St Paul’s Sinfonia leader James Widden has been busy away from the orchestra with a new orchestral arrangement of Oscar Straus’s The Chocolate Soldier.

The new production by Opera della Luna was performed at Wilton’s Music Hall in June before appearing at If Opera from 11th to 14th August 2026. James created the new orchestral arrangement for the production, which was conducted by James Ham.

The production received enthusiastic reviews, including five stars from The Stage, and notices from The Spectator and The Critic.