Meet the Cast of USC Thornton Opera’s “The English Cat” Pt. 2
By Evan Calbi
Beginning on Nov. 19, the USC Thornton’s Opera Program presents the West Coast premiere of The English Cat, the 1983 opera written by famed 20th-century composer Hans Werner Henze featuring a libretto by controversial British playwright, Edward Bond.
In part two of this video, meet the cast of the production, including USC Thornton students Glenn Ayars, Katie Beck, Adam Faruqi, Napat Mingkwanyuen, Anthony Moreno, and Moriah Wax.
Based on a short story from Scenes of the Public and Private Lives of Animals by Honoré de Balzac, The English Cat explores class division through the eyes of a group of bourgeois cats who form the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Rats.
Performances of the rarely staged work will be Nov. 19, 21 and 23 in Bing Theatre. The performance on Nov. 21 includes a pre-performance discussion sponsored by Visions & Voices, USC’s Arts and Humanities initiative, that will explore Bond’s socially conscious work, which was inspired by a short story written by Honoré de Balzac.
In 1986, when USC Thornton faculty Tim Page reviewed the New York premiere, he wrote: “Mr. Henze is a spectacular craftsman.” Page described Henze’s music as “imbued with luminous clarity.”
For more information, please visit the USC Thornton event calendar.
