About the work
Peer Gynt is an opera in three acts by Werner Egk, who in 1938 also wrote the libretto after Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name. It premiered on 24 November 1938 at the Berlin State Opera, conducted by Egk himself.
Plot
The Norwegian peasant's son Peer Gynt leaves home and lives through numerous episodes as an adventurer, trader and self-styled showman, ranging from the realm of the trolls to the desert, before returning as an old man to the faithful Solveig, who has waited for him all her life.
Cultural significance
The premiere became a political event: parts of the Nazi press attacked Egk's Stravinsky-influenced idiom, and Hermann Göring protested, while Adolf Hitler, who attended the performance, is said to have approved of the work. By 1944 the opera had been staged in seven German cities as well as in Prague and Paris.