The libretto was written by Leo Feld based on the fairy tale "Vom unsichtbaren Königreiche" [de] by Richard von Volkmann and the poem "Der arme Peter" by Heinrich Heine.

Shortly thereafter, however, Mahler abruptly resigned and his successor, Felix Weingartner, dropped Der Traumgörge from the schedule, even though the work had already gone into rehearsal.

The original performance materials were discovered in the archives of the Vienna State Opera in the 1970s, a period of renewed interest in Zemlinsky's music.

[5] The Frankfurt production was conducted by Markus Poschner and directed by Tilmann Köhler with AJ Glueckert as Görge, Zuzana Marková as the Princess/Gertraud, Magdalena Hinterdobler as Grete and Liviu Holender as Hans.

Sitting on the bank of a stream, Görge again falls into reverie and the Dream-Princess appears once more, inviting him to join her in a magical world of beauty and make-believe.

However, when the villagers, led by Kaspar, decide to organise a peasants' revolt against the landowners, they approach Görge, as the most articulate member of their community, to be their leader.

Görge realises that his dream has been fulfilled in the idyllic life he now shares with Gertraud and the two declare their love in the dusk of early evening.