the middle of the opera where, for the first time, we go from a very chamber-scale story to 'Here come dozens of incarcerated folks,'” Heard said. “And they sing just this beautiful piece about breathing freely for the first time in a long time, feeling that joy of the open air.”

'Hope in the face of injustice'

Heartbeat Opera has been reimagining operas in New York for four years now, including a take on "Carmen" set on the U.S. border with Mexico and an annual drag opera. Heard said the idea is to make opera seem more relevant and more accessible.

Reimagining "Fidelio" — updating the dialogue, changing some of the characters, adding a prologue and epilogue — came to Heard when he began exploring injustice in today’s prison system.

“I was looking for a story that would resonate in 2018, and it felt like 'Fidelio' was a story about hope in the face of injustice and perseverance in the face of corruption,” he said. “And I was also just really interested in learning about our criminal justice system in America and the epidemic of mass incarceration.”

Inmate Shane Kendrick has participated in the choir's semi-annual performances for two years now. According to court records, Kendrick was arrested for performing sex acts on a child under the age of 12. He says he has six years left to serve on his sentence.

Performing with the group and writing songs, such as a parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” called song called the “Puppy Prison Blues,” has been a comfort . 

Kendrick said he doesn’t know much about the storyline of "Fidelio," but he said any sort of depiction of inmates that humanizes them as better is a good thing — not only for the inmates, but also for the community that they will re-enter.

“If I was on the other side and somebody was coming into my community, I’d probably be freaked out as well, at least standoffish,” he said. “But the more people can see prisoners and inmates as normal people who made a mistake — if they’ve bettered themselves and they can come back out, I believe they should have a second chance.”

For those who won’t be leaving prison anytime soon, the weekly meetings are a chance for inmates such as Bruce Pollard, who is serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder and robbery charge, to interact with visitors.

Pollard spent the first years of his sentence in a maximum-security prison, where he said he learned to keep to himself and joined groups that he later regretted.

The first song he wrote in prison was called “Thank You” and was dedicated to the choral volunteers.  

“Being a part of this has allowed me to open up and feel confident in my ability to stay out of trouble,” he said. “Be a part of a positive atmosphere rather a negative one.”

Future neighbors

Choir director Mary Cohen started the program in 2009 with hopes of showcasing this more positive depiction of inmates. Their next performance will include the songs written by inmates, along with their performance of "Fidelio."

Each year, the group grows, and at each concert, community members are encouraged to join. This year, the choir is inviting parole officers and police officers to attend. Last year, prosecuting attorneys were invited.

“There’s a new argument that says prosecuting attorneys are part of what has made mass incarceration rise, because their job is to put people behind bars for a long time, and it’s important to think about what does that mean to human life if you are living behind bars,” Cohen said.

The performance shows the rehabilitative side of prison, said warden James McKinney. He said most people only see prisons and designated areas to incarcerate people. 

“While part of that is true, those 95 percent (of inmates) are going to be somebody’s neighbor. Maybe yours, maybe somebody else's," he said. "My job has always been to make them the best neighbor as possible, and punishment doesn’t work. But I know if they start to learn to communicate with people and learn that they can be a contributing member of society, they usually walk out the door better prepared to be somebody’s neighbor.”

He hopes that this idea comes across at the performance, but it's not his first selling point on why the community should attend. 

“For one, the music is pretty good,” he said.

Aimee Breaux is the education reporter for the Press-Citizen. Reach her at abreaux@press-citizen.com and follow her on Twitter @aimee_breaux.