La Gata Perduda

OCTOBER 5 2022

On October 5th the opera “La Gata Perduda” premiered at the Liceu Theater. As we had announced, we were part of this great project dedicated to the neighbors of the Raval, a neighborhood to which we belong.

After hard and intense days of rehearsal, long hours at the Liceu repeating the whole opera multiple times, it was time to show the world what we had been working on for months.

We were a little nervous, because although we felt prepared, we knew that in the audience there would be people close to us, like our families, friends, and neighbors. Despite the nerves, we were very excited to go on stage because we had trained for this special day, but we couldn't help but feel a little sad that this stage was coming to an end.

The project started before the quarantine, but we started rehearsing in 2021. The pandemic had complicated the process, however, we had committed to go all the way together, with all the other participating choirs.

It was both a strange and beautiful feeling to know that we were connected to strangers through the songs of the opera. We had come together for the first time at the 2021 Raval(s) Culture Festival. At this annual gathering, the choirs learn a particular song, so they can sing it together. This year the chosen song was “L'himne del Raval”, the same song that starts the opera.

In the summer of 2022, we had our first official rehearsals. We met the dancers, the directors, and the production team who were going to accompany us during these months. We learned a lot to work as a team, to appreciate more the Raval neighborhood and our neighbors.

Furthermore, we had shared many moments together, both among ourselves and with the other choirs of La Gata Perduda. The songs and choreography of the opera haunted us everywhere. Not only did we sing them in rehearsals, we could be doing everyday chores at home, walking down the street… and suddenly start humming one of the compositions. In addition, they taught us something we will never forget: the verses of the “invisibles” in sign language. Thankful to this, we learned the importance of transmitting this language musically and representing those who speak it.

It was a unique experience. Thanks to this project we got to know our fellow chorus members, we learned new things about music, theater, and opera. It has been an honor to work with the orchestra and the opera soloists. We are also proud that Dianne Ico played the role of the Gata and that we have shared the same stage.

We have been fascinated by the workings of the Liceu and how the team works, both production, organization and costumes. Not only that, but we also had a lot of fun with the dancers, the musical director Alfons Reverté and the stage director Ricard Soler.

As for the opera, we think it has been a great and close representation of our neighborhood. We feel very honored to have been part of this ambitious project. This opera has made a part of the Raval known, along with the help of our neighbors, who are now also our friends. Thank you very much Gata Perduda!

You can see the process of the opera in La Carta of TV3.