Even snakes have to audition for the opera at the Met. Princess the boa constrictor got the part

NEW YORK (AP) — Pretty much everyone on stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York must audition — even the snake who will briefly take center stage in an upcoming adaptation of a Mozart classic. In charge of deciding who gets the s-s-s-s-starring reptilian role is Zoe Ziegfeld, a carnival performer-turned-opera actor cast as the snake handler in the Met’s version of “Così fan tutte,” inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s. Ziegfeld takes each snake, lets it slither and wrap around, then hoists the animal over their head, rehearsing what they will do under the bright lights at center stage for each performance.

Ziegfeld looks each one in the eye, almost face-to-face as they evaluate the snake’s demeanor. “I need to know that the animal is comfortable with people and with what we are doing,” Ziegfeld said. Princess slithers into her big role In the cold-blooded competition, a boa constrictor named Princess won.

She is a larger snake with a better visual presence on stage. “We will be moving forward with Princess (the big sun-glow boa constrictor who is yellow-peach) in rehearsals on a trial basis! She is a wonderful snake, and the trial is not about her, but rather about me and my strength,” Ziegfeld wrote in an email after the auditions were over.

A slightly smaller brown boa constrictor named Nala from a second audition will be Princess’ understudy. A Mozart opera set at a 1950s Coney Island carnival This is the third time Ziegfeld has played the role of the snake charmer in the Met’s adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 1790 opera. In Mozart’s original, two Italian soldiers decide to test their lovers’ fidelity by pretending to head off to war.

They then disguise themselves and try to seduce each other’s girlfriends. In this version, the plot remains mostly the same, but the setting is a 1950s Coney Island carnival complete with vibrant scenery and sideshow performers. Carnaval snake charmer turned opera performer Ziegfeld came to the role honestly.

They spent a couple of seasons on Coney Island doing eight snake-charming shows a day. When they tried out several years ago, live snakes weren’t allowed in the audition space. So instead, Ziegfeld brought video of their snake-charming act, then hammered home their carnival sideshow bona fides by knocking a nail into their own nasal cavity in what was called the Human Blockhead act.