After years of writing about classical music and opera, I’m actually in an opera as a supernumerary, the operatic equivalent of an extra. My role: a Russian peasant peeling potatoes in the first scene of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
The audition was easy: fill out a form and be photographed next to a measuring stick. Less than two weeks later, super captain Andrea Shell called with rehearsal dates and costume head Reba Senske emailed a request for measurements.
Let the potato peeling begin.
Eugene Onegin is presented by Cincinnati Opera at Music Hall 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Sunday. Go here to read Anne Arenstein’s full diary.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2011.
