Moscow, Cheryomushki
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Moscow, Cheryomushki (Russian Москва Черемушки) Op. 105 (also known as simply Cheryomushki) is an operetta in three acts by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. It was written in 1958 and premiered on 24 January 1959 at the Mayakovsky Operetta Theatre, Moscow under Grigori Stolyarov. The libretto was by Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky. The work was made into a film (entitled Cheryomushki) in 1962, and a suite of music from the film is the composer's Op. 105a.
The work is a satirical take on the redevelopment of Moscow which was then taking place. A new housing estate, Cheryomushki (a real-life estate on the southern outskirts of the city), has been built to replace the city's old housing. The work focuses on three young couples, whose relationship problems play out alongside their struggle against Drebednyov, an important official who want to install himself and his wife in some of the flats meant for ordinary people. The couples are: Sasha and Masha, a newly-wed couple waiting for a flat of their own; Sergei (Drebednyov's chauffeur) and Lusya,a couple who have been arguing; and Boris and Lidochka, who come together in the course of the operetta. The fight against Drebednyov is finally won when the couples create a magic garden in which only truth can be told.
The music is in the light, tuneful style typical of the genre, with many of the songs reappearing throughout the work. There are many references to earlier works, including The Sleeping Beauty, The Merry Widow, the composer's own ballets The Bolt and The Limpid Stream, and his Song of the Counterplan (from his music for the 1932 film).
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[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act 1
- Scene 1: Sasha and Lidochka show visitors round the Museum for the History and Reconstruction of Moscow. Sasha's and his wife Masha sing of their dream: to have their own flat. Boris is looking for a woman, but he and Lidochka do not get on. When he discovers that Sasha and Masha, as well as Lidochka and her father, have been assigned flats in Cheryomushki, Sergei takes them all out for a drive to celebrate. His boss, Drebednyov, waits in vain for the car to arrive.
- Scene 2: The group arrive at Cheryomushki, but Barabashkin refuses to give up his position of power by letting the tenants have their keys.
[edit] Act 2
- Scene 3: Boris lifts the tenants into their flats with a crane. He resumes his courting of Lidochka, with greater success. Drebednyov and his wife try to claim Lidochka and her father's flat for themselves.
- Scene 4:Sasha and Masha's neighbours arrive at their flat and hold an impromptu party. They, along with Lusya and Sergei, agree to fight Drebednyov and Barabashkin.
[edit] Act 3
- Scene 5: Lusya helps the tenants to make a magic garden, where bureaucrats cannot be heard and only the truth is told. Drebednyov and Barabashkin are vanquished and all live happily ever after.
[edit] Roles
The main roles are:
- Lusya, a construction worker (soprano)
- Sergei Glushkov, Drebednyov's chauffeur (tenor)
- Boris Koretsky, an explosives expert (baritone)
- Fyodor Mikhailovich Drebednyov, a bureaucrat (bass)
- Afanasy Ivanovich Barabashkin, the estate manager (baritone)
- Lidochka Baburov, a museum guide (soprano)
- Semyon Semyonovich Baburov, Lidochka's father (bass)
- Alexander Petrovich Bubentsov (Sasha), a museum guide (baritone)
- Masha, his wife (mezzo-soprano)
- Vava, Drebednyov's wife (soprano)
[edit] References
- IMDB page for the film.
- Boosey and Hawkes publisher's site.