PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paradise is Here!

RNCM Presents Shostakovich’s Moscow, Cheryomushki

Thursday 21, Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 March, 7pm,

Sunday 24 March, 3pm

RNCMTheatre

0161 907 5555

In 2011 the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) presented two early music operas: Handel’s Xerxes and Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses. This year, as we continue our 40th anniversary celebrations, we turn our attention to the 20th century and Shostakovich’s zany operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki (Paradise Moscow).

The Music…

Written in 1959 and recognised as Shostakovich’s forgotten work, Moscow, Cheryomushkitreats a serious subject in a light and entertaining manner. It overflows with saucy song, dance numbers and witty dialogue, and is peppered with allusions to the music of Offenbach and Tchaikovsky.

The Story…

When Shostakovich composed Moscow, Cheryomushki, Stalin was dead and Khrushchev was in the process of re-building Moscow with the aid of corrupt architects and unscrupulous workmen. As high-rise concrete blocks mushroomed on the outskirts of towns, he promised a new paradise on Earth to everyone who until then had lived in cramped conditions in inner-city slums. We meet a group of Muscovites who employ all manner of tricks to secure flats for themselves in the highly coveted new city district of Cheryomushki: the brazen female construction worker Lusya and her boyfriend Sergei, who works as a chauffeur for the high-ranking party official Drebednyov; Sasha and his wife Masha, who don’t live in the same flat and have to steal intimate moments together on street corners and in metro stations; and Sasha’s conscientious colleague Lidochka, who falls for the rogue Boris. All dream of paradise, and come to realise that it may not be where they think it is…

The Production…

The Moscow, Cheryomushkicreative team has impressive credentials. Stefan Janski directs, this time working with designer David Cockayne and projection/lighting designer ArnimFriess. The RNCM Opera Orchestra will be conducted by our Head of Conducting, Clark Rundell, assisted by Alexandre Bloch, the RNCM’s Junior Fellow in Conducting.

One final thing - this new production, translated by David Poutney, is double cast and will be performed in English.

To learn more or to request interviews, contact Liz Rowley, PR and Media Relations Officer, on 0161 907 5369 or email

Notes to Editors:

Listings information:

  • Moscow, Cheryomushki (Paradise Moscow)is written by Shostakovich with a libretto by the experienced team of Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky, leading Soviet humorists of the day.
  • Moscow, Cheryomushki will be staged at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, on Thursday 21, Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 March at 7.30pm with a 3pm matinee on Sunday 24 March.
  • Tickets, priced between £20 and £35, are now on sale. Call the box office on 0161 907 5555 or visit

About the RNCM:

  • In addition to being one of the UK’s top conservatoires, the RNCM is recognised as one of the North West’s leading performing venues offering a large Concert Hall and Theatre, a smaller Studio Theatre and the newly-refurbished Carole Nash Recital Room.
  • Throughout the year the College is host to over 400 concerts and events ranging from classical music to world music and jazz. It is both a platform for RNCM students to develop their incredible talent, and a stage for world-class performers.
  • The RNCM has a specifically designed competitive professionally equipped Opera Theatre and enjoys a national/international reputation for its opera productions. The College has, against stiff competition from professional opera companies such as Opera North and Glyndebourne, been awarded numerous nominations and won five prestigious Manchester Evening News Awards for Opera.
  • Alumni of current artists working in International Opera houses include: soprano Amanda Roocroft; mezzo-soprano Christine Rice; tenor Barry Banks; baritone Simon Keenlyside; and bass Sir John Tomlinson.
  • To date, some of the biggest names in popular music have also appeared at the RNCM, including Adele and Jarvis Cocker.