Floss der Medusa, Das

‘Popular and military oratorio’ by Hans Werner Henze (text by E Schnabel), for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, dedicated to the memory of Ché Guevara. The projected first performance in Hamburg, Germany, on 9 December 1968 had to be cancelled when members of the chorus, revolting students, and the police came into conflict. It was performed (as a concert) in Vienna, Austria, on 29 January 1971; its first stage production was given in Nuremberg, Germany, on 15 April 1972. The Medusa of the title was a French frigate abandoned at sea in 1816. The officers escaped in lifeboats and cut adrift the entire crew on a single raft.