Puppet show / Musical
Directed by Matjaž Pograjc
Produced by the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Opening night: April 1 2008

Silence's 4th collaboration with the Lutkovno theatre is based on Luis Sepúlveda's bestselling book Historia de una gaviota y del gato que le enseńó a volar (The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly). Zorba, a big black cat from the port of Hamburg, stumbles upon a dying seagull covered in oil. He pledges to protect the egg she leaves behind, raise the chick, and teach it to fly. Soon enough, Zorba and his pals – a band of puckish felines – are forced to experience the unexpected misgivings and delights of parenthood.

The soundtrack features seven songs (sung live by six remarkable actors/pupeteers) and five instrumentals. The score is much like Zorba and his companions: loud, rompy, and cheerful. In order to achieve the desired frolicsomeness, Silence blended diverse elements and genres: New Orleans blues, jazz, Italian and Romani music, etc. Three tracks – Dolce Vita, Il Padrino Gattino, and Il Padrino Pianino – are Silence's tribute to the great Nino Rota, renowned for his collaboration with Federico Fellini and his work on the first two films of the Godfather trilogy.

The soundtrack also features a couple of quirky vocal performances: the lyrics of Caterwaul and Puss Rock, for instance, consist entirely of miaowing. Needless to say, getting the catty accent right required extensive research of feline linguistics and – to the general amusement of Silence's family members – hours of practice. The soundtrack was written, produced, recorded and mixed in Silence's private production facility, the Daily Girl studio, in February and March 2008.

In 2012, Martin Marzidovšek directed Pristaniški mački (The Port Cats' New Friend), a film adaptation of Pograjc's staging. The short film features music from the play.

Songs
01 Caterwaul
02 Zorba's Hatchery
03 Harbour Cats
04 Rats!
05 The Coquette
06 Puss Rock
07 Lucky Lucky's Song

Instrumentals
01 Dolce Vita
02 Seagull & Zorba
03 Il Padrino Gattino
04 The Monkey
05 Il Padrino Pianino