Hey there, Kids Commuters! Here, kitty, kitty! It’s Day Three of CAT WEEK on Kids Commute, where we’ll listen to music either inspired by cats or written about them.
Our musical selection of the day is actually a mashup composed before mashups were actually a “thing." (At the time of its composition, a "mashup" - or different pieces mashed together into one - was called "pastiche.") Gioachino Rossini’s “Cat Duet” is a fun piece usually sung as an encore at the end of a concert or recital that features a pair of singers. Learn about the history of the piece and how Rossini didn’t actually write the piece as it exists today, nor did he give it the name that we call it today. And don’t forget about our quizlet - text us your answer and you may just win an all-new Kids Commute Prize Pack!
KC 212
Duetto buffo di due gatti
Gioacchino Rossini (with C.E.F. Weyse and Robert Lucas de Pearsall, writing as G. Berthold)
Victoria de los Angeles, Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Gerald Moore (pianist)
Here's today's Kids Commute:
Check out this very funny performance of the duet, sung by Norma Burrows and Kiri Te Kanawa:
Here is Juan Diego Florez singing "Ah come mai non senti" from Otello, composed by Gioachino Rossini. This is one of the pieces that inspired the duet:
Here's another piece of duet inspiration, the "Iago duet" from Act II of Otello, performed by Chris Merritt and Richard Croft:
