Supernumerary actor

Supernumerary actors are usually amateur character actors in opera and ballet performances who train under professional direction to create a believable scene.

The term's original use, from the Latin supernumerarius, meant someone paid to appear on stage in crowd scenes or in the case of opera as non-singing small parts. The word can still be found used for such in theatre and opera. It is the equivalent of "extra" in the motion picture industry. Any established opera company will have a supernumerary core of artists to enhance the opera experience. The Metropolitan Opera (Met) in New York and the Washington National Opera(WNO) are known for the high profile and seasoned supernumeraries. The WNO saw its supernumerary golden age under the direction of English actress Jennifer Crier Johnston, who was supernumerary director for eight years (1998–2006). Ms. Johnston appeared in classic Hollywood movies such as My Fair Lady, The Unsinkable Mollie Brown, The Americanization of Emily, and The Sound of Music. The Washington Times ran an exhaustive article on supernumeraries in November 2002, in which a Jennifer Johnston describes in detail the fine craft of a supernumerary in the opera.

The WNO has had some major supernumerary personalities on stage such as U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ginsberg and Kennedy who made their last appearance in the opening of Strauss comedic opera Die Fledermaus. New, promising, and exciting supernumeraries at the Washington National Opera include: Marlene Hall, David Brindley, Michael Walker, Emily Cohen, Eric Schultz, Felipe Lagos, Victor Yager, John Tinpe, Rey Rivera, Samantha Smith, Liam McKenna, and Toni Smiley. Other long time famed supernumeraries include Fernando Varisco, Karl Moeller, Patrizia DiZebba, Harry Spence, Peter Whitten, Alex Riley, Gary Nooger, and Alain Letort. In 2005 Walker, Yager and Varisco were invited by the well known opera director Cindy Oxberry, who has been assistant director for the WNO for over 10 years, to work in a brand new production of The Washington Savoyards' The Mikado. Oxberry's style and force were obvious in these performances and the Washington Post agreed that "The Savoyards fully captured the energy of Arthur Sullivan's inimitable melodiousness and the thrust of William Schwenck Gilbert's satiric dialogue, riddled -- perhaps a little too obviously -- with updated political jabs."

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