Zoe Ziegfeld, who plays the part of a snake charmer, poses with a snake during auditions. AP photo
Even the snake appearing on stage at New York’s Metropolitan Opera must audition for its role.
A boa constrictor named Princess has been chosen for the reptilian role in the Met’s upcoming adaptation of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” set at a 1950s Coney Island carnival.
Zoe Ziegfeld, a carnival performer-turned-opera actor who plays the snake handler, auditioned several snakes for the part. Ziegfeld lets each snake slither and wrap around them before lifting it over their head, evaluating its behavior and comfort around people.
“I need to know that the animal is comfortable with people and with what we are doing,” Ziegfeld said.
Princess, a larger yellow-peach boa constrictor, was chosen for her stronger visual presence on stage. A slightly smaller brown boa constrictor named Nala will serve as her understudy.
This is the third time Ziegfeld has played the snake charmer in the Met’s adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 1790 opera.
In the original story, two Italian soldiers disguise themselves after pretending to leave for war and try to seduce each other’s girlfriends to test their lovers’ fidelity. The Met production keeps the basic plot but moves it to a 1950s Coney Island carnival featuring colorful scenery and sideshow performers.
Ziegfeld spent several seasons on Coney Island performing eight snake-charming shows a day. When they auditioned for the Met several years ago, live snakes were not allowed, so they brought a video of their act and demonstrated a Human Blockhead performance.
The snakes were provided by Nancy Novograd and her company, All Tame Animals, which supplies the opera house with animals ranging from elephants to insects.
“Animals have to perform as do human talent,” Novograd said. “They have to be the right color, size, and Zoe has to like them.”
