A pair of boots, a sword and a little quick thinking are all a clever cat needs to change a miller’s fortunes in El Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots). Arizona Opera brings the classic fairy tale to Phoenix Nov. 7–8 at the Roma and Raymond Wittcoff Black Box Theater, with three performances at the Arizona Opera Center.
Based on Charles Perrault’s tale, the one-act opera follows the cat as he sets out to win his master a kingdom and a bride. Spanish composer Xavier Montsalvatge’s score pairs lively rhythms with piano accompaniment in a production featuring all five singers from the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio. Mezzo-soprano Rosario Armas plays Puss in Boots, with tenor Cameron Howard as the miller. The opera runs about an hour straight through and is sung in Spanish with English and Spanish supertitles.
Arizona Opera added a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee to meet demand. That performance includes American Sign Language interpretation. The Saturday evening performance begins at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday’s 2 p.m. matinee is sold out.
In a nod to the title character, Arizona Opera is collecting new or gently used shoes and new socks for St. Vincent de Paul. The drive especially needs children’s shoes in all sizes and men’s shoes in size 7 and up.
