Starting a high performance application

Hi, I’m new to this, but i’m experienced in directx.

What should i use to start a high performance game?

SDL or glut or none of them?

My real question are… sdl becomes shomehow a bit slower than using directly opengl via gl.h?
And finally… will sdl let me work with my content etc as free as i want to or will it obligue me to work in any rigid direction? Does it have any restrictions?

Thanks in advance ^^