2. The Escape (Die Flucht) - 6 Scenes based on Henze´s El Cimarrón - by Hubert Käppel

2. THE ESCAPE This is the second of six scenes from Hubert Käppel’s adaptation after El Cimarrón by Hans Werner Henze. This work tells the true story of Esteban Montejo, born around 1868 and who died in 1973, a slave born in Cuba. Montejo experienced the harsh oppression of slavery and eventually managed to escape from plantation life, choosing to live independently in the forest. During the Cuban War of Independence, he witnessed rebellion, the war of liberation, and the difficult struggle for freedom, while also seeing the chaos and injustice that followed the revolution. His story reflects the human desire for freedom, the relationship between human beings and nature, and the courage required to survive under oppression while preserving one’s dignity. The six scenes are as follows: 1. The World (1st scene) 2. The Escape (2nd scene) 3. The Forest (3rd scene) 4. The Rebellion (4th scene) 5. The Bad Victory (5th scene) 6. Friendliness (6th scene) NOTES on the CREATION of EL CIMARRÓN Hans Werner Henze became aware of the true story of Esteban Montejo through the Cuban writer Miguel Barnet, who discovered Montejo in a retirement home around 1963. In extensive interviews, Montejo recounted the story of his life—from slavery to the Cuban War of Independence. Deeply moved by this testimony, Henze composed El Cimarrón during an extended stay in Cuba. El Cimarrón is a dramatic musical-theatrical work in fourteen movements, written for four performers: baritone, flute, guitar, and percussion. It is conceived as a full-length evening work. HUBERT KÄPPEL VERSION Hubert Käppel’s version, based on the original by Hans Werner Henze, condenses the material into six scenes for voice and solo guitar. It can be understood as a concentrated, intimate summary of the larger work, reducing the instrumentation while intensifying the narrative focus and expressive immediacy between voice and guitar. Hubert Käppel: “My participation in the original El Cimarrón as a guitarist left a deep impression on me. The story stayed with me. This led to my shorter version, inspired by Henze’s original, but featuring narration and guitar simultaneously.” The six scenes presented here were performed and recorded live in 2025 at the Klosterkapelle Zündorf in Cologne-Porz. LYRICS: 2. The Escape I knew that I could not stand that kind of life much longer. I could not stay there. All I thought of was to escape. What could be worse than working in the fields? That was like being in hell. I kept my eyes on the overseer, that son of a bitch. I whistled....... and he turned round to look. I grabbed a rock from the ground as he turned and I smashed it into his filthy ugly face. I ran off and did not look back until I was alone in the mountains.