a246  1510  05 Nov 83
AM-Opera-Elephant,260
Elephant Adds Drama With Improvisation During Omaha Opera
    OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A bull elephant making an entrance in the opera
''Aida'' bolted into the audience, upstaging the other performers in
the spectacular production of Verdi's grand opera but causing no
injuries.
    The elephant was quickly subdued Friday night by its handler and
taken out of sight.
    The elephant, named Toto, was to have been part of a triumphal
procession in Opera Omaha's lavish 25th anniversary production of the
opera, set in ancient Thebes. A sellout crowd of 7,000 people turned
out for the performance. The second and final performance is
scheduled for Sunday night.
    A leopard had been placed on the elephant's back for Toto's entrance
onto the stage, but Opera Omaha's marketing director, Riley Nelson,
said a headphone wire dropped from above a doorway and knocked the big
cat from the elephant's back.
    Toto bolted, taking a left turn instead of a right. Heading for the
northwest corner of the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum, he bounded straight for
the aisle separating one section of the audience from another.
    A woman in a wheelchair was pushed to one side, and Toto's handler
ran to the elephant's side. With Toto turned around, the handler
directed him back to the wings and out of sight.
    The animals that were supposed to follow Toto - two other elephants,
three leopards and white horses - never made it to the procession.
    The performance had a cast of more than 400 people, and used 79
musicians and at least 200 additional backstage crew members. Opera
officials said they believed it was only the second indoor full-size
production of the opera, with the first being a recent performance in
Hartford, Conn.
    
ap-ny-11-05 1808EST
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