''Puss in Boots'' (''Кот в сапогах'' in Cyrillic; ''Kot v sapogakh'' in transliteration) is a short opera-fairytale for children in three acts, four tableaux, composed by

César Cui César Antonovich Cui ( rus, Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́, , ˈt͡sjezərʲ ɐnˈtonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kʲʊˈi, links=no, Ru-Tsezar-Antonovich-Kyui.ogg; french: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui, links=no, italic=no; 13 March 1918) was a Ru ...

in 1913. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

was written by Marina Stanislavovna Pol'. It was premiered in Rome in 1915 under the title ''Il gatto con gli stivali''. A

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

edition of the opera, with a revised libretto, was published in 1961. By the 1970s this opera seems to have become popular in what was then East Germany as ''Der gestiefelte Kater''. Under that title it was recorded later on CD by the Staatsoper

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

in 1999 in a version designed for radio.

Characters

*The Cat *Jean, youngest son of the miller; he is the Marquis de Carabas: *Middle Son of the miller *Oldest Son of the miller *King *Princess, daughter of the King *The Ogre *The Princess' girlfriends, courtiers, reapers, hay-makers, ogre's servants ''(

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

)''

Plot

The plot follows very closely the fairytale by Perrault, with an instrumental introduction and inserted dances.

Bibliography

*Boas, Robert. "Nuremberg." ''Opera'' ondon v. 32 (1981), pp. 288–289. *Cui, César. ''Кот в сапогах'': опера-сказка трех действиях. 'Puss-in-Boots'': opera in three acts. Светлячок, 1913. **Soviet (revised) edition: ''Кот в сапогах'': опера-сказка для детей в двух действиях, четырех картинах. Либретто М. Львовского. 'Puss-in-Boots'': opera-fairytale for children in two acts, four tableaux. Libretto by M. Lvovsky. Москва: Гос. муз. изд-во, 1961. *Nazarov, A.F. ''Цезарь Антонович Кюи''. 'Tsezar Antonovich Cui''.(Moskva: Muzyka, 1989). *Papp, G. "''Der Gestiefelte Kater'' und 'Kling-Klang, Rockmuzik zum Antassen'," ''

Musik und Gesellschaft ''Musik und Gesellschaft'' was a music magazine in the German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers o ...

'', v. 32 (1982), p. 472.

Discography

*''Puss in Boots'': Opera Fairy-tale by César Cui in a performance from the All-Union Radio in 1948 - Puss: Pavel Pontryagin (singing)/Nikolai Litvinov (spoken), Jean: Georgy Vinogradov, The middle son of the miller: Alexei Usmanov, The eldest son of the miller: Daniil Demyanov, The King: Georgy Abramov, The Princess: Zoya Muratova, The Cannibal: Konstantin Polyaev, Conducted by Leonid Pyatigorsky / Published by Aquarius Classic 2018 *''Der gestiefelte Kater'': Märchenoper von César Cui in der Hörspielfassung von Linde von Keyserlingk. Fassung für Kammerorchester: Andreas Breitscheid. Koproduction: Junge Oper der Staatsoper Stuttgart / Südwestrundfunk / Patmos Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf, 1999. Patmos CD, 3-491-88764-X. {{Authority control Operas by César Cui Russian-language operas Children's operas 1915 operas Operas Works based on Puss in Boots Operas based on works by Charles Perrault Operas based on fairy tales