Inmates from an eastern Iowa prison have spent weeks learning German and perfecting inflections for a recording that will be played during a New York City opera performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio." Heartbeat Opera invited the Oakdale Community Choir of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center to perform the "Prisoner's Chorus" for its New York City live production in May. Production Director Ethan Heard traveled to the medium-security prison in Coralville, Iowa, on Wednesday to record the choir, comprised of 40 inmates and 30 community members. Heard told the Iowa City Press-Citizen that the idea to reimagine "Fidelio" came to him when he began exploring injustice in today's prison system. ———Information from: Iowa City Press-Citizen, http://www.press-citizen.com/

Source: ABC News March 23, 2018 14:43 UTC