CHERRY TOWN Will Come to the Nationale Opera & Ballet's Main Stage
Performances will run October 8-20.
De Nationale Opera will present a new production of Dmitri Shostakovich's Cherry Town Oct. 8-20 at Nationale Opera & Ballet's Main Stage in Amsterdam. The production will be performed six times and has a running time of 90 minutes without an intermission. The opera is recommended for audiences ages 10 and older.
The comic operetta is set in a large city where high rents have created a housing shortage. A new development called Cherry Trees Estate promises homes for numerous residents, but the project soon becomes complicated by the self-interest of its real estate developer. The production explores housing, corruption and love through Shostakovich's only operetta.
Cherry Town features music by Shostakovich, with a libretto by Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky translated into English by Sir David Pountney. The production will be sung in English, with Bassem Akiki conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic. Jakop Ahlbom directs, with choreography by Marco Gerris in collaboration with performers from ISH Dance Collective.
The cast includes Alexander de Jong as Sasha, Nina van Essen as Masha, Leòn Ali Çifteci as Babble, Ella Taylor as Lidion, Michael Wilmering as Boris, Thomas Oliemans as Fayke Noos, Madison Horman as Vava and Martin Mkhize as Blatherbox. Dominic Kraemer, Rut Codina Palacio and François Soons appear as Kurochkin, Kurochkina and Mylkin, respectively. Hans Pieter Herman, Simone van Lieshout and Jannelieke Schmidt play A Husband, A Wife and A Neighbour.
The production also features dancers from ISH Dance Collective, including Paris Crossley, Lisha Chen, Andrea Tenerini, Giulio Hoxhallari, Ethan Elkaim, Noor Jayani, Oscar Starink and Stasy Terehhova. The Koor van De Nationale Opera also appears in the production.
Ahlbom replaces the operetta's spoken dialogue with silent acting, while Gerris develops the production's stunt and dance sequences with ISH performers. The production marks the first collaboration between De Nationale Opera, Jakop Ahlbom Company and ISH Dance Collective.
Tickets start at €10, with standard prices ranging from €10 to €50 depending on seating. Prices are subject to dynamic pricing based on demand, and a €3 booking fee is added per ticket. Students can purchase remaining tickets on the day of a performance from 1 p.m. for €20.
Cherry Town will be presented at Nationale Opera & Ballet, Amstel 3, Amsterdam. Tickets and additional performance information are available through the official production page.
