About the work
One-act monodrama for soprano and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm, setting the closing scene of Botho Strauß's 1990/91 play "Schlußchor". Conductor Kent Nagano had asked Rihm for a curtain-raiser to Richard Strauss's "Salome"; Rihm composed the scene in 2004–05, and it premiered on 27 October 2006 at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, with Gabriele Schnaut as the singer and dancer Todd Ford as the eagle.
Plot
On a nocturnal balcony, a nameless woman encounters a captive eagle, enters into an increasingly erotic relationship with it, and finally kills and devours it. Built entirely from the woman's inner monologue, the scene ends in an act of extreme transgression.
Cultural significance
For Rihm, the woman mirrors the title character of the "Salome" that follows, who likewise kills the object of her desire; as a contrasting prelude to Strauss's opera, "Das Gehege" has since repeatedly been performed alongside "Salome".