About the work
Opera in three acts by Hans Werner Henze to a libretto by Ingeborg Bachmann after Heinrich von Kleist's play "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg" (written around 1810), first performed on 22 May 1960 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Leopold Ludwig in a staging by Helmut Käutner. Henze completed the score in 1958 and revised the work again in 1991.
Plot
Guided by a vision from a dream, the Prince of Homburg attacks at the Battle of Fehrbellin against the Elector's explicit orders — the attack wins the battle, but the Prince is sentenced to death. The Elector leaves it to him to declare the sentence unjust; only once the Prince accepts his guilt and overcomes his fear of death does the Elector pardon him and unite him with Princess Natalie.
Cultural significance
Henze translated the opposition between dream and military drill into two contrasting sound worlds: soft, tonal string writing for the Prince's dream world, and strict twelve-tone rows for the world of the Elector. The opera is regarded as Henze's pointed critique of German militarism and the culture of obedience, and remains one of his most frequently performed stage works.