Animals - especially cats and dogs - can have the most brilliant reactions to music. The sound of a rousing symphony or a heartfelt aria can seem to touch them deeply, in ways that we will probably never fully understand but are just totally adorable.
We've been collecting some of our favourite examples of animals lost in music. There was the brilliant moment when, at a concert attended by our editor Charlotte Smith, a cat wandered on to the stage in the middle of a Beethoven performance. Then there was Nora, the beautiful grey cat who plays the piano in her own very particular way.
And now, we present to you... Hugo, aka Opera Dog! This beautiful Golden Retriever based in the UK absolutely loves his opera. And one singer in particular.
Have a look, below, at Hugo's reaction to the great Luciano Pavarotti singing the drinking song 'Brindisi' from Verdi's La Traviata.
Hugo clearly feels some deep personal connection with Pavarotti here. He gets excited when he sees the great tenor take the stage. He recognises the music, patiently waits for his cue. Let's be honest, he pretty much deserves to take a bow at the end.
Here he is, similarly excited by a performance from the Three Tenors (Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras) performing the much-loved aria 'O Sole Mio' ('My Sunshine').
It's not just the male voice that stirs Hugo deep within. In this next clip, it's the famous 'Queen of the Night' aria from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute that has him up and duetting with the television.
Check out the moment when he stops to take a look around the room. 'What did you think of that?', he seems to say. What did we think? Hugo, we can't get enough of you.
Here is a dog with a deeply felt connection to music. Keep on singing, Hugo.
Dogs and composers: a rich tradition
You'll be pleased to know that Hugo's affection for classical music is very much reciprocated. Several great composers were known dog lovers.
These included Edward Elgar, who owned (among others) two spaniels both named Marco; and the composer, suffragette, and writer Ethel Smyth, who allegedly preferred dogs to people and was the proud owner of a St Bernard cross named, what do you know, Marco. A rescue dog from Vienna, Marco was lucky to live a pampered and luxurious life.
Elsewhere, Dmitri Shostakovich owned an Airedale terrier named Tomka, who was his pride and joy. Frédéric Chopin was inspired to write his Valse du Petit Chien (Little Dog Waltz) after seeing his partner's dog, Marquis, chasing its tail. And Richard Wagner had his Nerwfoundland, Russ, buried at his feet in Bayreuth.
Barking mad for more? Here's a list of music's most dog-loving composers.
