Reeking of Cowpats - Peer Gynt

150 years since Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt premiered in Norway in 1876, writer and music historian Leah Broad explores whether and how the play and Edvard Grieg’s incidental music are still able to captivate audiences today.

We hear how the political satire inherent in the play inspired the playwright and screen writer David Hare to create his own version, Peter Gynt, lampooning 21st century political leaders. Female actors reflect on the role of women in Peer Gynt, particularly the docile Solveig, who spends a lifetime waiting for Peer and then welcomes him back without question; and Norwegian director Johannes Holmen Dahl explains the challenges and rewards of staging Peer Gynt with Grieg’s music today.

But what about that music itself, so much better known through the two suites which Grieg created from the incidental score? Some of it has become ubiquitous in advertising, notably that ‘quintessential earworm’, In the Hall of the Mountain King. But as Nordic music expert Professor Daniel Grimley from the University of Oxford explains, hearing the music with fresh ears in the context of the play opens up some surprising insights – and enables the listener to appreciate its beauty afresh.

Ultimately, Leah hears, Peer Gynt has stood the test of time because the themes at its core – particularly the search for the self and the redeeming power of love – continue to intrigue and provoke in equal measure.

Producer: Kristine Pommert

Exec Producer: Anna Stewart

A CTVC production for BBC Radio 3