Rudy! Rudy!

The Times profiles an opera singer whose story will at least become a fantastic made-for-TV movie, showing what would happen if Hoosiers were set on the Upper West Side:

Until 18 months ago, Erika Sunnegardh, a soprano, had never sung an opera role on stage.

For nearly 20 years she toiled as a waitress, caterer and tour guide in New York. Sure, there was singing: a few recitals and plenty of funerals as a church cantor in the Bronx. Often the choice boiled down to rent or voice lessons.

But in a story that will give a jolt of hope to every would-be performer with a serving tray, Ms. Sunnegardh, 40, has been assigned to appear today at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Beethoven’s “Fidelio” as a last-minute substitute for an ailing Karita Mattila. What’s more, the performance is one of the house’s Saturday radio broadcasts, heard by 10 million people around the world.

Compare it to the Yankees starting a pitcher who had done nothing more than toss batting practice, or the president appointing a beat cop as defense secretary. In the annals of opera, it ranks with Plácido Domingo stepping in for Franco Corelli in 1968 to make his Met debut.

Astonishingly, the Met embraced Ms. Sunnegardh solely on the basis of two brief auditions in May 2004, well before her first appearance on any opera stage.

In order not to disrupt the fairy tale, she had to turn in a great performance. The Times reports that if it wasn’t exactly perfect, it was nonetheless great:

A number of people in the audience, perhaps aware of her story — years of working as a waitress, singing at church, and a barren career (until now) — walked out with red-rimmed eyes.

When she came out for her first curtain call, she put her hands together in front of her face and said, “Thank you very much.”

She turned to look at the chorus behind her, which included several former conservatory classmates and neighbors in her building in Riverdale, and raised her hands in acknowledgment. They, in turn, cheered her, she said later in her dressing room.

. . .

The pressure on Ms. Sunnegardh was enormous. Not only was she singing a difficult role before a packed Met, but the performance was being broadcast worldwide to 10 million people.

She had difficulties in Act I: a brief memory lapse and what she called “little mishaps” that made her feel “human.” But she warmed up. “The second act felt like it was really on,” she said.

. . .

In her dressing room, after she had showered and changed into a black dress, she received a stream of visitors. One was Peter Gelb, the Met’s incoming general manager. “So we’ll talk?” Ms. Sunnegardh asked. “We will talk,” he answered.

And The Best Reason To Do The Right Thing? Lunch At Cipriani!

Moral to the story — return someone’s laptop, get a lunch at Cipriani:

Last year, a Montreal gem dealer caught Hossam Abdalla’s cab and left behind a case loaded with nearly $1 million in titanium, gold and diamond rings when he rushed out for a meeting at the Javits Center. Abdalla, 30, discovered the stash, and promptly returned it to its owner.

Yesterday, Abdalla was named “Driver of the Year” by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. He and dozens of other cab drivers were feted for their exemplary service on the streets of New York.

The event showcased drivers who have recovered everything from Blackberrys to backpacks and sacrificed time and money to do good deeds for their fares.

. . .

TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus called the Egyptian immigrant “a diamond in the rough.”

“This really changed me as a person,” Abdalla said of his good deed and all the attention that followed. “Honesty is a value that I have inside. If you’re in a situation to do something right, do not hesitate — do it!”

Another honoree, Virendra Shukla, wasted no time doing the right thing when Loraine Collins and her family left a video camera in the back of his cab 18 months ago. Shukla didn’t know that the camera contained a precious keepsake video diary. He also didn’t know about the $5,000 reward.

. . .

Other recipients included Serigne Tall, a Humanitarian Award winner, for helping an elderly Alzheimer’s patient who had wandered away from a hospital; Charles Juene, a Humanitarian Award winner, for helping a blind passenger; and Abouley Mbow, a Customer Care Award winner, for returning a laptop and 200- year-old artwork valued at $12,000.

. . .

Over a lunch buffet provided by Cipriani, Daus told the honored drivers to dispense with worries about traffic or fares.

“Relax and enjoy the moment,” Daus said. “You’re not on the meter.”

Vivi Liberation!

