The English Cat

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Operas by Hans Werner Henze

Boulevard Solitude (1952)
König Hirsch (1956)
Der Prinz von Homburg (1960)
Elegy for Young Lovers (1961)
Der junge Lord (1965)
The Bassarids (1966)
Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung
der Natascha Ungeheuer (1971)
We Come to the River (1976)
The English Cat (1983)
Das verratene Meer (1990)
Venus und Adonis (1997)
L'Upupa und der Triumph
der Sohnesliebe (2003)
Phaedra (2007)
v • d • e

The English Cat (in German, Die englische Katze) is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to an English libretto by Edward Bond, based on Les peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise (The heartbreak of an English cat) by Honoré de Balzac. The opera was first performed in a German translation at the Württemberg State Theater in Schwetzingen in 1983. The French premiere was at the Opéra-Comique, Paris in 1984. The first performance using the original English text was at Santa Fe on 13 July 1985.[1] [2] The UK premiere was at the Leith Theatre, Edinburgh, on 19 August 1987.[3] A revised version was performed at Montepulciano in 1990 and this was given in London in 1991.

Contents

[edit] Roles

  • Lord Puff (tenor)
  • Minette, Lord Puff's wife (soprano)
  • Tom, Minette's lover (baritone)
  • Arnold (bass)
  • Babette, Minette's sister (mezzo-soprano)
  • Der Mond (The moon; mezzo-soprano)

[edit] Synopsis

The opera is set in London in the 1890s.

A group of bourgeois cats has formed the Royal Society for the Protection of Rats. Avowed pacifists as well, the society has been raising a young orphan mouse, Louise. There is a love triangle between Lord Puff, his wife Minette, and Tom.

[edit] Recording

  • Wergo WER 62042: Richard Berkeley-Steele (Lord Puff), Mark Coles (Arnold), Louisa Kennedy (Minett), Gunvor Nilsson (Babette/Der Mond), Ian Platt (Tom); Parnassus Orchestra London; Markus Stenz, conductor

[edit] References

  1. ^ John Rockwell, "In Santa Fe, Henze's 'English Cat'". New York Times, 29 July 1985.
  2. ^ Michael Walsh. "When the Style Is No Style", Time, 1985 (note; on-line article is erroneously dated 18 April 2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
  3. ^ Dean, Winton, "Reports: Edinburgh" (November 1987). The Musical Times, 128 (1737): 642-643.

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

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