thumb|[[Oscar Straus (composer)|Oscar Straus]]

The Chocolate Soldier (German: Der tapfere Soldat [The courageous soldier] or Der Praliné-Soldat) is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man. The German language libretto is by Rudolf Bernauer and . It premiered on 14 November 1908 at the Theater an der Wien.

English-language versions were successful on Broadway and in London, beginning in 1909. The first film adaptation was in 1915. The 1941 film of the same name enlists much of Straus's music but is otherwise unrelated, using a plot based on Ferenc Molnár's play The Guardsman.

Background

thumb|From the cover of the piano score

When Shaw gave Leopold Jacobson the rights to adapt the play, he provided 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. In spite of this, Shaw's original plot, and with it the central message of the play, remain more or less untouched. under the baton of Robert Stolz with Grete Holm singing Nadina, and Louise Kartousch as Mascha, where it was a considerable success.

The first English-language version premiered in New York City, translated by Stanislaus Stange, on 13 September 1909, where it was the hit of the Broadway season. Its London premiere at the Lyric Theatre in 1910, with C. H. Workman as Bumerli, Elsie Spain as Mascha and Roland Cunningham as Alexius, was also a tremendous success, In July and August 2012, it was produced by Ohio Light Opera.

Roles

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!Role

!Voice type

!Premiere cast, 14 November 1908<br />Conductor: Robert Stolz

Act 1

thumb|"Tiralala! Waltz", sheetmusic cover

  • "Wir marschieren durch die Nacht" ("We march through the night")
  • "Mein Held!" ("My Hero!")
  • "Wie schön ist dieses Männerbild" ("How handsome is this man")
  • "Komm', Komm! Held meiner Träume" ("Come, come! Hero of my dreams")
  • "In meinen Leben sah ich nie einen Helden" ("In my life I never saw a hero")
  • "Ach, du kleiner Praliné-Soldat" ("Oh, you little praline-soldier")
  • "Es ist ein Schicksal, schwer zu tragen; Weil's Leben süss und herrlich ist" ("It is a destiny that is hard to bear; because life is sweet and splendid")
  • "Suchet alle Mann, der Serbe nicht entwischen Kann!" ("Every man, search, the Serb cannot escape")
  • "Drei Frauen sassen am Feuerherd; Tiralala! (finale)" ("Three women sat at the fireplace; Tiralala! (finale)")

Act 2

  • "Ein Hoch ein Hoch der Heldenschar!" ("Hail, hail the high band of heroes")
  • "Ich bin gewöhnt stets nur zu siegen; Mein Mädchenherz, das schlägt" ("I am used to always winning; my maiden heart is beating")
  • "Ich habe die Feinde geschlagen auf's Haupt" ("I have hit the enemy at the top")
  • "Ein Jeder hat es schon erfahren; Wenn man so dürfte, wie man wollte" ("Everyone already knows it; if you wish, do as you please")
  • "Ach, es ist doch ein schönes Vergnügen" ("Oh, it is a fine joy")
  • "Es war einmal ein Fräulein" ("There was once a maiden")
  • "Leute, Leute, kommt herbei" ("People, people, come this way")
  • "Ich was der Held deiner Träume" ("I was the hero of your dreams")

Act 3

  • "Mein lieber Herr von Bumerli" ("My dear Lord Bumerli")
  • "Pardon! Ich steig' ja nur auf den Balcon!" ("Pardon! I rise only on the balcony!")
  • "Du magst dein Köpfchen noch so heftig schütteln; Freundchen, Freundchen nur nicht toben" ("You might have shaken your head, friend, rather than rage")
  • "Wenn ein Mann ein Mädchen; Lieber Schwiegerpapa, liebe Schweigermama" ("If a man is a girl; Dear Papa, dear Mama")
  • "Ich geb' Dir morgens einem Kuss" ("I give you a morning kiss")

Note: The order and placement of the songs in German differs from the English adaptation (listed below). The English song titles do not use the phrase "hero of my dreams" (German: "Held meiner Träume").

