Lulu kick starts an opera career

By Tania Martin
A LITTLE-known Irish donkey from Emerald called Lulu will be thrust into stardom next month as one of the stars of Opera Australia’s latest production, Carmen.
Animal handler Janine Young of Cockatoo will also take her 15 minutes of fame as Lulu’s companion in the Opera.
Ms Young said she was ‘absolutely flabbergasted’ when she and Lulu were chosen for a part in the production.
It was both exciting and scary to be thrust on to the set of an opera, having no experience, she said.
Close friend and renowned horse trainer Steve Jefferies asked Ms Young several months ago whether she knew a donkey who could take part in the Opera.
“I thought of Lulu straight away but never thought anything would come of it,” she said.
However, two weeks ago Ms Young got a phone call from Opera Australia.
Ms Young has never been on stage before and never had any aspirations to perform, but now she will be under the spotlight, thanks to Lulu.
Her chickens and sister-in-law will also make an appearance in Carmen, making it a family affair.
Carmen, directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Richard Hickox, is about a beautiful Spanish gypsy woman who seduces a soldier.
The story follows Don Jose, who falls for the seductive wiles of gypsy Carmen.
Carmen leads Don Jose, an innocent soldier, away from his duty to his country and draws him into a world of bull fighting, smuggling and wild dancing, where the turn of a card will decide his fate and hers.
Lulu and Ms Young will take centre stage in act one of the performance and again for act three.
Ms Young said in the first act she and Lulu would be on stage as part of the background, while in act three, Lulu would be led around the stage wearing cane baskets.
“I just hope neither of us gets stage fright,” she said.
Performing in an Opera would definitely be a shock to Lulu, whose normal day was to sit in a paddock with two miniature ponies, Ms Young said.
“I have had her teeth checked, and I am training her to get used to a lot of noise and different surfaces other than the paddock she’s used to.”
Ms Young even took Lulu for a walk through Cockatoo’s main street last week to get her used to being around people.
Lulu’s owner, Lyn Wright, said it was a shock to have her family donkey starring in an opera. “We just hope it (stardom) doesn’t go to her head and she can go back to just being our beloved donkey.”
Lulu and Ms Young will appear when the Opera opens at the State Theatre, on 9 April. Carmen will be playing at the State Theatre until 8 May.