The Times picks up the Vivi scent, the show dog who is still missing:

There had been several sightings of Vivi, a white and brown female whippet, in the past few weeks, both in the tabloids and around the area of Flushing Cemetery and Kissena Park. Ms. Booth, a breeder of whippets and a friend of Vivi’s owners, who live in Claremont, Calif., had already scoured Queens a half-dozen times looking for the dog, but there was no giving up now.

“As you can see, it’s an extremely daunting search,” said Ms. Booth, who was wearing a brown ski jacket and hiking boots as she ticked off a long list of Vivi’s possible hiding spots. Having searched Queens from the marshes around Kennedy Airport to the streets of Bayside, she has become intimately familiar with the terrain. “I’m learning more about Queens than I ever wanted to know,” she said.

By late Friday, the show dog’s whereabouts remained a mystery. The search for Vivi has galvanized this part of Flushing, where several cars could be seen cruising slowly around the cemetery and park, their drivers peering out their windows. Fliers posted on several telephone poles depicted Vivi in happier days, sprinting through a field and standing at attention. “If Seen, Do Not Chase Her,” the fliers warned sternly. They also offered a $5,000 reward. [Emph. added in order to underscore the idea that the owner may deserve to have her prize dog liberated in Queens]

And You Thought New York Was Different Than The Rest Of The Country

Happily, teens in New York are just as weird about prom as those kids profiled on MTV:

Jenna Cossuto spent $2,400 on her custom-made dress. She’ll rent a 22-seat stretch Hummer to transport her closest friends to privately booked Gotham Hall.

And then it’s off to the swanky South Street Seaport at Bridgewater and afterward, a party in Crobar’s VIP section before a long weekend in a Hamptons beach house.

But this once-in-a-lifetime weekend isn’t for Cossuto’s wedding.

It’s for this 17-year-old’s senior prom.

“You only do prom once, and I’ve been planning this for over a year,” said Cossuto, who will graduate from Leon Goldstein HS in upscale Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn.

She’s part of a growing generation of teens who think of prom as the end all, be all of their young lives.

“Teens think of prom as their Oscar night. They want to look and feel like celebrities,” says Gina Kelly, fashion director at Seventeen magazine.

. . .

“I’m not sure exactly how much I’ll spend, but probably thousands and thousands,” said Cossuto. If she gets all she wants, the total will exceed $10,000.

“My parents are just happy that I saved up myself for the dress, and they’ll obviously help me pay for everything else I need.”

Her mom, Susan, rolls her eyes, but says she and her lawyer husband are happy to give their only daughter all the things they never had while growing up.

Beyond the designer Jovani dress, which includes multi-carat Chopard diamonds, Cossuto got $550 Gucci shoes, a matching handbag, tanning sessions, eyebrow shaping and professional hair and makeup for the big day, June 7.

Unfortunately, The Best Ideas For Laws Are The Ones That Are The Least Likely To Work

Tired of hearing how “there oughta be a law,” a Queens Council Member finally comes up with some useful legislation:

Tired of those unwanted circulars on your front porch, or worse yet, carelessly thrown in your yard? A Bayside lawmaker might have a solution.

Councilman Tony Avella was expected to introduce a bill Wednesday that calls for a “do not circulate” registry so that homeowners can opt-out from getting the unwanted advertisements.

Avella said this would be similar to the Do Not Call Registry that prevents people from getting unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. “The time has come for the city to create a ‘do not circulate’ registry whereby property owners can choose to register their names and stop the unwanted delivery of circular advertisements,” Avella said.

Under the proposal, residents will be able to put their name on a list maintained by the Department of Consumer Affairs, which will be distributed to advertisers. If the distributors don’t comply, a fine would be levied.

“We would have to work out the terms and details with the department,” Avella said. “I think it would be well worth it.”

. . .

The bill would also target fliers left by such businesses as local Chinese take-out restaurants and pizzerias. “It would take a little effort on the part of these businesses to find out what households have opted out, and the Department of Consumer Affairs would have to do a lot of outreach for this to be successful,” Avella said.

Better yet, DCA could maintain a database on cheap Chinese take-out restaurants that would eliminate the need to even have menus, since all those places have the same exact food anyway!