Supernumerary actors are usually amateur

character actors A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

performances who train under professional direction to create a believable scene.

Definition

The term's original use, from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''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 Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

" in the motion picture industry. Any established opera company will have a supernumerary core of artists to enhance the opera experience. The

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

(Met) in New York and the

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Perform ...

are known for their high profile and seasoned supernumeraries. The WNO has had some major supernumerary personalities on stage such as U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and Kennedy.

Typical supernumerary work

Supernumeraries are usually amateur character artists who train under professional direction to create a believable scene. They almost become part of the props and give a sense of credibility to scenes where crowds, court assistants, lackeys, peasants or a variety of period characters are needed. Some operas require over 50 supernumeraries. Work is assigned according to the ability to deliver an understated performance that doesn't "steal focus from the main actors" but it is still vibrant and effusive.

Notes

References

*''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''; edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), 5,448 pages, is the best, and by far the largest, general reference for opera in the English language. and *''The Viking Opera Guide'' (1994), 1,328 pages, *''Opera, the Rough Guide''; by Matthew Boyden et al. (1997), 672 pages, *''Opera: A Concise History''; by Leslie Orrey and

Rodney Milnes Rodney Milnes Blumer OBE (26 July 1936 – 5 December 2015) was an English music critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster, with a particular interest in opera.Rodney Milnes. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan ...

. (World of Art.) London: Thames & Hudson

{{col-end Acting Stage terminology