I love cats. I grew up with cats, and wherever I go, I notice them. Sometimes I smile and go my way while on other occasions, I stop to “talk” to them . They often seem to enjoy me giving them gentle strokes. My behaviour makes sense to ailurophiles (cat lovers), but to non-ailurophiles, I am weird. My wife once said I smile the sweetest when I smile at cats (and not her.)
And true enough, I noticed many Italian cats. But what have cats got to do with Giacomo Puccini, the celebrated Italian composer? The most popular song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical Cats was “Memory.” Weber composed the melody initially for a proposed Giacomo Puccini project in the style of Puccini. The tune was, however, abandoned and brought to life again in the musical Cats.
Trevor Nunn, the musical director, wrote the lyrics. He based the lyrics on poems by T. S. Eliot, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” with modifications to suit the music. The musical was a tremendous success and is still playing – one of the longest productions in the world.
Elaine Paige was the first person to play the central character role of Grizabella. The song described the sad remembrance of her glamorous past (as a “glamour cat”) who had fallen on hard times. As an only shell of her former self, she pleaded for acceptance by her fellow younger Jellicle cats. Elaine Page’s rendition made Memory one of, if not the most recognisable musical theatre songs ever.
I empathise with the feelings of Grizabella, the over-the-hill old cat. I felt some of the same feelings in the past, but now I hardly experience it. However, I could see many more of the “Grizabella feelings” in some people I know who still wanted to remain in the limelight. Sadly, they find it difficult to “let go” and reinvent themselves when the spotlight shifts elsewhere. After many years in the limelight as Chairman, CEO, or top-notched professor, it can be challenging to be a nobody.
We all live in the present, the future, or the past in a mixture of varying proportions. I am keenly aware of the proportions. If we worry, we live in the future. If we regret, we live in the past. If we live today in the present, we will have neither worry nor regret. As humans, we will continue to worry sometimes; and feel the blues of regrets now and then.
In the final analysis, we can only enjoy when we live in contentment in the present moment every day. And I feel contented when I have cats with me!
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
