Oslo being the first Opera House in the world to let people walk on the roof of the building. The foyer and the roof are also used for concerts as well as the three stages. Most great Norwegian authors have lived in Oslo for some period in their life. For instance, Nobel Prize-winning author Sigrid Undset grew up in Oslo, and described her life there in the autobiographical novel "Elleve år" (1934; translated as "The longest years"; New York 1971). The playwright Henrik Ibsen is probably the most famous Norwegian author. Ibsen wrote plays such as "Hedda Gabler", "Peer Gynt", "A
The Master Builder Builder" can be taken as one of realism: the destructive outcome of a middle-aged, professional man's infatuation with a younger, teasing woman or, as critic Desmond MacCarthy describes this concept of the work: the tragedy of an "elderly architect who falls off his scaffold while trying to show off before a young lady". If, however, one takes Solness's belief in his powers at their face value, the play also can be a lyrical and poetic fairy tale, in the manner of "Peer Gynt" travelling the Earth in his magical adventures while the faithful Solveig waits for his return. On stage,