Candide (operetta)


Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. The primary lyricist was the poet Richard Wilbur. Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, John Mauceri, John Wells, and Bernstein himself. Maurice Peress and Hershy Kay contributed orchestrations. Although unsuccessful at its premiere, Candide has now overcome the unenthusiastic reaction of early audiences and critics and achieved more popularity. It is used in some music schools as a student show because of the quality of its music and the opportunities it offers to student singers. The first such campus performance was at Indiana University in December 1957.

Origins

Candide was originally conceived by Lillian Hellman as a play with incidental music in the style of her previous work, The Lark. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a "comic operetta"; she then wrote the original libretto for the operetta. Many lyricists worked on the show: first James Agee, then Dorothy Parker, John Latouche and Richard Wilbur. In addition, the lyrics to "I Am Easily Assimilated" were done by Leonard and Felicia Bernstein, and Hellman wrote the words to "Eldorado". Hershy Kay orchestrated all but the overture, which Bernstein did himself.

Performance history

1956 original Broadway production

Candide first opened on Broadway as a musical on December 1, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre. The premiere production was directed by Tyrone Guthrie and conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick. The sets and costumes were designed by Oliver Smith and Irene Sharaff, respectively. It was choreographed by Anna Sokolow. It featured Robert Rounseville as Candide, Barbara Cook as Cunegonde, Max Adrian as Dr. Pangloss, and Irra Petina as the Old Lady. This production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 73 performances. Hellman's libretto was criticized in a New York Times review as being too serious:

European premieres

The first London production debuted at the Saville Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on 30 April 1959. This production used Lillian Hellman's book with an additional credit 'assisted by Michael Stewart', and it was directed by Robert Lewis with choreography by Jack Cole. The cast included Denis Quilley as Candide, Mary Costa as Cunegonde, Laurence Naismith as Dr. Pangloss and Edith Coates as the Old Lady. The Musical Director was Alexander Faris. It ran for 60 performances.

Later productions

Without Bernstein's involvement, the show underwent a series of Broadway revivals under the direction of Harold Prince. Lillian Hellman, the author of the original book, refused to let any of her work be used in the revival, so Prince commissioned a new, one-act book from Hugh Wheeler. The sole element of Hellman's book that remained was her invented name for Cunegonde's brother.
The lyrics were worked on by the team of artists listed above. This 105-minute version, omitting over half of the musical numbers, was known as the "Chelsea version", and opened in 1973 at Robert Kalfin's Chelsea Theater Center in the Brooklyn Academy of Music, before moving to the Broadway Theatre in 1974 and running there for nearly two years, closing in 1976 after 740 performances. The 1974 Broadway revival starred Mark Baker, Maureen Brennan, Sam Freed, Lewis J. Stadlen, and June Gable as the Old Lady.
The Chelsea version was marked by a unique production style. Eugene Lee helped Prince make sure that the multi-scene show would not get bogged down in set changes – he created platforms for the action that allowed scenes to change by refocusing attention instead of changing scenery. Actors performed on platforms in front, behind, and sometimes between audience members. Some sat on bleachers, others on stools on the stage floor. As the story unfolded, so did the stage, with sections falling from above, opening, closing, flying apart or coming together. A 13-member orchestra played from four areas. The conductor, who wore period costume and gold braid, could be seen by audience and musicians alike on television monitors.
The Australian premiere in 1982 by the Nimrod Theatre Company and directed by John Bell at Sydney's Seymour Centre featured Philip Quast in the title role.
It was produced by Lyric Opera of Chicago, performed in the Civic Opera House, with direction by Harold Prince, opening November 26, 1994. Book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and John Latouche. This revised opera house version formed the basis for the 1997 Broadway Revival.
Candide was revived on Broadway in 1997, directed again by Harold Prince in a revised version of his 1982 New York City Opera staging. The cast included: Jason Danieley, Harolyn Blackwell, Jim Dale, Andrea Martin, and Brent Barrett.
In 2005 the first Polish production premiered at the Grand Theatre at Łódź.
In 2006, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the creation of Candide, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris produced a new production under the direction of Robert Carsen.
The Goodman Theatre in Chicago in a co-production with The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC mounted a revised version adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman featuring Hollis Resnik, Lauren Molina, Geoff Packard and Larry Yando. The production, staged in a vast wooden box, with Candide's travels being portrayed through the use of maps and model ships, featured significant amounts of narration adapted directly from Voltaire's novel.
A concert performance at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2010, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, featured Richard Suart as Pangloss, Frederica von Stade as the Old Lady, Alek Shrader as the title character and Anna Christy as Cunegonde.
The Harold Prince/New York City Opera 1982 production was revived at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in January 2017 with Prince directing and a cast including Gregg Edelman as Voltaire/Dr. Pangloss and various characters, Linda Lavin as The Old Lady, Jay Armstrong Johnson as Candide, Meghan Picerno as Cunegonde, Keith Phares as Maximilian, and Chip Zien and Brooks Ashmanskas.
In 2015, the Teatro Comunale, Florence production, produced by Francesco Micheli, featured Keith Jameson and Laura Claycomb as Candide and Cunegonde, with Richard Suart as Pangloss and Anja Silja and Chris Merritt as the Old Lady and the Governor.
The same year, Lindy Hume staged the work for Opera Queensland with David Hobson as Candide, Amelia Farrugia as Cunegonde, Bryan Probets as Pangloss, Christine Johnston as the Old Lady and Paul Kildea conducting the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
In March 2019, Minneapolis-based VocalEssence and Theater Latte' Da presented a semi-staged version directed by Peter Rothstein with music direction by Philip Brunelle. Set as a 1930s radio drama, the production sold out five performances and was critically acclaimed by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as "the Candide we've been waiting for". The Minneapolis Star Tribune named it first on a list of the city's ten best classical concerts of 2019.

