About the work
Tulifant is a fairy-tale opera by Gottfried von Einem to a libretto by Lotte Ingrisch, first performed on 30 October 1990 at the Ronacher in Vienna. It was Einem's last completed opera, which he himself called his "green" work.
Plot
Young Fridolin sets out to find his father Tulifant, an idealist reminiscent of Giordano Bruno, in order to save the earth (Smaragda), turned into an ugly old hag by humanity's blind faith in progress. Aided by three wishes and a cast of fantastical companions, he must overcome the destructive force of Wüsterich and become a new Tulifant himself.
Cultural significance
As an ecologically minded fairy tale, the opera added a topical, allegorical fable about progress and environmental destruction to Einem's late work. Publisher Universal Edition lists it as Opus 75 of his catalogue.