El gato con botas

Conductor's Notes

In the summer of 2005, Gotham Chamber Opera presented Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty) at Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. Because the production was such a great success, I immediately sought another work that might provide the same sense of wonderment to our audiences. But such a work was not so easy to locate.

After a bit of research, I unearthed El gato con botas (Puss in Boots) by Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge, and it proved to be a real find. The extrovert score, composed in 1947, exudes joy at every turn. Like the Respighi, El gato con botas features a simple, shining surface that belies great musical complexity, resulting in an opera that can please children, sophisticated musicians and everyone in between. Brought to life by Moisés Kaufman, Blind Summit Theatre and a stunning cast, El gato con botas promises to be another magical evening of opera.