Die Kluge

Die Kluge
Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera) by Carl Orff
Draft for the set by Helmut Jürgens, the designer for the premiere in 1943, for a performance in Munich in 1948
LibrettistCarl Orff
LanguageGerman
Based on"Die Kluge Bauerntochter" ("The Peasant's Wise Daughter") from Grimms' Fairy Tales
Premiere
20 February 1943 (1943-02-20)

Die Kluge. Die Geschichte von dem König und der klugen Frau (The Wise [Girl]. The Story of the King and the Wise Woman) is an opera in 12 scenes written by Carl Orff. It premiered at the Frankfurt Opera, Germany, on 20 February 1943. Orff referred to this opera as a Märchenoper (fairy tale opera). The composer also wrote the libretto, based on "Die Kluge Bauerntochter" ("The Peasant's Wise Daughter") from Grimms' Fairy Tales. A performance lasts for about 90 minutes and is often paired with Orff's Der Mond.

The first performance in Belgium was given at La Monnaie in 1957 with Huc Santana as the King. The United States premiere was given by the San Francisco Opera at the San Francisco Opera House on October 3, 1958 with Lawrence Winters as the King, Lorenzo Alvary as the Peasant, and Leontyne Price as the Peasant's Daughter.