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. 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]

  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.