Arif’in Hilesi
A Turkish-language opera based on Nikolai Gogol’s play The Government Inspector.
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Chlestakows Wiederkehr
A three-act comic opera by Giselher Klebe, loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s play The Government Inspector and ending with a significant twist.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve in Dikanka, Oksana demands the Tsaritsa’s slippers before she will marry Vakula. With the Devil’s help, Vakula travels to the royal court to get them; on Christmas Day he returns, and Oksana accepts his proposal.
Marriage
Civil servant Podkolyosin hires a matchmaker to find him a bride, but his indecision gives his friend Kochkaryov the chance to take over the courtship. Although Podkolyosin becomes engaged to Agafya, he panics on the wedding day and escapes by jumping out a window.
May Night
Levko and Hanna are in love, but the Mayor also pursues Hanna. Levko tells Hanna the story of Pannochka, a drowned maiden who leads the rusalki and seeks the witch who became her stepmother. Levko rallies the village lads to mock the Mayor, whose household is thrown into confusion by their tricks. At the pond, Pannochka asks Levko to identify the witch among the rusalki. He recognizes her, and the rusalki drag her into the water. Pannochka gives Levko a letter instructing the Mayor to allow his marriage to Hanna, and the villagers celebrate.
The Gamblers
Card sharp Ikharev joins three gamblers in a scheme involving a rich landowner's promissory note, only to discover that the supposed landowner and a local official were accomplices in a plot to take his winnings.
The Government Inspector
In a corrupt provincial town, officials mistake the penniless, boastful civil servant Khlestakov for an incognito government inspector. They bribe and flatter him until his departure and an intercepted letter expose the deception; the real inspector's arrival leaves them frozen in a silent scene.
The Marriage
The matchmaker Fyokla recommends the shy bachelor Podkolyosin to Agafya, a merchant's daughter, and his friend Kokhkyarov helps persuade both of them to marry. Agafya accepts, but while she prepares for the wedding Podkolyosin escapes through the window.
The Nose
Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov wakes to find that his nose has disappeared. A barber discovers it in a loaf of bread and tries to dispose of it, while Kovalyov encounters the nose dressed as an official of higher rank. It refuses to acknowledge him. Police eventually capture the nose and return it, but Kovalyov cannot put it back on his face. He suspects Madame Podtochina, whose daughter he declined to marry, but she denies any role. The city becomes consumed by rumors about the missing nose. Kovalyov later wakes with it reattached and returns to his usual routine.
The Order of Vladimir, Third Class
In four surviving fragments, official Barsukov pursues his dream of receiving the Order of Vladimir. His ambition leads through a morning of official business, an inheritance lawsuit, servants' quarters, and another fragment; a reported lost scene has him mistake himself for the decoration.
The Overcoat
A clerk’s life revolves around the acquisition and loss of a new coat. Without spoken dialogue, movement and music depict a rigid social world in which a small gain in status can be abruptly taken away.
The Overcoat: A Musical Tailoring
A poorly paid clerk sacrifices his small comforts to buy a new overcoat. The garment briefly changes how others treat him, but its theft pushes him toward humiliation, desperation, and a ghostly aftermath.
The Portrait
The penniless artist Chartkov finds a magical painting that offers him wealth and fame. He chooses its assistance over making his own way through his talent, but comes to regret his decision.