Duetto buffo di due gatti

The "Duetto buffo di due gatti" (humorous duet for two cats) is a performance piece for two sopranos and piano. Often 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

In order of appearance, the piece consists of:

  • the "Katte-Cavatine" by the Danish composer C. E. F. Weyse[2]
  • part of the duet for Otello and Jago in act 2 of Otello
  • part of the cabaletta to the aria "Ah, come mai non senti", sung by Rodrigo in the same act

Recordings

Some albums including this piece are:

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. Richard Osborne: Rossini. London: Dent (1986), p. 179.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.