Work of the Week – Hans Werner Henze: The English Cat

By Christopher Peter
2 Nov 2025

Composer Hans Werner Henze sits on a chair with his hands folded, looking seriously and slightly upward into the camera. In the background on the left side of the image is a stylized dagger with the tail of a black cat wrapped around it.

The premiere of Hans Werner Henze's (b. 1926–2012) opera The English Cat (in the German version, "Die englische Katze") on November 5, 2025, at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich marks an early highlight leading up to the composer's 100th birthday in July 2026. This new production at the Cuvilliés-Theater, musically directed by Katharina Wincor and staged by Christiane Lutz, brings the story back to Munich.

Victorian Intrigue in Feline Fur: Henze's Biting Balzac Opera Returns

Hans Werner Henze is considered one of the most important and politically engaged composers of the 20th century. His operas, including key works like "The Bassarids" and "Der junge Lord", often explore the conflict between individual happiness and social repression.

The English Cat, premiered in Schwetzingen in 1983, appears harmless at first glance: it is an animal fable in two acts set in London's high society around 1900. Yet, beneath the surface lies a sharp satire on the prudent, hypocritical morality of the Victorian era.

The libretto was written by the renowned British playwright Edward Bond, who proposed Honoré de Balzac's tale "Peines de cœur d'une chatte anglaise" (Sorrows of a female English cat) from the early 1840s as the source material.

Corrupt Cats and Maltreated Mice

The plot revolves around the "Royal Society for the Protection of Rats" (K.G.S.R.)—an organization whose moral façade quickly crumbles. The aging president, Lord Puff (a tomcat), must marry. His choice falls on the young, destitute cat Minette, who soon realizes her unhappiness within this stiff society.

Minette falls in love with the dashing tomcat Tom, who deserts from the army to be with her. What begins as a charming animal parable develops into a tragedy of betrayal, greed, and hypocrisy. Minette's and Tom's idealism fails against the unscrupulous intrigues of the K.G.S.R., satirizing the social order and misunderstood Christianity.

Henze employs music that oscillates between elegant, neo-classical sounds and biting, satirical passages. The English Cat is one of his more significant works from his middle to late period, often seen as a black-humoured chamber opera that works particularly well in small, intimate venues like the Cuvilliés-Theater. The existence of both language versions—German (Die englische Katze) and English (The English Cat)—underscores the work's international significance.

The new production at the Bavarian State Opera, largely performed by members of the Opera Studio, is thus a promising prelude to the celebrations surrounding Hans Werner Henze's 100th birthday in 2026.