Il Divo Dog


By Julia Szabo

Tonight marks the final performance of the Metropolitan Opera's production of Prokofiev's "War and Peace," which will be simulcast at 7.30 p.m. on Sirius Satellite Radio.   

In the first half hour of this four-hour spectacle, the stage is set for a New Year's Eve Ball. Enter the Tsar, played by Scott Graham, a superannuary (that's an extra who doesn't talk or sing). His Highness carries a little white "sleeve dog" who appears to the Winter Palace born. When the Tsar's head turns left, so does the dog's; ditto when the Tsar's head turns right. Amazingly, the dog is never distracted by the hundreds of performers surrounding him, and shows remarkable restraint in never once howling along to the score.  

The canine paragon playing this dog is Jumping Jack Flash, a.k.a. Jack, a 5-year-old Maltese whose modeling career is managed by All Tame Animals. This was Jack's opera debut; his previous credits include appearing in a calendar and on the runway at Pet Fashion Week.

"Before the performance, the directors, assistant directors, and several cast members all come and pet him - he's their talisman," reports Jack's proud owner, Joanna Lee Doster. Among the dog's fans are tenor Kim Begley and soprano Larisa Shevchenko. "Jack seems to crave the spotlight and adulation," Doster adds. "He believes the pomp and pageantry in the New Year's Eve Ballroom scene is for him!" 
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