Elves' Hill

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For the 1845 fairy tale, see The Elf Mound.

Elves' Hill (Danish: Elverhøj) is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with music by Friedrich Kuhlau, which is considered the first Danish national play.

Elves' Hill was written in 1828 for the wedding of Frederik Carl Christian (later Frederik VII) and Vilhelmine Marie, and premiered 5 days later. Since the premiere, the play has been performed more than 1,000 times at the Royal Danish Theatre.

The play utilizes a combination of the folklore of the Elven king of Stevns and a story of swapped children; King Christian IV is cast as a sort of detective, who unravels the mystery.

[edit] In popular culture

In the eighth Olsen Gang movie (Olsen-banden ser rødt), the Olsen gang bombs, drills, and hammers its way through the opera house's basement in synchronicity with the music of the Elverhøj Overture.

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