Lyric Opera goes to the dogs

Katrina Thurman sings to Paddington

A group of talented dogs hoping to star in the upcoming Lyric Opera production of La bohème converged at the Lyric Theatre tonight. The auditioning pups hoped to be the one to join Musetta for her grand entrance during Act II of the opera.

The audition process was overseen by production director Ellen Douglas Schlaefer, Katrina Thurman (who will sing the role of Musetta), Lyric Opera props mistress Deborah Morgan, and 3 Dog Bakery top marketing dog Julie Tarry.

The audition consisted of evaluating how well the dogs performed off-leash, how well the dog interacted with Ms. Thurman, and how the dog reacted Ms. Thurman’s singing.

Ms. Schlaefer’s staging of the scene calls for the dog to be handed to Musetta’s boy toy of the moment, who cannot stand dogs and hands the pup off to a waiter at the Café Momus. The waiter carries the dog offstage on a silver tray, so balancing on tray was also a criteria for judging.

Hercules' signature on his contract

In the end, two pups rose to the top. Hercules Mesner, whose caretaker is master puppeteer Paul Mesner, won role. Paddington Knapp, whose caretaker Jonathan is in the chorus for La bohème, will be an understudy. Both dogs “signed” contracts by dipping their paw in mud and making their mark on a contract (for a “nonspeaking role”!).