Did you know that Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko – an outstanding Ukrainian composer, conductor, pianist, and music educator who made a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian musical culture – dedicated a real opera to a cat?

One of his children's operas, "Pan Kotskyi" (Mr. Kotskyi), was created based on a folk tale and is a unique embodiment of Ukrainian culture in musical form. The music was written by Mykola Lysenko, and the libretto by Dniprova Chaika (a pseudonym for Liudmyla Oleksiivna Vasylevska-Berezina).

This work remained largely unknown to the general public for a long time. After its premiere in the composer's Kyiv apartment among family and friends in 1891, the opera was censored. Following the publication of this work in 1891, the St. Petersburg press supervision rejected the composer's application to publish the opera's piano score in 1895 and again in 1903. A re-edition of "Pan Kotskyi" was only released by the Kyiv publishing house "Mystetstvo" (Art) in 1945.

An exhibition of works by students of the City Palace of Children and Youth, presented in our museum on March 12, 2024, also bears the same name, "Pan Kotskyi." The opening of the exhibition was attended by members of the "Art Therapy" club (leader Svitlana Krachylo), "Dyvosvit" (leader Natalia Boichuk), "Fine Arts" (leader Olena Tymchuk), and "Woven Colors" (leader Larysa Soshnikova).

Cats have long been among humanity's most popular pets. As the young authors of the "Pan Kotskyi" exhibition noted, we love cats for their soft fur, warmth and gentleness, humor and playful nature, affection, and pleasant purring. So it's no surprise that cats have a great influence on creativity: their images can be found in literature, fine art, and even music!