The English Cat in Münster

Opera "The English Cat in Münster" 

OPERA
'The English Cat in Münster'
based on the play "The English Cat“ by Hans Werner Henze, libretto based on the essay "The Heartache of the English Cat" by Honore de Balzac
Appropriate for age 8+
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Director: Maria de Valukhoff

"The English Cat in Münster" is an enchanting colorful production, an elegant synthesis of exciting music, brilliant vocals, bold modern drama and fantastic costumes. The musical basis of the production is the work "The English Cat" ("Die englische Katze"), by the outstanding Twentieth century German composer, Hans Werner Henze, (1926–2012) based on a short story by the French writer Honore de Balzac. The opera libretto is based on Balzac's essay "The Heart Sufferings of an English Cat" from the famous satirical collection Scenes of the Private and Public Life of Animals. The work is a stinging social satire on the French society of the time.

The storyline is built around the relationship between a white English cat and two cats, a «purebred and a common cat, thereby creating an acute social accent and illustrating a burning parody of the mores of high society: "Love without capital is nonsense!" is the central theme of the work – the terrible destructive power of money, subjugating a person, destroying his personality, disfiguring relationships between people. The opera seeks answers to philosophical questions: is it possible to create an ideal world in which everyone is satisfied with the place given to him by society? What is social justice and does it exist?

Henze's work, in an effort to be understood by the wide audience, combines aesthetic artistic solutions with classics and even allusions to modern light music, which speaks of the modernist basis of the musical language. The sound is replete with allegories, impresses with the brightness of images, and spectacular orchestral and vocal means.

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The project will be implemented in cooperation with the Goethe Institute in Latvia, which supports theatre projects aimed at preserving and exchanging cultural ties and contributing to the development of initiatives in the actual space of modern theatre. The production will feature soloists and musicians of the Latvian National Opera.

Creative team:
Director: Maria de Valukhoff (Russia-France).
Director of numerous musical performances, including the staging of the opera "Meek" by J. Tavener at the Moscow Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Artist: Igor Gurovich (Russia-Israel).
World renowned graphic artist, winner of numerous awards, including the Moscow and International Biennale 2000 and 2012

Choreographer: Artur Oshchepkov (Russia)
Director of numerous performances in Moscow theaters, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko theater, Vakhtangov Theater, and others.

Costume Designer: Yana Lopatto (Germany),
who had personal exhibitions in Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Vocal parts:
Soprano: 3 parts
Mezzo soprano: 2 parts
Tenor: 2 parts
Baritone: 1 part
Bass-baritone: 3 parts
Base: 1 part

Project cost: 200,000 euros