Musical numbers (English adaptation)

thumb|Poster for a California production

Act 1

  • "We Are Marching Through the Night" – Soldiers
  • "We Too, Are Lonely" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha
  • "We Are Searching for the Foe" – Soldiers
  • "What Can We Do Without a Man?" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha
  • "Say Good Night" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha
  • "Melodrama" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha
  • "My Hero" – Nadina
  • "Chocolate Soldier" – Bumerli, Nadina
  • "Sympathy" – Bumerli, Nadina
  • "Seek the Spy" – Massakroff, Nadina, Aurelia, Macha, Bumerli, Soldiers
  • Finaletto Act 1 – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha

Act 2

  • "The Fatherland Is Free" – Company
  • "Alexius the Hero" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha, Poppoff, Alexius, Bumerli, Ensemble
  • "Never Was There Such a Lover" – Alexius, Nadina
  • "The Tale of the Coat" – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha, Poppoff, Alexius, Bumerli
  • "That Would Be Lovely" – Bumerli, Nadina
  • Finaletto Act 2 – Nadina, Aurelia, Mascha, Poppoff, Alexius, Bumerli, Ensemble

Act 3

  • Opening Chorus – Ensemble
  • "Falling in Love" – Alexius, Mascha
  • "The Letter Song" – Nadina
  • "Melodrama" – Bumerli
  • "The Letter Song" (reprise) – Bumerli, Nadina
  • Finale – Company

The operetta was continually reworked during Straus's lifetime. Among those songs that were dropped is the (now) amusingly-titled "Why Is It Love Makes Us Feel Queer?"; the better-known songs include "My Hero", "Thank the Lord the War Is Over", "Sympathy", "Seek the Spy", "Tiralala", "The Chocolate Soldier", and "Forgive".

Recordings

In English – Lehman Engel and his Orchestra

  • Conductor: Lehman Engel
  • Principal singers: Risë Stevens, Robert Merrill, Jo Sullivan, Peter Palmer
  • Recording date: 1958
  • Label: RCA Living Stereo – LSO 6005

In German – WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

  • Conductor: Siegfried Köhler
  • Principal singers: John Dickie, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Caroline Stein, Helmut Berger, Martina Borst
  • Recording date: 1993
  • Label: Capriccio Records – 5089

In English – Ohio Light Opera Orchestra

  • Conductor: J. Lynn Thompson
  • Principal singers: Boyd Mackus, Elizabeth Peterson, John Pickle, Suzanne Woods
  • Recording date: 1999
  • Label: Newport Classic – NPD 85650 (CD)

Adaptations and song covers

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer wished to make a filmed version of The Chocolate Soldier in 1940, but they 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) as the plot of a 1941 film, The Chocolate Soldier, starring Nelson Eddy and Risë Stevens. The plot concerns the jealousy of a Viennese couple, Maria and Karl Lang. To test her loyalty, Karl masquerades as a Russian guardsman and tries to seduce Maria. Complications ensue. The film includes the following non-Straus selections:

  • "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah
  • "Evening Star" from Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser
  • "Song of the Flea" by Modest Mussorgsky
  • "While My Lady Sleeps" by Bronisław Kaper

A one-hour radio adaptation, with John Barclay as Bumerli, Gladys Swarthout as Nadina, and Nathaniel Shilkret conducting the orchestra, was broadcast in the US on May 22, 1934, on the popular program Palmolive Beauty Box Theater. A 1955 television film adaptation also starred Stevens, with Eddie Albert.

Nadina's aria, "My hero", has been performed by various singers. It was used in the 1950 film Two Weeks with Love, sung by Jane Powell. In 1955, actress Vivian Vance sang the song in the fourth-season episode of I Love Lucy titled "Ethel's Home Town". It was Troy Shondell's first single in 1958.

References

  • Felix Bloch page on the work, including the orchestration
  • The Chocolate Soldier: an opera bouffe in three acts (1909), digitized by BYU on archive.org
  • List of longest running plays in London and New York
  • List of songs, links to reviews and other information