Moscow Cheryomushki (Russian: Москва Черемушки, Moskva Cheryomushki) is an operetta in three acts by Dmitri Shostakovich, his Op. 105. The libretto was written by the experienced team of Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky, leading Soviet humorists of the day. The satirical plot dealt with a topical theme geared to one of the most pressing concerns of urban Russians, the chronic housing shortages and the difficulties of securing livable conditio...
more
Moscow Cheryomushki (Russian: Москва Черемушки, Moskva Cheryomushki) is an operetta in three acts by Dmitri Shostakovich, his Op. 105. The libretto was written by the experienced team of Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky, leading Soviet humorists of the day. The satirical plot dealt with a topical theme geared to one of the most pressing concerns of urban Russians, the chronic housing shortages and the difficulties of securing livable conditions. Cheryomushki translates to “bird-cherry trees” and the operetta was named after a real housing estate in southwest Moscow.
The work was completed in 1958 and received its premiere on 24 January 1959 at the Mayakovsky Operetta Theatre under Grigori Stolyarov. The operetta is reminiscent of Shostakovich’s popular music of the period, yet at the same time it engages a satirical assessment of the housing redevelopments in Moscow.
In a musical career which spans half a century, Shostakovich engrossed himself with a staggeringly diverse range of...
less
