Bella Alten operatic career included six Metropolitan premiere performances – Adele in Die Fledermaus (1905), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (1905), Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron (1906), Olga in Fedora (1906), Columbina in Le Donne Curiose (1912), and Lisetta in L'amore Medico (1914). In November 1905 when she sang Gretel in the premiere Metropolitan performance of Hänsel und Gretel, the composer Engelbert Humperdinck was in the audience. This opera received 11 performances that first season and was selected by Theodore Roosevelt's wife as a benefit for the Legal Aid Society. Alten sang Gretel in this opera every season she was with the Met
Ketzel, the Cat who Composed "School Library Journal" called it "A delightful read." "Kirkus Reviews" named it "Truly, the cat's meow." and "Publishers Weekly", in a star review, wrote "a lovely tale of cross-species affection and creativity". It was also reviewed by the Jewish Book Council, the "Jewish Journal", and the "Buffalo News". "Ketzel" won the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards Picture Book/Early Reader Award, and the 2016 Gold Sydney Taylor Book Award Younger Reader Category Ketzel, the Cat who Composed Ketzel, the Cat who Composed is a children's picture book by Lesléa Newman. Based on a true story, it is about the friendship between Moshe