Gotham Chamber Opera Presents EL GATO CON BOTAS at New Victory Theater

Following on the heels of last year's sensational Il mondo della luna at the Hayden Planetarium, Gotham Chamber Opera announces that The New 42nd Street presents, at The New Victory Theater, a Gotham Chamber Opera and Tectonic Theater Project production in association with Blind Summit Theatre, Xavier Montsalvatge's El gato con botas (Puss in Boots), a stunning new production of the classic children's tale directed by Moisés Kaufman and conducted by Neal Goren, which will be presented in October 2010.

Gotham Chamber Opera is known for its cutting-edge productions of works intended for smaller venues. Haydn's Il mondo della luna, presented in January 2010 at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History, received worldwide attention for its celestial light show and use of laser technology. Recent Gotham productions have been directed by Mark Morris, Diane Paulus, Karole Armitage, and Christopher Alden.

El gato con botas (Puss in Boots), by Xavier Montsalvatge
October 2-10, The New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd Street, NYC
Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 7pm, Sundays at noon and 5pm. Additional performance: Thursday, October 7 at 7pm. Gala performance on 10/1. Performances in Spanish: 10/1, 10/7, 10/9 at 7pm. All other performances in English. All performances supertitled in English.
Tickets are $14-38 ($9-25 for members) and will be available at www.NewVictory.org or by phone at 646-223-3010 beginning August 11, 2010.

The New Victory Theater presents the U.S. premiere production of El gato con botas (Puss in Boots), a Gotham Chamber Opera and Tectonic Theater Project production in association with Blind Summit Theatre. The work is an operatic version of the classic children's tale in which a charismatic and cunning cat promises a poor miller everlasting love and fortune. All he needs to pull off his ruse are a hat, a cape, a pair of boots, and his wits. Directed by Moisés Kaufman, founder of Tectonic Theater Project (33 Variations, The Laramie Project), and conducted by Neal Goren, founder of Gotham Chamber Opera (Il mondo della luna, La bella dormente nel bosco), this all-new production features a cast of five singers along with creations from the London puppet masters Blind Summit Theatre (Anthony Minghella's Madama Butterfly). Performances are available in both the original Spanish and in English translation, both with English supertitles.

Puppetry direction by Mark Down, puppetry design by Nick Barnes, set design by Andromache Chalfant, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by David Lander. Featuring Kevin Burdette, Peter Castaldi, Ginger Costa-Jackson, David Salsbery Fry, Steven LaBrie, Karin Mushegain, Valerie Ogbonnaya, Kyle Pfortmiller, Nadine Sierra, Craig Verm, and Leah Wool.

Gotham Chamber Opera is the nation's foremost opera company dedicated to producing rarely-performed chamber operas from the Baroque era to the present. The company's mission is to present innovative, fully-staged productions of the highest quality in intimate venues.

Founded by conductor and Artistic Director Neal Goren in 2000, in its short history, Gotham Chamber Opera has presented seven U.S. premieres of 18th- and 20th-century operas, including such masterpieces as Mozart's Il Sogno di Scipione; Darius Milhaud's Les Malheurs d'Orphée; Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu's Dada opera, Les Larmes du Couteau; and Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister's Die schwarze Spinne. In February 2005, Gotham presented the U.S. stage premiere of Handel's Arianna in Creta. Also in 2005, Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA presented Gotham Chamber Opera's U.S. premiere of Ottorino Respighi's fantastical puppet opera, La bella dormente nel bosco featuring the puppetry of Basil Twist. In the spring of 2006, Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring received its first professional staging in New York in more than 30 years, and in winter 2007, Rossini's Il signor Bruschino received its first major professional New York staging in over a half century. In the 2007/2008 season, Gotham Chamber Opera celebrated dance with productions of Astor Piazzolla's tango opera María de Buenos Aires, directed by David Parsons and featuring Parsons Dance, and with a new work entitled Ariadne Unhinged, directed by Karole Armitage and featuring members of Armitage Gone! Dance. And in 2009, Mark Morris directed the U.S. stage premiere of Haydn's L'isola disabitata. In January 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera presented Joseph Haydn's Il mondo della luna at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium. Directed by Diane Paulus, the production received worldwide attention for its celestial light show and use of laser technology.
Tectonic Theater Project is dedicated to developing innovative works that explore theatrical language and form, and fostering an artistic dialogue with audiences on the social, political and human issues that affect us all. Its mission is to develop and present new work that brings together a broadly diverse spectrum of artists and audiences that explore and embrace theater together as both an entertaining art form and a personal resource. Tectonic Theater Project was founded in 1991 by Moisés Kaufman and Jeffrey LaHoste. Tectonic refers to the art and science of structure and was chosen to emphasize the company's interest in construction-- how things are made, and how they might be made differently. Its groundbreaking plays The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and I Am My Own Wife have sparked national discourse about their subjects and have inspired artists and audiences worldwide.
Blind Summit Theatre was founded in 1997 by Nick Barnes and Mark Down. They specialise in creating puppetry for adult audiences and are pioneers of a new method for training actors to perform with puppets. Productions include: My Father was a Wondering Aramean (2010), The Call of the Wild (2010), 1984 (2009), An Odde Angel (2008), Real Man (2007), Low Life (2005), Paper Story (2005), A Puppet in the Works (2004), Pirate Puppetry (2004), Martin's Wedding (2004), The Spaceman (2003), Mr China's Son (2002)and Tramping the Boards (2001).

The New Victory Theater is New York City's first and only full-time performing arts theater for kids, their families and classmates. Since it opened in 1995, The New Victory has quickly become an integral part of the cultural landscape in New York City, presenting a full season of adventurous multidisciplinary works from around the globe and close to home. The New Vic seeks out sophisticated, thought-provoking, professional productions that are as artistically rich as they are entertaining. Tickets are made affordable as a result of support from a variety of public and private sources and cost an average of $17, with seats for members available for as little as $9.

In addition, The New Victory also offers daytime school performances ($2 per student), family workshops and jobs to high school and college students. Interactive Lower Lobby Activities, FYIs (performance-related exhibits) and Talk-backs with the artists are offered in conjunction with select performances throughout the season. The theater's website, NewVictory.org, continues to be an excellent resource, providing video clips and more information about each production in the season.

Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent, nonprofit organization charged with long-term responsibility for seven historic theaters west of Broadway on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. In addition to running The New Victory, The New 42nd Street built and operates the New 42nd Street Studios -- a 10-story building of rehearsal studios, offices and a 199-seat theater named The Duke on 42nd Street -- for national and international performing arts companies. Since its opening on June 21, 2000, the New 42nd Street Studios have been fully occupied by both nonprofit and commercial theater, dance and opera companies. With these institutions and the other properties under its guardianship, The New 42nd Street plays a pivotal role in fostering the continued revival of this famous street at the Crossroads of the World.

For more information, visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.

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