Composers and their stage works 

The Feast at Solhaug

(Gildet paa Solhaug)

Henrik Ibsen - 1856, rev. 1883.

Lyric mediaeval drama in three acts written partly in a verse form imitating the metres and style of the old Norwegian heroic ballads. The dramatic action is frequently interrupted by songs and stories.

The feast being celebrated is the third wedding anniversary of the unhappily married Margit, who together with her sister Signe is infatuated with their kinsman Gudmund. Gudmund has been unjustly outlawed and is recently arrived at Solhaug. Margit schemes to poison her aged husband Bengt, but when he is killed in a drunken brawl, she decides to enter a convent. Gudmund's name is cleared, Signe becomes his wife, and a final song praises heaven's justice.