La gata perduda

The Opera Through Which El Raval Enters the Liceu

La gata perduda ('The Lost Cat') is the opera through which El Raval enters the Liceu, and through which the Liceu has had the opportunity to open up, get to know, and learn from a neighborhood of which it is a part and embraces. This initiative involves the intervention of the residents of Barcelona's most eclectic community: over 40 nationalities in 1.1 square kilometers and where the highest density of associationism in the European Union is found. About 1,000 individuals and entities and organizations have participated (directly or indirectly).

An artistic dialogue that has been enriching for both sides - artistic and community - and aims to create a transformative experience for all involved parties.

Equip creatiu de l'òpera la gata perduda al Liceu.

Artistic Team

This project has also involved an artistic team (we include the photo of this artistic team that has collectively created a new opera with the entire neighborhood, offering them the opportunity to integrate into an innovative program in our country. The Lost Cat features a libretto written by playwright Victoria Szpunberg based on extensive bibliographic research about the neighborhood and about twenty interviews conducted with the residents of El Raval, a key source of inspiration for the writing of this fiction.

The composition of the work has been undertaken by Arnau Tordera and draws from the musical realities of the neighborhood. Various perspectives on the different musical styles that can be displayed in contemporary stage music are combined, opting for a symphonic language that connects with romantic opera from the second half of the 19th century and also with film music.

The plot

The plot of The Lost Cat presents a traditional tension in the world of opera between the high and the low, between power and the people. Power, symbolized by an ambitious and ostentatious Magnate, seeks to put El Raval under its control, an operatic El Raval formed by a colossal chorus of neighborhood residents.

The libretto depicts a globalized world, where the consequences of a system governed by economic profit clearly and directly impact the population, the neighborhoods, and the lives of its citizens.

TRACTION

La gata perduda was part of the European project TRACTION, Opera co-creation for a social transformation, a Research and Innovation project funded by the European Commission under the H2020 DT-Transformations-11-2019 call: Collaborative approaches to cultural heritage for social cohesion. TRACTION is a project that arises from the understanding between different European partners grouped in a consortium with the mission of bringing opera closer, through technological innovation, to people who, due to a vulnerable context, have diminished access possibilities. With this common objective and under the leadership of the Basque foundation Centro de Tecnologías de Interacción Visual y Comunicaciones Vicomtech (VICOM), the Liceu and eight partners from five European countries in the fields of university research, technological innovation, and ethical commitment, made this premise a reality.