1968: Students and civil rights movements demonstrate worldwide in the streets, Martin Luther King is assassinated, and the reform projects of the Prague Spring are crushed by invading Warsaw Pact troops—a politically symbolic year. That same year, Hans Werner Henze's oratorio was also scheduled to premiere in Hamburg, but the premiere was met with protests and a police intervention in the concert hall. The scandal made The Raft of the Medusa instantly famous. The libretto is based on the true, scandalous story of a shipwreck off the west coast of Africa: While those responsible sought safety in lifeboats, 154 crew members and passengers were abandoned to the ocean on a makeshift raft.

Udo Samel

Events

Past events

Jul 18, 2025

The Raft of the Medusa — Bavarian Radio Choir · WDR Choir · ORF RSO · Metzmacher · Salzburger Festspiele

Jul 18, 2025

The Raft of the Medusa — Bavarian Radio Choir · WDR Choir · ORF RSO · Metzmacher · Salzburger Festspiele

Future and recently performed repertoire

Charon in Das Floß der Medusa by Henze

Salzburger Festspiele

About

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