''El gato montés'' ("The Wild Cat") is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in three acts composed by

Manuel Penella Manuel Penella Moreno (31 July 1880 in Valencia – 14 January 1939 in Cuernavaca) was a Spanish composer. His father was the composer :es:Manuel Penella Raga, Manuel Penella Raga. His daughter Magdalena Penella Silva married the politicia ...

who also wrote the Spanish-language

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

. It premiered on 23 February 1916 at the Teatro Principal in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. The opera enjoyed great success in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries and was produced in English as ''The Wild Cat'' in New York's Park Theater in 1921 with Penella conducting. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', by the time it had opened in New York, ''El gato montés'' had already received 2700 performances.''

'' (17 November 1921)
"'The Wild Cat' at the Park Saturday"
Retrieved 7 March 2014. Interest in the work was renewed when it was revived by the

Teatro de la Maestranza The Teatro de la Maestranza is an opera house located in Seville, Spain. The theatre was conceived to be one of the main cultural venues of the Seville Expo '92, and the first performance took place in 1991, shortly before the inauguration of the ...

in Seville in 1992. It subsequently received its first performances in the United States in the original Spanish at

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

in 1994 and

Washington National Opera 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. Performance ...

in 1996.Rothstein, Edward (27 January 1994)
"El Gato Montes; After Seven Decades, a Spanish Opera Regains Its Voice"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 7 March 2014.Wigler, Stephen (31 December 1996)
"Washington Opera's 'El Gato' is powerfully done, until the end"
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

''. Retrieved 7 March 2014. The Los Angeles Opera production was filmed for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

' ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

''.

in Seville presented the title again in its 2021/22 opera seaso
Teatro Maestranza - El gato montés
with a production by Spanish opera director Raúl Vázquez that had the premiere at Opera de Tenerife in 2019
Auditorio de Tenerife - El gato montés
and in Oviedo in 202
Oviedo Filarmonia - El gato montés
The first performance in Germany took place a
Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern
in 2018, under the direction of the Spanish conductor Rodrigo Tomillo.

Roles

*Soleá (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

) *Frasquita (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

) *Loliya (soprano) *Father Antón (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

) *Rafael Ruiz (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) *Juanillo,(Pablo Hertogs) ''El gato montés'' (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

) *Hormigón (baritone) *Caireles (baritone) *A Gypsy Woman (soprano)

Recordings

References

Notes Sources *Alier, Roger (2007)
''Guía universal de la ópera''
Ediciones Robinbook. *Mesa, Franklin (2007
''Opera: an encyclopedia of world premieres and significant performances, singers, composers, librettists, arias and conductors, 1597-2000''
McFarland & Co.

External links

* Operas Spanish-language operas 1916 operas Operas by Manuel Penella {{Opera-stub