The Metropolitan Opera in the US selects a boa for a Mozart opera production
At the Metropolitan Opera in New York, US, a boa named Princess has been selected for an upcoming production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte. The snake is set to appear briefly on stage alongside performer Zoe Ziegfeld, who plays a snake charmer in a production styled as a 1950s Coney Island carnival.
As Fortune reports, Ziegfeld assessed each snake’s behavior: he allowed it to crawl and coil around him, lifted it above his head, and checked its reaction to close contact with a person. According to the performer, it is important to make sure the animal is comfortable around people and during such actions.
Princess and her understudy
A large yellow-peach boa named Princess was selected for trial rehearsals. After the auditions, Ziegfeld wrote in a letter that the test would concern not the snake, but above all his physical strength.
Princess’s understudy will be a somewhat smaller brown boa named Nala, selected during the second audition. Princess was chosen in part because of her larger size and more striking appearance on stage.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
A carnival version of the opera
This will be the third time Ziegfeld has played a snake charmer in the Metropolitan Opera’s version of Così fan tutte. In the original 1790 opera, two Italian soldiers pretend to go to war to test the fidelity of their beloveds, and later, in disguise, try to seduce each other’s girlfriends. The production retains the main plot but moves the action to 1950s Coney Island, with vivid sets and sideshow performers.
Ziegfeld worked at Coney Island for several seasons and performed up to eight snake-charming shows a day. During casting for the Metropolitan Opera several years ago, live snakes were not allowed into the premises, so the performer showed a video of his act.
The snakes for the auditions were provided by Nancy Novograd and her company All Tame Animals. According to her, animals on stage, like human performers, must display the required behavior and interact with the artists. For this role, the snake’s color, size, and compatibility with Ziegfeld were important.
