Almost everyone who takes the stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York must audition; Even the snake will briefly take center stage in an upcoming treatment of one of Mozart's classic masterpieces.
According to the Associated Press, Zoe Ziegfeld is responsible for choosing the winning snake for this show. She is a former circus actress who moved on to performing operatic roles, and plays the role of a snake tamer in the Metropolitan Opera’s new version of “Cozy Fan Tutti.” Inspired by the atmosphere of “Coney Island” in the 1950s.
Ziegfeld takes each snake one at a time, lets it twist and turn around, then lifts it above her head; Practice what you will do under the bright lights in the middle of the stage during each show. She looks into the eyes of each snake, almost face to face, to evaluate its behavior and how calm it is.
“It's important for me to know that the animal feels comfortable interacting with humans and with what we do,” Ziegfeld says. In this hectic competition, the “princess” snake, which is a type of boa constrictor snake, won the main role. It is distinguished by its larger size and clearer visual presence on stage.
“We're going ahead with 'Princess' - the big, glowing yellow boa constrictor - in rehearsals as a trial run,” Ziegfeld wrote in an email after the auditions concluded. “She is a wonderful snake, and the experience is not about her, but about me and my physical ability.” “Nala,” a slightly smaller, brown constrictor that was chosen in a second round of auditions, will be a ready substitute for “Princess” if she is unable to participate.
In light of the growth of artificial intelligence and its dominance over professions and social relations, the play “Not for Everyone” raises crucial questions about the future of humanity. With an avant-garde vision and a style that deviates from the ordinary, directors Karim Shibli and Sarah Abdo presented the work on the “Mono” stage. With the participation of its heroes: Elie Mitri, Nour Hajjar, and Sarah Abdo, the play was able to attract the audience with its modern form and the wit of its stars, presenting a serious topic in a style that combines intellectual presentation and comedy.
The themes covered in the play revolve around the obsession with the future and the fear of what tomorrow holds. It explains a thorny and ambiguous reality that the Lebanese are experiencing, like all other peoples of the world, in light of the rapid transformations imposed by artificial intelligence. What will our future be like? Who will stand behind our decisions? Will we remain the decision-makers in our lives, or will we leave the machine an increasing amount of control?
The director of the work, Karim Shibli, said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that he and Sarah reworked the play more than 40 times, and it did not settle into the form in which it was presented until after about a year and more of preparation. He continues: “It is one of the most difficult plays I have performed in my theatrical career. It is based on a world that does not resemble our world, which has created many challenges for us.”
There are artists who have real talent, but life circumstances may prevent them from continuing their presence on the scene, so their works remain away from the public for many years before they find someone to re-present them and discover their value. Hence the importance of the exhibition of the late plastic artist Attia Helmy, “Athar from Nada”, with which the “Dhay Zamalek Gallery” begins its activity this season. It presents a rare collection of works by an artist who has not completed her creative journey, even though her beginnings bore the features of a clear and promising artistic project.
The exhibition gains its specificity from the association of Attia Helmy’s name with the artist Hamed Nada, the pioneer of popular surrealism in contemporary Egyptian art. She was his student and wife in her early days. But he does not stop at this relationship, as he tries to put Attia Helmy back in the place she deserves as an independent artist, and to raise many questions about a female experience that was cut off early, and her works remained far from the circle of display, the public, and documentation.
