The English Cat – Die englische Katze

The members of the R.S.P.R., the Royal Society for the Protection of Rats, a society of cats dedi- cated to vegetarianism, meet in the living room of Mrs Halifax, a wealthy lady (who does not appear in person). The members include Lord Puff whom Mrs Halifax intends to marry off once more, his nephew Arnold who has hopes of becoming the president of the R.S.P.R. and Louise, a small mouse who has been adopted by the R.S.P.R. Babette appears. She is the sister of Minette, Lord Puff’s intended bride, and wishes to make acquaintance with the society. Minette also arrives; Babette and Minette are not particularly enamoured with the bigotry of the soci- ety members whose lifestyle runs contrary to natural feline behaviour. Minette escapes onto the roof of the house where she meets Tom who falls in love with her. She suppresses her reciprocal feelings and attempts to interest him in the aims of the R.S.P.R. Arnold espies the two and realises that he can utilise what he has witnessed for his own advantage. During the wedding ceremony at which Tom appears disguised as a priest, Arnold’s plan to kill his uncle fails. His fi nal attempt to prevent the marriage through revealing the scene he had witnessed on the roof is also unsuccessful: Mi- nette marries Lord Puff. Tom and Arnold are both in despair for different reasons. Minette, now known as Lady Puff, receives her sister Babette who tells her of the hard life led by her family. Unexpectedly, Tom also comes to visit. He had joined the army to heal his broken heart, but deserted prior the departure of the ship. The intimate conversation between the two is interrupted by the members of the R.S.P.R. Tom is handed over to the police, but miraculously succeeds in escaping. Lord Puff fi les a petition for divorce. Tom reappears in the divorce proceedings disguised as a barrister and pleads in fa- vour of Minette. He is however unmasked and he and Minette are found guilty. Just before Tom is led away, the public prosecutor discovers that Tom is the long lost son of Lord Fairport who has perished at sea; Tom is now rich and a respected fi gure and all obstacles to his marriage to Minette have been removed. Fate however takes its course: Mrs Halifax resolves to drown Minette in the Thames in a sack. Babette and Tom cannot come to her aid. They fall in love with one another and Minette gives them her blessing. The members of the R.S.P.R. interrupt once more. They demand that Tom makes over his fortune to them. Tom refuses and leaves the scene accompanied by Babette. Minette remains in the sack and awaits her fate. Tom has made Babette his sole heir in his will, but just as he is about to sign the document, the notary’s secretary Luzian stabs him in the back. The protectors of the rats enter the scene and take possession of the fortune. The mouse Louise is left behind; she decides to turn her back on the R.S.P.R. and return to her former life as a mouse. 

"In March 1978, I wrote a letter to the poet and playwright Edward Bond telling him about the dramatisation of a piece by Balzac taking place in the world of animals (particularly the world of cats) entitled « Peines de coeur d’une chatte an- glaise » which I had seen and enjoyed in Paris. […] Even during the performance, I had already begun to hear music associated with masquerades, para- bles and the style of 19th century opéra comique, a sinister and off-key music for a sinister and off- key story. This had prompted me to write to Edward Bond with whom I had already collaborated on two occasions and produced an opera [We come to the River] and a ballet [Orpheus]. Bond accepted my idea, transferred the plot from the French Directoire period to Victorian London around 1900 and made me a present in friendship and solidarity of the libretto with its unlimited possibilities for musical development. […] The entire work is constructed on the variation principle of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations with the extension of this principle according to the charac- teristics and possibilities provided by the musical drama. A series of thematic centres are brought to life by degrees and are in turn subjected to variation along the lines of the development of the charac- ters onstage; these undergo further development processes until they come into contact with one an- other producing new confl icts and strange fusions. The main characters and the different social groups are allotted obligate instruments which help the lis- tener to follow the concurrence of these processes, providing repeated references almost in the manner of a progress report. […] Because I believe in the revolutionary strength of humans, this is optimistic music which laughs and cries and has the intention of moving the distinguished audience to laughter and tears."