Cherry Town
A vibrant theatrical spectacle about housing shortages, love, and corruption. Cherry Town brings together opera, live music, acrobatic dance, and physical theatre in a large-scale family production by De Nationale Opera, Jakop Ahlbom Company, and ISH Dance Collective.
Housing shortages, corruption and love: the themes of Cherry Town are highly topical. In a big city where rents are skyrocketing, the new-build development Cherry Trees Estate is announced. Countless people hope to finally find a place of their own here — until the greedy property developer throws a spanner in the works. Can honesty and love triumph over corruption? Don’t miss it!
COLLABORATION
For this production, Dutch National Opera, Jakop Ahlbom Company and ISH Dance Collective are joining artistic forces for the first time. The result is a comic, musical spectacle for the whole family, featuring a colourful cast of singers and dancers — and live music from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Bassem Akiki.
SWINGING MUSIC BY SHOSTAKOVICH
Cherry Town is Dmitri Shostakovich’s only operetta — more cheerful and lighter than his symphonic works. It is brimming with waltzes, polkas and dance music, with the occasional nod to more serious musical styles. Conductor Bassem Akiki, who has already made an impression at Dutch National Opera with Animal Farm (2023) and We Are The Lucky Ones (2025), once again guarantees a compelling performance.
ARTISTIC FORCES
Director Jakop Ahlbom is known for evocative productions full of humour and visual poetry. In Cherry Town, he replaces spoken dialogue with silent acting, and develops the stunt and dance scenes together with choreographer Marco Gerris — artistic director of ISH Dance Collective and winner of the 2025 Johannes Vermeer Prize. The stage features beloved Dutch singers such as Thomas Oliemans, Frederik Bergman, Nina van Essen, Michael Wilmering and Alexander de Jong, alongside dancers from ISH Dance Collective and the Chorus of the Dutch National Opera.