The "Duetto buffo di due gatti" (humorous duet for two cats) is a performance piece for two sopranos and piano. Oft performed as a comical concert encore, it consists entirely of the repeated word miau ("meow") sung by the singers. It is sometimes performed by a soprano and a tenor, or a soprano and a bass.
While the piece is typically attributed to Gioachino Rossini, it was not actually written by him, but is instead a compilation written in 1825 that draws principally on his 1816 opera Otello. Hubert Hunt claims that the compiler was Robert Lucas de Pearsall, who for this purpose adopted the pseudonym "G. Berthold".[1]
Structure edit
In order of appearance, the piece consists of:
- the "Katte-Cavatine" by the Danish composer C. E. F. Weyse[2]
- part of the duet "No, non temer, serena" for Rodrigo and Jago in act 1 of Otello, there belonging to the words "Se uniti negli affanni noi fummo un tempo insieme" etc.[3]
- part of the cabaletta to the aria "Ah, come mai non senti", sung by Rodrigo in the second act of the same opera.[4]
Recordings edit
Some albums including this piece are:
- A Most Unusual Song Recital, Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano), Walter Berry (bass-baritone), Gerald Moore, piano, released 1969
- A Tribute to Gerald Moore, EMI Classics: Victoria de los Ángeles (soprano), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Gerald Moore (piano), released 2003 (expanded reissue of 1969 release), also known as "Le Duo des Chats"
- Sweet Power of Song, EMI Classics: Felicity Lott (soprano), Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano), released 1990
- Duets for Two Sopranos, BIS: Elisabeth Söderström (soprano) and Kerstin Meyer (mezzo-soprano), Jan Eyron (piano), released 1992
- The Best of Rossini, EMI Classics, MESPLE/BERBIE/REISS, released 1992
- Wir Schwestern zwei, wir schönen (1996), Edita Gruberová (soprano), Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo-soprano), Friedrich Haider (piano). Last track, also identified as "Katzen-Duett"
- Von ganzem Herzen, Catalyst: Montserrat Caballé, Montserrat Martí, released 1998
See also edit
- "Duo miaulé" in L'enfant et les sortilèges
- Duett: "Nun, liebes Weibchen ... Miau! Miau!" (Lubano, Lubanara), in Der Stein der Weisen (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart et al.)
References edit
- ^ Hubert Hunt, Robert Lucas Pearsall: the Compleat Gentleman and His Music, 1795–1856. Chesham Bois (1977); Chris Woodstra. All Music Guide to Classical Music, 2005, p. 1126.
- ^ Richard Osborne: Rossini. London: Dent (1986), p. 179.
- ^ Otello ossia L'Africano in Venezia, tragische Oper in drey Aufzügen von J. Rossini [sic], Klavierauszug (PDF). Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. p. 29.
- ^ Otello ossia L'Africano in Venezia, tragische Oper in drey Aufzügen von J. Rossini [sic], Klavierauszug (PDF). Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. p. 102.
Further reading edit
- Andrew Cooper, "Rossini's Cat Duet", message to OPERA-L, June 17, 2004.
External links edit
- "Duetto buffo di due gatti": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- James Manheim. Duetto buffo di due gatti (Cat Duet), for 2 voices & piano at AllMusic
- Score at el-atril.com
- Video (German narration introduction), Felicity Lott (soprano), Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Davis (piano), BBC Proms 1996, archived from the original on 2022-01-24.