Opera della Luna

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22/06/2026

🎭 Opening Tomorrow!

After months of planning, designing, rehearsing and preparing, THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER opens tomorrow at Wilton's Music Hall.

We can't wait to share Oscar Straus' sparkling music, George Bernard Shaw's wit, and our wonderful cast with audiences.

If you'd like to discover more about the origins of the story before you join us, take a look at this fascinating article exploring Shaw, Arms and the Man, and the enduring appeal of the "Chocolate Soldier".

📖 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/sek3t778

19/06/2026

🎭 Rehearsals are underway!

The company of THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER has officially come together, and the journey from page to stage has begun.

After months of planning and preparation, we're now hard at work in the rehearsal room bringing Oscar Straus' delightful operetta to life. It's wonderful to see the cast, creative team and musicians beginning to shape this witty, charming and long-awaited production.

We can't wait to welcome audiences! ❤️

📍 Wilton's Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

10/06/2026

🎭 THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER in The Critic

We're delighted to see Opera della Luna's production of THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER featured in the June issue of The Critic.

The article highlights director Jeff Clarke's decision to "reinject GBS" into the operetta, bringing George Bernard Shaw's wit and spirit back to the forefront of the piece.

It also describes Opera della Luna as "the beacon of comic opera in the UK", celebrating three decades of imaginative revivals and joyful productions.

And perhaps our favourite line of all:

✨ "Forget the ponderous summer japes in rainy gardens: this is June's hot ticket."

More than eighty years after its last major London production, THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER returns to the UK stage at Wilton's Music Hall.

📍 Wilton's Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

📖 Featured in The Critic, June 2026 issue

06/06/2026

🎭 Rehearsals begin next week!

After months of planning, designing, casting and preparation, the company of THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER will soon be coming together as rehearsals get underway.

We can't wait to bring Oscar Straus' witty and charming operetta back to the UK stage for the first time in decades and to begin the exciting journey from page to performance.

Over the coming weeks we'll be sharing rehearsal photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, musical insights and introductions to the talented team bringing this production to life.

📍 Wilton's Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

30/05/2026

🎭 1940 → 2026

For the first time in decades, THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER returns to the UK stage.

The last major London production opened in 1940 at the original Shaftesbury Theatre a building later destroyed during the Blitz in 1941. Despite the operetta’s enormous popularity in the early 20th century, the work suddenly disappeared from British stages.

Now, more than 80 years later, Opera della Luna brings Oscar Straus’ witty and sophisticated operetta back to London audiences.

Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER combines romance, satire and glorious music with a hero unlike any other soldier who carries chocolates instead of bullets.

And there could hardly be a more fitting home for its return than Wilton’s Music Hall, one of London’s oldest and most atmospheric theatres.

✨ A forgotten classic returns.

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

26/05/2026

🎭 Why Shaw Still Matters

More than 130 years after it was written, Arms and the Man still feels surprisingly modern.

When George Bernard Shaw first staged the play in 1894, he set out to challenge romantic ideas about war, heroism and love. Instead of presenting noble soldiers and glorious battlefield victories, Shaw gave audiences something quite different: a practical soldier who survives through intelligence and common sense rather than bravery and spectacle.

Bluntschli , the “Chocolate Soldier” himself carries chocolates instead of bullets, exposing just how absurd romantic ideas of heroism can be.

But Shaw’s satire goes far beyond war. The characters in Arms and the Man are constantly performing versions of themselves: romantic heroes, noble ladies, fearless soldiers. Beneath the surface, however, reality is often far less glamorous. That tension between illusion and truth is exactly what continues to make the play feel so relevant today.

George Orwell greatly admired the play, describing it as “probably the wittiest play ever wrote.” Orwell believed the story remained powerful because every generation continues to romanticise warfare and heroism. Reflecting on the play during the Second World War, he wrote that Shaw was showing that war is “not glorious, not romantic.”

And perhaps that is why audiences still connect with Shaw’s world, because human nature hasn’t changed very much at all.

✨ Experience Shaw’s witty and sophisticated satire in
THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

15/05/2026

🎭 INTRODUCING THE CAST – Bluntschli

We are delighted to introduce Guy Elliott as Bluntschli in THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER.

Guy is a London based tenor who studied at the Royal College of Music on a full scholarship. He has performed with many of the UK’s leading opera companies, including the Royal Opera and Glyndebourne, and has won prizes at both the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Copenhagen Lied Duo Competition.

💬 We asked Guy: What makes THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER different from other operettas?

“In the UK, we love an underdog and The Chocolate Soldier presents us with just that: Private Bluntschli. More a lover and a snacker than a fighter, Bluntschli carries chocolates on the battlefield instead of bullets. Not your typical opera hero.

One could also describe Oscar Straus, the composer, as an underdog. Once a rival to Franz Lehár, his work has largely fallen out of fashion. This is the first UK production of The Chocolate Soldier since 1940.”

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London

📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

08/05/2026

🎭 Only 7 weeks to go until THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER arrives at Wilton’s Music Hall!

Have you booked your tickets yet? 🎟️
If not, now is the time. Performances are already selling fast.

This witty and sophisticated operetta by Oscar Straus, based on Shaw’s Arms and the Man, returns to the London stage for the first time in many years in an Opera della Luna production.

✨ Romance, satire, beautiful music and a hero who would rather carry chocolate than bullets.

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

03/05/2026

🎭 Designing THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER

Director Jeff Clarke describes the process of creating a new production as a search for the right visual world in which to tell the story.

For THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER, that journey began with exploring ideas before arriving at a distinctive look, now being developed in collaboration with designer Elroy Ashmore.

Set in early 1900s Bulgaria, the design takes inspiration from traditional houses with rooms surrounded by windows an idea that evolves across the three acts, from a single balcony window in Raina’s bedroom to a more open, layered space.

Rather than aiming for strict realism, the production embraces a more stylised approach, with furniture and interiors treated in a refined, almost drawn, black-and-white aesthetic.

Even the sky plays a key role. Inspired by an artwork seen in Toronto, its bold, starburst effect has influenced the backdrop, creating a striking and theatrical visual world.

✨ A first glimpse behind the scenes.

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

24/04/2026

🎭 INTRODUCING THE CAST – Kasimir Petkoff

We are delighted to introduce Paul Featherstone as Kasimir Petkoff in THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER.

Paul began his career as an actor before moving into opera, and has since performed with companies including Scottish Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Grange Park Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, The Opera Group, Paris Châtelet and Barcelona Liceu.

He is a regular with Opera della Luna, having appeared in productions such as The Tales of Hoffmann, Orpheus in the Underworld, Candide, La belle Hélène, Croquefer, The Isle of Tulipatan, Les deux aveugles, Cox & Box, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Parson’s Pirates and Sweeney Todd.

💬 We asked Paul: How do you prepare for the role?

“I’d already seen both the play and the operetta on stage, so I was familiar with the piece. I’ve gone back to the play again and listened to a recording of the operetta. It’s always interesting to return to a work and discover new ideas as you begin to explore it in more detail.”

📍 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
📅 23–27 June
🎟️ Book now – https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-chocolate-soldier/

Address

Salisbury Playhouse, Malthouse Lane
Salisbury
SP2 7RA

Website

http://www.operadellaluna.org/

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