Peer Gynt birthplace, where Ibsen claims he found inspiration for the character "Peer Gynt", and is regarded by many as the most authentic version. The play is performed by professional actors from the national theater institutions, and nearly 80 local amateur actors. The music to the play is inspired by the original theatre music by Edvard Grieg - the "Peer Gynt suite". The play is one of the most popular theater productions in Norway, attracting more than 12,000 people every summer. The festival also holds the Peer Gynt Prize, which is a national Norwegian honor prize given to a person or institution
Peer Gynt and English). Reportedly, Grieg was not in the right mood for this task. The music of these suites, especially "Morning Mood" starting the first suite, "In the Hall of the Mountain King", and the string lament "Åse's Death" later reappeared in numerous arrangements, soundtracks, etc. Other Norwegian composers who have written theatrical music for "Peer Gynt" include Harald Sæverud (1947), Arne Nordheim (1969), Ketil Hvoslef (1993) and Jon Mostad (1993–4). Gunnar Sønstevold (1966) wrote music for a ballet version of "Peer Gynt". In 1906 scenes from the play were given by the Progressive Stage Society of New York. The first