Hundreds line up for shot at, well, not quite stardom

NEW YORK -- Taking a page from the "American Idol" playbook, the Metropolitan Opera held open auditions Saturday for its lavish new production of "War and Peace."

The auditions were for one of more than 200 roles as extras in the mammoth Lincoln Center production slated for December, but that didn't deter scores of would-be soldiers who lined up for a chance to march on the world-famous Met stage.

"Chest forward, chin up!" barked Sasha Semin, the commander of forces both on- and off-stage for Sergei Prokofiev's "War and Peace," as small groups of amateurs strove to master the marching maneuvers.

By the end of the process, the opera professionals promised they would transform the hopefuls -- some of them balding, pot-bellied or pony-tailed -- "into believable, fantastic Russian soldiers."

Many, if not most of the 200 or so who turned out had at least cursory connections to the arts, if not opera.

"It's way beyond a hobby," said Henry Hammond, a Manhattan filmmaker who was among those selected after a brief set of drills.

"I do it because this is what I want to do," he said, referring to nearly any work in the arts. Hammond said he had appeared in several Met productions, including the current "Aida."

For their efforts in the two scenes, which come during the latter, or "War" half of the 4½-hour production based on Tolstoy's epic novel, the performers will be paid $10 an hour for a series of rehearsals and $20 per act. Performances run from December 10 to January 3.

Given those wages, clearly it was a labor of love.

"It's a good experience," said Elodian Barbosa, an actor who makes ends meet working at catering or office temp jobs. "You never know what could happen or who you could meet," said Barbosa, who also is appearing in "Aida."

Another upside, no doubt, was the odds of being chosen, which would be the envy of any rejection-weary struggling actor. Casting directors ended up sending far more than half the men who tried out into the fitting room to be measured for their costumes.

The opera is being co-produced with St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre.