Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin (The Bird-Man and the Flying Princess) is a fairy-tale opera in three acts by Udo Zimmermann with a libretto which he wrote with Eberhard Schmidt based on the eponymous fairy tale by Peter Hacks. It was first performed on 30 December 1976 at the Semperoper, staged by Harry Kupfer. History Zimmermann grew up and studied in the German Democratic Republic. In his opera , he had chosen a political topic, a scientist's conflict, located in a present-day city there. In contrast, Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin is a fairy tale in a utopia, but with political analogies and allusions. Zimmermann wrote the opera on a commission from the Staatsoper Dresden, after completing his opera . The libretto, by the composer and Eberhard Schmidt, is based on an eponymous fairy tale by Peter Hacks, which appeared in 1964 in a literary magazine, Sinn und Form, and which was arranged in dramatic form shortly after. The opera was premiered at the Staatsoper on 30 December 1976, staged by Harry Kupfer and conducted by Peter Gülke. A first performance in West Germany was staged at the Staatstheater Darmstadt in 1977, and a shorter version was presented at the Salzburg Festival in 1995, directed by and conducted by the composer. Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin was published by Breitkopf in both the original version which takes about 165 minutes to perform, and the abridged Salzburg version of 120 minutes. Plot The fairy tale by Hacks reflects the situation of a divided Germany in the Cold War. It tells of a bird (Schuhu) which can cross borders without problems. The opera has been called a Parabel über Sehnsucht nach Liebe und Glück in anachronistischen Verhältnissen (parable about the desire for love and happiness under anachronistic circumstances). The wife of a poor tailor delivers her tenth child, which is not a baby but an egg, from which a Schuhu (bird-man) emerges. It can magically turn little into plenty ("aus wenig viel"). The mayor is interested and buys the Schuhu from his father, but as the Schuhu also makes bad things worse, he soon wants rid of it. The Schuhu, unwanted even by its parents, sets off on a series of adventures, first being turned away by the Grand Duke of Coburg-Gotha and then being hired by the Emperor of Mesopotamia as a nightwatchman. He meets the Flying Princess,