[da] Peters Heises opera "Drot og Marsk" er et kanoniseret værk. Men ved sin fremkomst i 1878 fik operaen en blandet modtagelse. Især blev det kritiseret, at den nuancerede skildring af de kvindelige hovedfigurer svækkede det dramatiske plot. Hævndrabet på kong Erik Glipping var ikke velbegrundet, hvis marskens hustru havde ladet sig forføre frem for at være blevet voldtaget af kongen. En nærlæsning af samtidige anmeldelser viser, at debatten om kvinders seksualitet forventedes også at være afspejlet i musikdramatikken. Korrespondancen mellem Heise og hans librettist understreger samtidig, at de afviste at skildre kongen som en voldsmand og heller ikke lagde vægten på et politisk motiv til drabet i Finderup Lade i 1286. På baggrund af datidens livlige kønsrolledebat peger artiklen på, at operaen kan betragtes som et indlæg i debatten. Det kulturministerielt nedsatte kanonudvalgs vurdering af operaen som præget af en "lykkelig sammensmeltning af ord, toner og drama" illustrerer, at man i nutiden ikke nødvendigvis tillægger kunsten kritisk potentiale eller ikke opfanger de underforståede værdistandpunkter.

[en] The opera "King and Marchal" by Peter Heise belongs to the Danish cultural canon. But when the opera was first performed in 1878 critics were reluctant to appreciate its qualities. The revengeful murder of King Erik Glipping in Finderup Barn in 1286 was not justified if the marchal's wife had willingly been seduced by the king as claimed by the composer and his librettist. Neither did the opera seem to propagate a political motive for the murder. The article points to the possibility of understanding the opera as a contribution to the lively debate on women's emancipation and sexuality in the decades around 1870. However, when the opera was elected to form part of the official Danish cultural canon in 2006 it was praised for its "wonderful amalgamation of lyrics, music and drama". The judgement illustrates that we no longer expect a musical drama from the past to have possessed critical potential or we do not necessarily grasp the inherent values.