Friday, April 26 at 7:30PM
Saturday, April 27 at 7:30PM
Sunday, April 28 at 2:30PM

Main Stage Opera with Symphony Orchestra

Music by Dmitri Shostakovich
Arranged by Gerard McBurney
Libretto by Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky

Main Stage Opera provides audiences with the full opera experience! This year’s production is a satirical musical comedy in three acts, and features lively choruses, polkas and jazz-influenced turns performed expertly by our very own Symphony Orchestra.

Hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “a fascinating work in which Shostakovich pokes gentle fun at the problems of suburban expansion,” Moscow, Cheryomushki follows a motley group of friends living in a subsidized housing district. During the wake of political and societal change, the friends are re-housed in the city’s new high density apartments, and their lives rapidly unravel — relationships are challenged and corruption seeps in at the seams. With a score full of subversive undercurrents and parodies of the Russian musical cannon, audiences are sure to be charmed by the staging and choreography, which playfully highlights the operetta’s wit, candor and insight.

Sung in English with subtitles

Directed by Ella Marchment
Music direction by Emanuele Andrizzi
English translation by David Poutney

Suggested Show Rating: PG-13

This production contains adult language and theatrical haze. Contact the Box Office for more information.

Moscow, Cheryomushki by Dimitri Shostakovich and Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky, English version by David Pountney presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners.

Digital Program

View Digital Program

Shenandoah Conservatory uses digital programs for all performances. In addition to their engaging and accessible design, digital programs are cost effective, environmentally friendly and enable us to create and update our programs more efficiently, which means we can focus our resources on the performances you love! View our digital programs by clicking the button above, scanning the QR code in our venue or texting PROGRAM to (540) 307-2336 at the performance. [Note: Digital programs are best viewed on your mobile or tablet device.]

Meet the Director

Universally acclaimed as one of Europe’s most original and progressive directors, and widely celebrated as the founder of the global #OperaHarmony movement, auteur-director Ella Marchment has also taken on leadership roles for international arts organizations and spoken and lectured at world-renowned companies and conservatoires, including Opera Europa in the Netherlands, the Royal Opera House in London, the Juilliard School in New York, and the Royal College of Music in London. She was previously director of the opera programme at Northern Illinois University and is the current artistic director of Manor Opera in the UK, and Opera Festival of Chicago. Visit www.ellamarchment.org to learn more.

Food & Drink

Concessions will be available for purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

Accessibility

Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Photos by C King Media (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Spring 2023)