Paradise Moscow

When Dmitri Shostakovich composed his fast-paced and zany operetta Paradise Moscow in 1959, Stalin was dead and Khrushchev was in the process of rebuilding 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.

Paradise Moscow is Shostakovich's forgotten operetta, a work that overflows with saucy songs, dance numbers and witty dialogue. This new production, translated by David Poutney, is performed in English.