One thing about body builders: They’re not shy.
So even though it was “not mandatory,” according to Greg Trupiano, director of artistic administration at the Sarasota Opera, two of the four men who showed up last night to audition for walk-on roles as slaves in the opera’s winter season production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida,” were more than happy to strip down and do a little “flexing.”
“I’ll come on stage bare-ass naked if they want me to,” said Peter Finch, a nationally-ranked body builder in the seniors division, who insisted he was 75 but whose pumped abs didn't look a day over 40. “I’m just looking for a little exposure. You never know what can come of it.”
Finch was joined by three other auditioners, all male but each of distinct height, shape and age, looking to be cast as supernumeraries in the penultimate opera of the company’s Verdi Cycle, an extravaganza that calls for more than 40 such non-singing cast members. Trupiano was delighted with the physical diversity of the applicants, but said he hoped to add many more – including some women -- before the opera opens in late January.
“We want a few ‘built’ people, of course,” he said, “but if everyone looks the same on stage, that’s not a very interesting picture. What we’re looking for is a variety of sizes, shapes and ages.”
Each auditioner stopped for a few words with Stephanie Sundine, who will direct the production; to fill out paperwork about their availability for rehearsals with Trupiano; and to have their measurements taken by members of the costuming staff. Then came the optional “reveal.”
Richard Goldwater, a six-foot-plus 69-year-old, who looked lean and fit but not herculean, said he was there neither as a professional body builder nor as a particularly educated opera aficionado but as someone who had never been a supernumerary and believes “unique experiences add to the richness of life.”
Asked if he had any problem with being cast as a slave, Goldwater looking adoringly toward his wife, seated nearby, and said: “Story of my life.”
Martin Nowakowski, with a head of thick curly hair, bronzed skin and a tight white t-shirt which he did not remove, made a quick exit before the photo session. But the egg-bald Finch, whose back and arms were completely covered in tattoos, happily stripped off his t-shirt and struck poses familiar from any weightlifter’s diet supplement advertisement.
And James Jeffcoat, an 18-year-old freshman at State College of Florida and former Lakewood Ranch High football star, just as readily shed his pressed, white, button-down shirt saying, “I have no problem at all when it comes to stuff like that.”
Jeffcoat, who hopes one day to start an online personal training business because “my passion is helping other people,” admitted he listens to “high Renaissance church music” when he’s working out at the gym, sometimes twice a day, and that he was “clueless” when it comes to opera.
“I don’t know anything about it really,” he said when asked if he’d ever heard of “Aida.” “Someone just told me they needed a couple of buff guys.”
The Sarasota Opera will present “Aida,” the penultimate opera in its 27-year Verdi Cycle (presenting the entire oeuvre of composer Giuseppe Verdi), January 30-March 19 at the Sarasota Opera House. Tickets at www.sarasotaopera.org.