Roles

Original Broadway version (1956)

Act 1
In the country of Westphalia, Candide is about to be married to the lovely Cunegonde. Dr. Pangloss, Candide's teacher, expounds his famous philosophy, to the effect that all is for the best The happy couple sing their marriage duet, and the ceremony is about to take place when war breaks out between Westphalia and Hesse. Westphalia is destroyed, and Cunegonde is seemingly killed. Candide takes comfort in the Panglossian doctrine and sets out on his journeys.
In the public square of Lisbon, the Infant Casmira, a deranged mystic in the caravan of an Arab conjuror, predicts dire happenings, leaving the public in terror. Candide discovers Pangloss, who has contracted syphilis, yet remains optimistic. The Inquisition appears, in the persons of two ancient Inquisitors and their lawyer, and many citizens are tried and sentenced to hang, including Candide and Dr. Pangloss. Suddenly an earthquake occurs, killing Dr. Pangloss, and Candide barely escapes.
Candide, faced with the loss of both Cunegonde and Dr. Pangloss, starts out for Paris. He is unable to reconcile Dr. Pangloss's ideas with the bitter events that have occurred, but concludes that the fault must lie within himself, rather than in the philosophy of optimism.
Cunegonde turns up alive in Paris, a demi-mondaine in a house shared by a Marquis and a Sultan. A party is in progress. Urged by the Old Lady, who serves as her duenna, Cunegonde arrays herself in her jewels. Candide stumbles into the scene and is amazed to find Cunegonde still alive. In a duel, he kills both the Marquis and the Sultan, and flees with Cunegonde, accompanied by the Old Lady.
They fall in with a band of devout Pilgrims on their way to the New World and sail with them. Arriving in Buenos Aires, the group is brought to the Governor's Palace, where all except Cunegonde and the Old Lady are immediately enslaved. A street cleaner appears in the person of the pessimistic Martin, warning Candide of the future. Candide and Maximilian are joyfully reunited, but when Candide states his intention to marry Cunegonde Maximilian starts to strike him with a glove. Candide starts to strike him back, but before he actually does Maximilian drops, apparently dead. The Governor serenades Cunegonde and she, abetted by the Old Lady, agrees to live in the palace. The Old Lady urges Candide to flee, but Candide, fired by reports of Eldorado from Martin, sets off to seek his fortune, planning to return for Cunegonde later.
Act 2
In the heat of Buenos Aires, Cunegonde, the Old Lady and the Governor display their fraying nerves , and the Governor resolves to get rid of the tiresome ladies. Candide returns from Eldorado, his pockets full of gold and searches for Cunegonde. The Governor, however, has had both Cunegonde and the Old Lady tied up in sacks and carried to a boat in the harbor. He tells Candide that the women have sailed for Europe, and Candide eagerly purchases a leaky ship from the Governor and dashes off. As the Governor and his suite watch from his terrace, the ship with Candide and Martin casts off and almost immediately sinks.
Candide and Martin have been rescued from the ship, and are floating about the ocean on a raft. Martin is devoured by a shark, but Dr. Pangloss miraculously reappears. Candide is overjoyed to find his old teacher, and Pangloss sets about repairing the damage done to his philosophy by Candide's experiences.
In a luxurious palazzo of Venice, Cunegonde turns up as a scrubwoman and the Old Lady as a woman of fashion , both working as shills for Ferone, the owner of a gambling hall. Candide and Dr. Pangloss, both wearing masks, appear and are caught up by the merriment, the wine and the gambling. Candide is accosted by a masked Cunegonde and Old Lady, who try to steal his remaining gold, but recognizes Cunegonde when her mask falls off. His last hopes and dreams shattered, he drops his money at her feet and leaves. Cunegonde and the Old Lady are fired by Ferone and Pangloss is now penniless, having been completely swindled out of all his money.
With Candide now completely disillusioned, he and Pangloss return to the ruined Westphalia. Cunegonde, Maximilian and the Old Lady appear and within them a spark of optimism still flickers. Candide, however, has had enough of the foolish Panglossian ideal and tells them all that the only way to live is to try to make some sense of life.

