This hilarious ‘Duetto buffo di due gatti' (‘Funny duet for two cats') is said to be the work of Gioachino Rossini – although some argue it was written by someone else in 1825, who was compiling a work which drew on Rossini's 1816 opera, Otello. The Black Cat Opera Company. Professional touring opera company, based in the South of England. The cats' opera by Eilis Dillon, 1963, Bobbs-Merrill edition, in English.
Cats is an award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and other poems by T. The show has be. Madame Soso is a famous opera singer who lives in Milan with her Siamese cat. Her life is filled with a routine of singing lessons and performances. Unbeknownst to the diva her cat adores opera and has learned all of Madame Soso's arias. The two things Alma the cat wishes for in life are to leave the apartment and to sing opera.
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| Bisset's Cat Opera | ||
| Current Price: 35 pounds Quantity: 1 Auction Ends: 12/15/00 High Bidder: gfajuri@umich.edu Seller: Ye Old eBay Web Masters Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Auction currency is British pounds unless otherwise noted. |
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This auction is probably one of the greatest bargains on the site. Available for one performance and one only, which lasts approximately 40 minutes is the flock of trained cats made so successful by their owner, a Mr. Bisset, who has become known throughout the kingdom for his unparalleled ability to train even the most finicky of beasts. And knowing just how finicky felines can be, one can appreciate the 'cat opera' up for auction here even more than the common learned pig or trained horse so often seen at Southwark Fair, among other places. According to Mr. Thomas Frost, 'Cats are generally regarded as too susceptible of nervous excitement to perform in public, though their larger relatives, lions, tigers and leopards, have been taught to perform a variety of tricks before spectators, and cats are readily taught to perform the same trick in private.' Bisset, however, has made his small felines unafraid of crowds and something of a group of show-offs. Let the bidders on this auction be reminded that the Cat's Opera took in several thousand pounds over the course of two days not long ago, and that the opening bid of 35 pounds sterling is a small sum for such a miraculous presentation. It will look something like this: three cats, under the bidding of Bisset, will play the dulcimer and at the same time, squall to the notes produced in a most harmonious and novel manner. In addition, Bisset will supplement the performance with tricks performed by his trained monkeys (who play the barrel organ and vault on the tight rope), a hare that walks on its hind legs while beating a drum, and a feathered army of canaries and linnets that spell out names and tell time by the clock. At an extra charge, Bisset will include his half dozen turkeys that execute a country dance with exacting precision, and a turtle that writes names on the floor (its feet are specifically blackened for the purpose). Bisset has been a particular success in Ireland as well as London and his availability for private engagements are limited. Act now. | ||
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| The English Cat Die englische Katze | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Hans Werner Henze | |
| Librettist | Edward Bond |
| Based on | Les peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise by Honoré de Balzac |
| Premiere | 2 June 1983 |
The English Cat (in German, Die englische Katze) is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to an Englishlibretto by Edward Bond, based on Les peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise (The heartbreak of an English cat) by Honoré de Balzac. The opera was first performed in a German translation by the Stuttgart Opera at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen at the Schwetzingen Festival on 2 June 1983. The French premiere was at the Opéra-Comique, Paris in 1984. The first performance using the original English text was at Santa Fe on 13 July 1985.[1][2] The UK premiere was at the Leith Theatre, Edinburgh, on 19 August 1987.[3] A revised version was performed at Montepulciano in 1990 and this was given in London in 1991.
Roles[edit]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 2 June 1983[4] (Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies) |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Puff | tenor | Martin Finke |
| Minette, Lord Puff's wife | soprano | Inga Nielsen |
| Tom, Minette's lover | baritone | Wolfgang Schöne |
| Arnold | bass | Roland Bracht |
| Babette, Minette's sister | mezzo-soprano | Elisabeth Glauser |
| Louise | soprano | Regina Marheineke |
| Miss Crisp | soprano | Melinda Liebermann |
| Lady Toodle | mezzo-soprano | Ursula Sutter |
| Peter | tenor | Helmut Holzapfel |
| Plunkett | bass | Arend Baumann |
| Jones | baritone | Karl-Friedrich Dürr |
Synopsis[edit]
The opera is set in London in the 1890s.
A group of bourgeois cats has formed the Royal Society for the Protection of Rats. Avowed pacifists as well, the society has been raising a young orphan mouse, Louise. There is a love triangle between Lord Puff, his wife Minette, and Tom.
Instrumentation[edit]
- Woodwind: 2 flutes, (also alto flute and piccolo), 2 oboes (also English horn, 2nd doubling on Heckelphone), 2 clarinets (1st doubling on E flat clarinet, 2nd on bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling on double bassoon)
- Brass: 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone
- Percussion (3 players): 2 glass bars, 9 Chinesegongs, suspended cymbals, Africanwood drum, 8 log drums, tumba, maracas, claves, güiro, 2 sistrums, wood block, cabaça, 5 temple blocks, switches, American slat clacks, bass metallophone (or bass xylophone), 9 finger cymbals, slide whistle, 14 small bells
- harp, piano (also 4 hands), celesta, small organ, zither, strings (6.4.3.3.1)
Synopsis[edit]
The opera is set in London in the 1890s.
A group of bourgeois cats has formed the Royal Society for the Protection of Rats. Avowed pacifists as well, the society has been raising a young orphan mouse, Louise. There is a love triangle between Lord Puff, his wife Minette, and Tom.
Instrumentation[edit]
- Woodwind: 2 flutes, (also alto flute and piccolo), 2 oboes (also English horn, 2nd doubling on Heckelphone), 2 clarinets (1st doubling on E flat clarinet, 2nd on bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling on double bassoon)
- Brass: 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone
- Percussion (3 players): 2 glass bars, 9 Chinesegongs, suspended cymbals, Africanwood drum, 8 log drums, tumba, maracas, claves, güiro, 2 sistrums, wood block, cabaça, 5 temple blocks, switches, American slat clacks, bass metallophone (or bass xylophone), 9 finger cymbals, slide whistle, 14 small bells
- harp, piano (also 4 hands), celesta, small organ, zither, strings (6.4.3.3.1)
Recording[edit]
- Wergo WER 62042: Richard Berkeley-Steele (Lord Puff), Mark Coles (Arnold), Louisa Kennedy (Minett), Gunvor Nilsson (Babette/Der Mond), Ian Platt (Tom); Parnassus Orchestra London; Markus Stenz, conductor
References[edit]
Notes
- ^John Rockwell, 'In Santa Fe, Henze's 'English Cat'. New York Times, 29 July 1985.
- ^Michael Walsh (1985). 'When the Style Is No Style'. Time. Retrieved 2007-08-14.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Dean, Winton, 'Reports: Edinburgh' (November 1987). The Musical Times, 128 (1737): 642–643.
- ^Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). 'Die englische Katze'. L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
Cat Operator Flex Trouser
Sources
- Clements, Andrew, 'The English Cat', The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN0-333-73432-7
- Petersen, Peter, 'Klischee als Sujet. Hans Werner Henzes 'The English Cat' und sein Arbeitstagebuch, Ernst Kolleritsch, Hg., 'Klischee und Wirklichkeit in der musikalischen Moderne', U. E., Wien, 1994, S. 62–91.
External links[edit]
- The English Cat on the Schott Music website (English/German)
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