The Chocolate Soldier

The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 Arms and the Man. The libretto was by Rudolph Bernauer and Leopold Jacobson.

Related Topics:
Operetta - Oscar Straus - George Bernard Shaw - 1894 - Arms and the Man - Libretto - Rudolph Bernauer - Leopold Jacobson

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It premiered in 1908 in Vienna with a German libretto, and titled Der tapfere Soldat, but had only moderate popularity.

Related Topics:
1908 - Vienna - German

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The first {{ll|English}}-language version premiered in New York, translated by Stanislaus Stange, on 13 September 1909, where it was the hit of the Broadway season. It was revived in 1910, 1921, 1930, 1931, 1934, and 1947. Its London premiere in 1910 was also considered a phenomenal success.

Related Topics:
New York - 13 September - 1909 - Broadway - 1910 - 1921 - 1930 - 1931 - 1934 - 1947 - London

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The operetta was filmed (as a silent movie) in 1915.

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When Shaw had given Leopold Jacobson the rights to adapt the play, he had given three conditions: none of Shaw's dialogue, nor any of the character's names, could be used; the libretto must be advertised as a parody, and Shaw would accept no monetary compensation. Shaw despised the result, calling it "a putrid opera bouffe in the worst taste of 1860," and grew to regret not accepting payment when, despite his opinion of the work, it became an international success.

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When Shaw heard, in 1921, that Franz Lehár wanted to set his play Pygmalion to music, he sent word to Vienna that Lehár be instructed that he could not touch Pygmalion without infringing Shaw's copyright and that Shaw had "no intention of allowing the history of The Chocolate Soldier to be repeated" (Pygmalion was eventually adapted by Lerner and Loewe as My Fair Lady, but this was possible only because they were, at least in theory, adapting a screenplay co-authored by Shaw, with rights controlled by the film company.)

Related Topics:
Franz Lehár - Pygmalion - Lerner and Loewe - My Fair Lady

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer tried to make a filmed version of The Chocolate Soldier in 1940, but were refused permission (or at least permission at a reasonable price) by Shaw. Instead, Louis B. Mayer bought the rights to Straus's music, and used the plot from Ferenc Molnár's play Testőr (also known as Playing With Fire and Where Ignorance is Bliss, and ultimately adapted by Philip Moeller as The Guardsman with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne) as the plot of The Chocolate Soldier starring Nelson Eddy and Risë Stevens, incorporating music from other works as well.

Related Topics:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - 1940 - Louis B. Mayer - Ferenc Molnár - The Guardsman - Alfred Lunt - Lynn Fontanne - Nelson Eddy - Risë Stevens

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