F. Michael Miller plays the cardinal in “Tosca” at the Des Moines Metro Opera. (Photo: Cory Weaver)  By Michael Morain Editor If you’ve always dreamed of being an opera star but can’t read music — or, you know, just couldn’t squeeze in the decades of training — we have good news fo r you: There are some choice walk-on opportunities. Every summer, Des Moines Metro Opera hires a few lucky locals to fill out various non-singing roles for a modest honorarium. The fancy term is “supernumerary,” but those in the know just call them “supers,” which has a nice ring to it. The super roles run the whole operatic gamut — kings, queens, soldiers, farmhands, party guests, villagers, even the occasional dead body. This season, which opened Friday and continues through July 19, we asked two “Tosca” supers to tell us about their side gigs in the spotlight. The Cardinal By day, F. Michael Miller works remotely as an IT pro for a claims company in Minneapolis; by night, he’s a cardinal for the Catholic church. That might sound like a leap, but he was ready for the call. The former altar boy from Dubuque went to Catholic schools all the way through Loras College. He’s played the upright bass in more than 125 musicals, including two productions of “Nunsense” for which the pit orchestra donned habits. Miller belongs to the Indianola chapter of the opera guild, so when the company sent out a call for supers, he figured he’d give it a shot. They assigned him his role when he went to the first of two fittings for his costume, a nine-piece collection of gold-embroidered liturgical vestments that “weighs about as much as a couch.” (But his eminence didn’t need a wig. “They said I had good ‘opera hair.’”) At the end of the first act, the cardinal enters in a grand procession through a Roman church, accompanied by a host of clergy and a 12-voice children’s choir. At the altar, he lifts a 15-pound golden monstrance containing the Eucharist and then traces the sign of the cross three times, in time with Puccini’s swelling score. “I was nervous as a cat,” he said of Friday’s opening night. “I usually wear glasses, but I had to wear contacts and one of them slipped just as I was going on stage. But the show must go on.” He did just fine. Afterward, he received a blessing from the stage manager: “no notes.” The Henchman Brad Green is a weather forecaster for the Iowa Air National Guard, a part-time football coach for Simpson College and, now, an official menace. In “Tosca,” he plays one of two minions of Rome’s ruthless chief of police. Green’s 13-year-old daughter Hattie is performing in “King Roger,” her fourth opera for the company, so he decided to try it, too. Previously, he had filled in as a body double while the lighting director adjusted lights, but this is his first time in the cast. “My character is part of the secret police for our main villain, Scarpia,” he said. “We’re supposed to find Cavaradossi and rough him up a little.” Since the opera is sung in Italian, which he doesn’t understand, he takes most of his cues from body language. He’s gotten the hang of it. “Just being around such amazing, talented people who are very genuine and helpful has made this so much fun,” he said. It’s fun for his family, too. They got a kick out of his costume, which includes breeches, an overcoat and a wig. “Some of my kids have never seen me with hair,” he said. “My wife didn’t even recognize me on stage. The hair threw her off. My daughter said, ‘I think that’s Dad.’” Brad Green plays the henchman on the far left. (Photo: Cory Weaver)  ...read more read less