Bernstein "Final Revised Version" (1989)

Act 1
The operetta begins with an overture. The chorus welcomes everyone to Westphalia and Voltaire begins to narrate his story. Candide, the illegitimate nephew of Baron Thunder-ten-Tronck, lives in the Baron's castle Schloss Thunder-ten-Tronck. He is snubbed by the Baroness and bullied by her son Maximilian. Paquette, a very accommodating serving girl, also lives in the castle. However, Candide is in love with Cunegonde, the Baroness' daughter as Maximilian, Candide, Cunegonde and Paquette find their happiness in life. The four discover that Dr. Pangloss, a man thought to be the world's greatest philosopher, has taught them happiness. The philosopher asks his four students to summarize what they have learned. When Cunegonde spies Dr. Pangloss being physically intimate with Paquette, he explains it away as being a "physical experiment", and she decides to share the "experiment" with Candide. Professing their love to each other at a park, Candide and Cunegonde dream of what married life would look like. The Baron, however, is angered at what Candide has done to Cunegonde, as he is a social inferior. Candide is promptly exiled, wandering alone with his faith and optimism to cling to. He is then shanghaied by and into the Bulgar Army, which plots to "liberate" all of Westphalia. His escape attempt fails, and is recaptured by the Army. The Bulgar Army attacks Schloss Thunder-ten-Tronck and in the castle the Baron's family prays as the chorus joins in. However, the Baron, the Baroness, Maximilian, Paquette, Pangloss and Cunegonde are all killed in the attack. Candide returns to the castle's ruins and searches for Cunegonde.
Some time later, Candide becomes a beggar. He gives the last of his coins to Pangloss, who reveals that he was revived by an anatomist's scalpel. He then tells Candide of his syphilis condition brought on by Paquette. A merchant offers the two employment before sailing off to Lisbon, Portugal. However, as they arrive, a volcano erupts and the ensuing earthquake results in the death of 30,000 people. Pangloss and Candide are blamed for the disaster, arrested as heretics and publicly tortured by order of the Grand Inquisitor. Pangloss is hanged and Candide is flogged. Candide eventually ends up in Paris, France, where Cunegonde shares her favors with wealthy Jew Don Issachar and the city's Cardinal Archbishop. She contemplates what she has done to survive while in Paris. Candide finds Cunegonde and reunites with her. However, the Old Lady, Cunegonde's companion, forewarns Cunegonde and Candide of Issachar and the Archbishop's arrival. Candide inadvertently kills both of them by stabbing them with a sword.
The three flee to Cadiz, Spain with Cunegonde's jewels, where the Old Lady tells Candide and Cunegonde about her past. The jewels are stolen and the Old Lady offers to sing for their dinner. The French police arrive, intending to arrest Candide for murdering Don Issachar and the Archbishop. Accepting an offer to fight for the Jesuits in South America, Candide decides to take Cunegonde and the Old Lady to the New World, and the three begin their journey on a ship.
Act 2
