Werner Egk’s comic opera Der Revisor premiered in
1957. Egk brilliantly condenses Nikolai Gogol’s
comedy to create an opera score whose wittiness and
acuity is equal to the original in every way. Composed
as a number opera in the traditional opera buffa manner,
the music bubbles over with ideas, illustrative
moments, onomatopoeic effects and stylistic parodies,
e.g. from jazz and sacred music. The work’s basic
“Russian” color is created by harmonic references to
Russian folkloric music.
The CD ROM contains extensive information on
the opera’s environment and the events leading up
to its creation as well as on the composer’s life and
works. In addition to biographical material, it provides
examples of Werner Egk’s artistic work as well as
fotos from the Augsburg production. The material is
rounded out by two radio interviews that Werner Egk
gave to the Bavarian Radio Broadcasting Company in
1956 and 1976.