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 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 Cotel and a kitten, Ketzel, who composes a musical piece that Cotel enters into a music competition and receives a special mention. "BookList" gave "Ketzel" a star review, wrote "this delightfully told story is unlikely and adorable in equal parts. Bates' watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations feature an unanthropomorphic kitty whose inquisitive and quizzical nature will be familiar to all cat owners." and found it "An absolute charmer!" and the