The text is principally in German, with the addition of passages in Italian drawn from Dante's Divina Comedia sung by some of the dead.

Just before it was due to begin, a student hung a large poster of Che Guevara on the rostrum rail, which was torn down by an official from NDR radio.

At this point, although Henze and soloists had arrived onstage, the RIAS choir started chanting "Under the Red Flag we sing not" and left the stage.

[3] However, prior to the aborted performance a recording of the dress rehearsal was made, with soloists Edda Moser, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Charles Régnier, several choirs and the Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks, conducted by the composer.

It was finally premiered at a concert performance at the Musikverein in Vienna on 29 January 1971, and its first stage production was given at the Staatstheater Nürnberg on 15 April 1972.