It is said that cats have been loved by people for a long time. As early as 4,000 years ago in ancient Egypt, cats became adopted domestic animals and were preserved as "mummies". Nowadays, people's understanding of cats is not only a "mouse killer", but also a companion pet. As for the works of art with cats as the theme, they are also varied and difficult to count. Then speaking of cats in musical works, I remember that Chopin, a Polish composer, wrote a waltz for kittens, which is also a famous waltz in F major. Huang Zhun, a famous female composer in China, also wrote the music of Cat Fishing. However, what really makes "cats" show their talents on the music stage is Weber's musical Cat.

The musical "Cat" is based on the fairy tale poetry collection "Dressed-up Old Cat Elf" by Eliot, a famous English poet. The story happened in a garbage dump. In the dead of night, the cats in Jericho get together to sing and dance, waiting for the leading cat, old Dutronimi, to choose one of them and be reborn in the ninth heaven. Griese Bella, an old cat who has been wandering for many years, appeared. After years of wandering life, her beauty disappeared. When she returned to her hometown, she became ragged and exhausted. She wanted to return to the team, but everyone bared their teeth at her cruelly, and she sang "Memories" sadly. The cats finally forgave her, and the leading cat, old Dutronimi, also announced that she was chosen to be reincarnated into the ninth heaven.

Cat is not only a colorful musical full of dynamic charm and flavor of the times, but also full of rich philosophy of life and humanistic feelings. As someone said, this is a musical about "seeing the world and life through a cat's eyes". Memory is the theme song and the most famous aria of cats. This song appeared four times in the play, but each time the scene and the content expressed were different. Among them, in the second act, Griese Bella, the old cat who finally returned from wandering for many years, sang the most famous "Memories". It's still difficult to mention the creation of this song. It is said that on the eve of the premiere of Cat, the director was not very satisfied with the music part, thinking that the whole play "still lacks a core aria", otherwise it would not reach the climax of emotion and drama. That night, Weber came home, thought hard all night, and finally wrote this famous song that stirred people's hearts and later spread all over the world.

Cat is one of Lloyd Webber's most successful works, and it is also the longest-running musical in London and Broadway. It premiered at the New London Theatre in West End of London on May 198 1 2002 and ended on May 1 1. Broadway performances in New York, USA started on1October 7 1982 and ended on September 2000 10. In addition, theaters in Hamburg, Germany, Vienna, Austria, Helsinki, Finland and Budapest, Hungary have also been staged for a long time. At the same time, there are eight production companies touring around the world. 1983, Cat won seven Tony awards, including the best musical.

At present, Cat has been translated into 14 different languages and performed in more than 50 metropolises around the world, with an audience of more than 65 million. The span of the performance season, the number of performances and audiences, and the high box office income have all created the highest records in the history of entertainment culture. It is said that on the night of the farewell performance, a 2 1 audience who saw 700 "cats" was in tears and was invited to the stage by the crew to give each "cat" a warm hug. The audience applauded, and the scene at that time was touching.