Salzburg Festival: Hans Werner Henze's ‘L'Upupa and the Triumph of Filial Love’

Extract

An ancient tale is told by an Old Man in a tower. He experiences the story both in his dreams and as his present hopes and fears. L'Upupa appears, a mysterious hoopoe who is the sum of the Old Man's joys. Impetuously he grabs hold of her but she struggles free and manages to fly away. Left behind are a golden feather and a bleeding finger. The Old Man sends his three sons in search of the bird, knowing that neither the eldest, Gharib (‘the Untrustworthy’), nor the second son, Adschib (‘the Fanciful’), can succeed. It is Kasim (‘the Sharer’) – the youngest – who will fulfil the quest, for he is virtuous and wholly without guile. The ensuing developments in this Syrian legend may be quickly enumerated here: tasks are set, songs are sung, and potentates take and release captives, for in sending his sons on such a mission, the father has knowingly endangered their lives. Kasim returns not only with the bird, but also with an angelic Demon who has safeguarded him on his journeys, and Badi'at, a beautiful Jewish maiden. To great astonishment the old man sets free l'Upupa. And although a wedding is announced, Kasim will not stay to marry Badi'at, setting off instead to seek one of the famous red apples of Manda in order to redeem his pledge against the Demon's protection. The end is marked by the beginning, and a quest starts anew.