| The English Cat | |
| Genre: | Opera |
| Composer: | Hans Werner Henze |
| Librettist: | Edward Bond |
| Premiere Location: | Schwetzingen Festival |
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 French: 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 by the Stuttgart Opera at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen at the Schwetzingen Festival on 2 June 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.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 2 June 1983 (Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies) |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Puff | tenor | Martin Finke |
| Minette, Lord Puff's wife | soprano | Inga Nielsen |
| Tom, Minette's lover | baritone | Wolfgang Schöne |
| Arnold | bass | Roland Bracht |
| Babette, Minette's sister | mezzo-soprano | |
| Louise | soprano | Regina Marheineke |
| Miss Crisp | soprano | Melinda Liebermann |
| Lady Toodle | mezzo-soprano | |
| Peter | tenor | Helmut Holzapfel |
| Plunkett | bass | Arend Baumann |
| Jones | baritone | Karl-Friedrich Dürr |
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.
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