Opera in 3 acts
Libretto by Ingeborg Bachmann after Heinrich von Kleist
first performed May 22 1960, Hamburg State Opera
Sung in German with German & English surtitles
Introductory talks (in German) begin in the Holzfoyer 30 mins before curtain up, and can be heard here shortly before opening night
There's a chamber music concert inspired by the work at 11am on October 20 in the Neue Kaiser.
Prince Friedrich von Homburg serves under the Kurfürst of Brandenburg. On the eve of a decisive battle against the Swedes the Prince lies dreaming in the garden, and is ridiculed by everybody. In his dream Homburg saw himself as the acclaimed victor of the imminent battle, whom the Kurfürst had crowned with a victory wreath by his niece, Natalie of Oranien. When the Prince tries to catch his beloved Princess, he only manages to get her glove. The Kurfürst and his retinue withdraw. Graf Hohenzollern wakes the Prince, who remembers his dream hazily, looking at the woman’s glove in his hand. He interprets it as a good omen in war and love. Feldmarschall Dörfling dictates the Kurfürst’s battle plan to the officers – including the Prince von Homburg – while the Kurfürstin and Natalie take their leave from the men before the battle. Homburg is inattentive when the order goes out not to attack until the Kurfürst explicitly orders them to. The Prince only has eyes for Natalie, who’s looking for her glove. Homburg gives it back to her.
The battle begins at dawn, with Homburg and his men watching from their assigned position. When the Swedes seem exhausted, Homburg impetuously gives the order to attack. The Kurfürstin and Natalie are told that the battle was won, but the Kurfürst was among the casualties. Surrounded by devastation, Natalie and the Prince of Homburg profess their love.
News arrives that the Kurfürst’s still alive. He orders that the commanding general, who behaved so high-handedly, be tried by court martial and sentenced to death. When Homburg and his men lay their victory trophies at his feet, the Kurfürst has the Prince disarmed and taken prisoner.
Act Two Hohenzollern visits Homburg in prison, telling him that the court martial has sentenced him to death. The Prince remains unperturbed because he’s sure the Kurfürst will overturn the verdict, only to find out that he’s already asked that it be brought for him to sign. Homburg, realising the gravity of his situation, panics. Hohenzollern advises him to speak to the Kurfürstin, to try and turn the tide. On his way there Homburg sees his open grave: and is seized by mortal fear. He begs the Kurfürstin to persuade the Kurfürst to grant him a reprieve. She advises him to keep his composure. When, in desperation, he declares himself even willing to sacrifice Natalie to save himself, she reaffirms her feelings and sets off to intercede on his behalf. Natalie urges her uncle to exercise his rights and reprieve Homburg. She implores him: »Rules of law should prevail, but loving feelings too.« The Kurfürst gives his niece a letter for Homburg, which promises to set him free if he finds the verdict unjust. Homburg decides to abide by the verdict. Natalie summons her regiment; intending to free him by force if necessary.
Act Three Hohenzollern, Kottwitz and other officers, who went into battle under Homburg, speak to the Kurfürst about a reprieve for the Prince, just as Homburg’s written response arrives. The prisoner is led before the Kurfürst: Homburg reaffirms his acceptance of the death sentence in front of his friends. The Prince, expecting to be executed, is blindfolded and led into the garden. When Hohenzollern removes the blindfold in front of the royal retinue, his dream seems to repeat itself: Natalie, at her uncle’s behest, crowns him with the victory wreath …
The Prince of Homburg – a dreamer, nonconformist, hero?
Fehrbellin, 1675: Prince Friedrich dreams he’s an acclaimed victor in battle but is laughed at by everybody. The command goes out before the real fight begins that no-one’s to attack until the electoral prince explicitly orders it. But Homburg high-handedly leads a charge that could lead to victory and is sentenced to death for insubordination ...
Hans Werner Henze and Ingeborg Bachmann met in 1952 at a Group 47 meeting and worked together for more than a decade. They came up with their own version of Kleist’s 1809/10 play, which alternates between melancholy, heroism and the analysis of it, which has been interpreted many times according to political circumstances. The opera’s focus moves from the military to the humane, from the historically correct to the timeless. The music – written for a large chamber orchestra – expands on the libretto in two juxtaposing spheres: a lyrical traditional world of dreams, which flickers strangely out of focus through the use of a mixture of sounds, and a tightly constructed, including twelve-tone, and serialized world of prevailing order, underlining the opera's probing questions about the position assigned to a dreamer in a strictly regulated society, the relationship between the individual and controlling system and the compatibility of emotions and laws.
