Melbourne, Cheremushki by Shostakovich, Ab (2023/2023), Unter der Regie von Constantine Costi, Dirigat Simon Bruckard, Arts Centre Melbourne, Southbank, Australien

A housing crisis, income inequality and the pitfalls of progress — who would have thought that a Russian operetta from 1958 would ring so true today? This witty production transports visionary composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s score and Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky’s sarcastically funny libretto from a Soviet-era Khrushchev-style apartment complex to contemporary Melbourne. But this operetta makes light work of heavy issues through its darkly comedic use of magic realism into everyday struggles with a truth-telling park bench, a phone booth for the pure of heart and a garden where flowers bloom for good people and wither for bad. Featuring our ‘VO Emerges’ cast, this will be your chance to see the next generation showcase their talents and innovative perspectives on the challenges we still face in Melbourne today. So step into a world where social challenges are examined through a lens of comedy, satire and magic.