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.

In contrast, Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin is a fairy tale in a utopia, but with political analogies and allusions.

[3][4] 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,[5] directed by Michael Heinicke [de] and conducted by the composer.

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 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.

[2] The opera is played by two identical chamber orchestras, both featuring:[7][8] with an additional barrel organ (Leierkasten), being imitated by a quartet of recorders, and tape.

[9]A studio recording of a shortened version was made in 1978, with Peter Gülke conducting the Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester Leipzig, with soloists Jürgen Freier as the Schuhu, Helga Termer as the Princess, Hans-Joachim Hegewald [de] as narrator, and many others, by the label Berlin Classics Nova 0013012BC.