Welcome to Opera della Luna

At last! Opera della Luna returns to the stage - local regulations permitting! We are delighted to announce that although current social distancing rules sadly prevent us from presenting our planned production of The Burglar's Opera, we are able to return to Wilton's in 2021 with a brand new production:

Curtain Raisers is a new production of two short operettas:

COX AND BOX by Arthur Sullivan and F C Burnand, and
LES DEUX AVEUGLES (The Two Blind Beggars)
by Offenbach
in a new translation by Jeff Clarke.

Cox and Box was Sullivan's first success, and predates his collaboration with Gilbert. It tells the farcical tale of an unscrupulous landlord who rents out the same room to two tenants - Cox, who works by day, and Box who works by night. The ruse works until one day, Cox is given the day off and they meet much to the horror of the landlord, Sergeant Bouncer. This little short operetta was a huge hit and its title has now passed into common parlance.

Les Deux Aveugles, the story of two separate con-men who are both pretending to be blind beggars and who arrive one day at the same pitch on a Parisian bridge, was similarly Offenbach's first stage success. Although it only lasts 25 minutes, it made the composer enough money to build his first theatre, the Bouffes Parisiens.

The two operettas are performed in one sitting without an interval.
Running time: 90 minutes

For more information, and to book tickets, go to Wilton's website here.

You might like to read Rupert Christiansen's recent words in The Daily Telegraph:

"Heavy-handed direction and terrible nudge-nudge wink-wink translations have over the past decade scuppered Johann Strauss's Viennese whirl Die Fledermaus at ENO, and Lehar's Parisian èclair The Merry Widow at WNO, both of which sank like lead for want of zest and wit. Yet tiny, under-funded groups such as Opera della Luna have been making admirable efforts to keep the old repertory alive. All it needs now is some official investment and encouragement. Arts Council England has historically been snooty about supporting operetta - possibly on the ideological grounds that it largely appeals to middleclass audiences - but a little more help to adventurous companies such as Opera della Luna would encourage more imaginative exploration of this delightful repertory and add a sprinkle of glitter to the gaiety of the nation."

Click here to read the full article.

Opera della Luna, 7 Cotmore House, Fringford, Bicester, OX27 8RQ

This website has been made possible by a generous donation from Mason Taylor