Prop: Chihuahua
Appearing in: “L’incoronazione di Poppea” (“The Coronation of Poppea”), Chicago Opera Theater
Paolo, a short-haired chihuahua, had no stage experience when cast in Monteverdi’s opera “The Coronation of Poppea.” He has, however, been a longtime arts patron.
He was just a few weeks old when Katie White got him from a shelter some nine years ago. His name was Ren (a reference to the TV cartoon), but White, a former teacher, renamed him Paulo, after Brazilian educational theorist Paulo Freire. Small enough to fit into White’s handbag, he accompanied her to plays and classical music concerts. He also works as an artist’s model for her husband, Watie White, a painter and printmaker.
Paulo wasn’t a contender for the opera’s canine role. When director Diane Paulus decided she wanted Nero’s wife, Ottavia, to have a dog, she envisioned a small, white, fluffy one. But when COT artistic administrator Roger Weitz–who is Katie’s brother–showed Paulus a photo of Paulo and suggested him as a back-up, the director found him irresistible.
Krisztina Szabo who plays Ottavia, then had to be consulted. “I received an e-mail asking me if I was allergic to dogs or if I didn’t like them,” she recalls. “I was intrigued because I’ve never worked with an animal before, but Paulo is very quiet and well-behaved. He just fits into the crook of my elbow.”
But Paulo’s sensitive nature posed a problem at first. “When I sing while I’m holding him, I’m actually arguing with someone and Paulo got a little upset and shook a little bit,” says Szabo. “But he got used to it.”
At home Paulo is pampered. He eats the Whites’ table food and sleeps in their bed. This might explain why he enjoys the spotlight. Does Szabo think she might be up staged by Paulo? “Possibly,” she concedes. “He’s pretty darn cute.”
“The Coronation of Poppea,” through Saturday, Harris Theater of Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., $30-$97; 312-704-8414.
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