In Montevideo, Uruguay, Maximilian and Paquette, now revived and disguised as slave girls, reunite. Soon after, Don Fernando d'Ibaraa y Figueroa y Mascarenes y Lampourdos y Souza, the governor of the city, falls in love with Maximilian, but quickly realizes his mistake and sells him to a priest. Meanwhile, Candide, Cunegonde and the Old Lady also arrive in Montevideo, where the Governor falls in love with Cunegonde. The Old Lady convinces Cunegonde that her marriage to the governor will support her financially. Candide soon befriends Cacambo and accepts him as his valet. Convinced by the Old Lady that the police are still after Candide for the Archbishop's murder, Candide and Cacambo flee Montevideo and eventually stumble upon a Jesuit camp and are joined by the Father and Mother Superiors. Candide soon discovers that the Mother Superior is actually Paquette and the Father Superior is Maximilian. When Candide tells Maximilian that he will marry Cunegonde, however, Maximilian angrily challenges him to a fight. However, Maximilian is once again inadvertently stabbed to death by Candide. Candide is forced to flee into the jungle as a result.
Three years later, Cunegonde and the Old Lady discuss the miseries shared by the upper classes while the Governor doesn't want to hear their complaints. Meanwhile, Candide and Cacambo are starving and lost in the jungles. Finding a boat in the ocean, they float downriver into a cavern for 24 hours until they finally reach Eldorado, the city of gold. The two discover that the locals worship one god as opposed to three, palaces of science, rosewater and stones with cinnamon and clove scents. Dissatisfied without Cunegonde, Candide decides to leave. The locals think him foolish, but offer to help, giving him some of the town's golden sheep and constructing a lift that will guide him, Cacambo and the sheep over the mountain. One by one, the sheep die until only two remain. Unwilling to go back to Montevideo, Candide gives Cacambo one of the golden sheep to ransom Cunegonde, telling them that they will meet again in Venice, Italy.
Arriving at Suriname, Candide meets Martin, a local pessimist. He shows him a slave with one hand and one foot lost while harvesting sugar-cane, which is the result of Europeans eating sugar; Candide is unable to convince Martin otherwise. Vanderdendur, a Dutch villain, offers his ship, the Santa Rosalia, in exchange for the golden sheep. Candide is excited when he is told that the Santa Rosalia is to depart for Venice. The locals and Vandendur wish Candide a safe journey to Venice. However, the ship sinks and Martin drowns as a result. After reuniting with his golden sheep, Candide is picked up by a galley, meeting five deposed kings. The galley is rowed by slaves, including Pangloss, revived once again. The kings say that they will live humbly, serving both god and men, and Pangloss leads their debate.
The ship arrives in Venice, where the Carnival festival is taking place. While the kings play roulette and baccarat, Candide searches for Cunegonde. Maximilian, revived once again, is now the corrupt Prefect of Police and the town's leader. Paquette is now the town's reigning prostitute. Cunegonde and the Old Lady are employed to encourage the gamblers. Pangloss celebrates a victory after winning roulette and spends his money on the other ladies. Candide, however, masked for the Carnival, is accosted by Cunegonde and the Old Lady, who try to swindle him out of his money. During the exchange, all the masks come off and they are horrified to recognize each other. Seeing what Cunegonde has become, Candide's image of and belief in her is shattered. Candide does not speak for several days; with what little money they have left, they purchase a small farm outside Venice and the chorus says that life is just life and paradise is nothing. Candide finally speaks and resolves to marry Cunegonde.

