Puss in Boots (El Gato con Botas)Gotham Chamber Opera and Tectonic Theater Project, presented by the New 42nd Street at the New Victory Theater
Reviewed by
Ron Cohen
October 04, 2010
First performed in 1948, the opera—Spanish title: ""El Gato con Botas""—recounts how a cunning cat delivers wealth and the love of a princess to his master, a poor miller. Néstor Luján's libretto has been translated into English by the show's director, Moisés Kaufman, and conductor, Neal Goren. From his first appearance, during the overture, as a mangy but ingratiating beast, the title character, manipulated by three puppeteers, seems sure to walk away with the show—especially after his makeover into a fluffy fellow sporting his swashbuckler outfit. But Puss gets a lot of competition from the story's miniature king and courtiers, each brought to life by two puppeteers working in amazing synchronization; a chorus of dancing rabbits; and, most particularly, a gigantic ogre whose body parts flail about in drunken stupor and then come threateningly together. A half-dozen folks work away unobtrusively to bring this show-stealer to life. In singing roles, Puss is triple cast and the four other parts are double cast. At the performance reviewed, Leah Wool gave Puss a sweet mezzo-soprano with an appropriate touch of roguishness as she traveled about the stage in tandem with the puppeteers. Peter Castaldi was a hilariously pompous king and sang with gusto even while helping manipulate the character, and David Salsbery Fry lent a properly fearful bass to the ogre. As the two nonpuppet characters, soprano Valerie Ogbonnaya as the princess and baritone Steven LaBrie as the miller made an appealing romantic couple. The voices were all nicely in balance with the 12-member orchestra, but supertitles nevertheless helped in following the story. (Two performances will be in Spanish.) Kaufman's direction imbues the production with an infectious mood of childhood wonder, reflected in Andromache Chalfant's whimsical set designs, David Lander's lighting, and Clint Ramos' costumes. And ogre-size kudos go to puppetry director Mark Down and puppetry designer Nick Barnes. Gotham Chamber Opera and Tectonic Theater Project in association with Blind Summit Theatre, presented by the New 42nd Street at the New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St., NYC. Oct. 2–10. Thu.–Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 7 p.m.; Sun., noon and 5 p.m. (646) 223-3010 or www.newvictory.org. |
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