A revised version was first performed at the Staatstheater Stuttgart on 8 June 1955, conducted by Ferdinand Leitner.
[2][3] Andersen was the pen name of Ludwig Strecker, director and editor of the music publisher Schott-Verlag.
[5] The premiere in Austria was on 18 December 1940 at the Graz Opera, conducted by Karl Fischer,[6] with Alfred Schütz as Mephisto.
[7] A revised version was presented at the Staatstheater Stuttgart on 8 June 1955, staged by Kurt Puhlmann and conducted by Ferdinand Leitner.
[8] Reutter tried to create a people's opera (Volksoper), similar to Werner Egk's Die Zaubergeige, which was also composed to a libretto by Andersen and published by Schott.