Humorous performance piece for two sopranos
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
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
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 [sv] (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