Music

Though the show as a whole received mixed reviews at its opening, the music was immediately a hit. Much of the score was recorded on an original cast album, which was a success and is still in print as of 2009.

"Glitter and Be Gay"

Cunegonde's coloratura aria "Glitter and Be Gay" is a favourite showpiece for many sopranos. Barbara Cook's performance of the aria at its introduction impressed audience and critics, bringing her wide recognition.
This aria poses some difficulties. If sung as written throughout, there are three high E-flats, two staccato and one sustained; there are also numerous uses of high C and D-flat. Some of the florid passages are very intricate. Theatrically, it demands an elaborate comic staging, in which Cunegonde adorns herself with jewelry while singing and dancing around the stage, and has a satirical quality that is a challenge to perform.
Subsequent performers of the role of Cunegonde have included:
This aria has been performed in concert by many musical theatre and opera stars, including : Natalie Dessay, Diana Damrau, Sumi Jo, Edita Gruberová, Renée Fleming, Simone Kermes, Roberta Peters, and Dawn Upshaw.

[|Overture]

The overture to Candide soon earned a place in the orchestral repertoire. After a successful first concert performance on January 26, 1957, by the New York Philharmonic under the composer's baton, it quickly became popular and was performed by nearly 100 other orchestras within the next two years. Since that time, it has become one of the most frequently performed orchestral compositions by a 20th century American composer; in 1987, it was the most often performed piece of concert music by Bernstein.
The overture incorporates tunes from the songs "The Best of All Possible Worlds", "Battle Music", "Oh, Happy We", and "Glitter and Be Gay" and melodies composed specifically for the overture.
While many orchestrations of the overture exist, in its current incarnation for full symphony orchestra, which incorporates changes made by Bernstein during performances in December 1989, the piece requires a standard-sized contemporary orchestra of piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, an E-flat and two B-flat clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, a large but standard percussion contingent, harp, and a standard string section. It is approximately four and a half minutes long. The theatre-sized orchestration, as in the published full score of the operetta, includes one flute doubling on piccolo, one oboe, two clarinets rotating between an E-flat, B-flat, and bass, one bassoon, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, one tuba, standard orchestral percussion, harp, and strings. Main differences between the two are doublings and increased use of percussion effects in the symphony orchestral arrangement. Differences between the first publication and later printings include a slowed opening tempo. An arrangement for standard wind ensemble also exists, composed by Clare Grundman in 1991, published under Boosey and Hawkes. Peter Richard Conte has also transcribed it for the Wanamaker Organ.
Dick Cavett used the "Glitter and Be Gay" portion of the overture at the midpoint of his ABC late-night TV show The Dick Cavett Show. The song also served as his signature introduction during the years the Cavett show aired on PBS.
At a memorial concert for Bernstein in 1990, the New York Philharmonic paid tribute to their Laureate Conductor by performing the overture without a conductor. This practice has become a performance tradition still maintained by the Philharmonic.
The New York Philharmonic performed the Overture to Candide as part of its historic concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 26, 2008.

Musical numbers

Original production (1956)

All music by Bernstein, and lyrics by Richard Wilbur unless noted otherwise
Act 1
Scene 1: Westphalia
Scene 1A: Candide Travels to Lisbon
Scene 2: Lisbon
Scene 2A: Candide Travels to Paris
Scene 3: Paris
Scene 3A: They Travel to Buenos Aires
Scene 4: Buenos Aires
Act 2
Entr'acte – Orchestra
Scene 1: Buenos Aires
Scene 2: Venice
Scene 3: Westphalia
Bernstein's "final revised version", recorded in 1989:
Act 1
Act 2

Original Broadway production

1973 Broadway revival

1988 Old Vic production

1997 Broadway revival

Original London production