Candide (operetta)

Candide (1956) is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The original libretto was written by Lillian Hellman, but since 1974, has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler, which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. The primary lyricist was Richard Wilbur. Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, and Leonard Bernstein. Hershy Kay, John Mauceri, and Maurice Peress contributed orchestrations.

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 did 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.

None of Agee's lyrics were eventually used.

Performance history

Initial failure

Candide first opened on Broadway as a musical on December 1, 1956. 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 Cunégonde, Max Adrian as Dr. Pangloss, and Irra Petina as the Old Lady. While this production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 73 performances, much of the score was recorded on an original cast album, which became a cult hit and kept the memory of the show alive. Hellman's libretto had been criticized in a The New York Times review as being too serious.

When Voltaire is ironic and bland, [Hellman] is explicit and vigorous. When he makes lightning, rapier thrusts, she provides body blows. Where he is diabolical, [she] is humanitarian ... the libretto ... seems too serious for the verve and mocking lyricism of Leonard Bernstein's score which, without being strictly 18th century, maintains, with its gay pastiche of past styles and forms, a period quality.

Overture as a concert work

Even though the show as a whole received mixed reviews, the music was immediately a hit with the critics. Just a month after the show's opening, in January 1957, the Overture to Candide was premiered in the concert hall by the New York Philharmonic. It was immensely popular and was performed by nearly 100 other orchestras within the next two years. In addition, the "Glitter and Be Gay" portion of the overture was used by Dick Cavett at the midpoint of his ABC late-night TV show and became his signature introduction during the years the Cavett show aired on PBS.

Revivals

Without Bernstein's involvement, the show underwent a series of Broadway revivals under the direction of Harold Prince, previously known for, among other work, producing the first run of Fiddler on the Roof. 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: "Maximilian." The character has no given name in Voltaire's novella. 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 Broadway and running there for nearly two years. The 1974 Broadway revival was directed by Hal Prince and was much better received. It starred Mark Baker (Candide), Maureen Brennan (Cunegonde), Sam Freed (Maximilian), Lewis J. Stadlen (Dr. Pangloss), and June Gable as the Old Lady.

The Chelsea version was marked by a unique production style as well. Eugene Lee helped Prince make sure the multi-scene show would not get bogged down in set changes by creating 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 a period costume and a gold braid, could be seen by audience and musicians alike on television monitors. There is a long description of this production and responses to it in Davi Napoleon's book,.

In response to requests from opera companies for a more legitimate version, the show was expanded based on Wheeler's book. The two-act "opera house version" contains most of Bernstein's music, including some songs that were not orchestrated for the original production. It was first performed by the New York City Opera in 1982 under Prince's direction, and ran for thirty-four performances. Since then, opera companies around the world have performed this version. The production continues to be a staple of New York City Opera's repertoire, with performances underway in Spring 2008.

In 1988, by which point Hellman had died, Bernstein started working alongside John Mauceri to produce a version that expressed his final wishes regarding Candide. He thought that in recent versions too much had been jettisoned or amended, with songs given to different characters and/or put in the wrong context. The new show was first produced by Scottish Opera and then, after a few more minor changes, Bernstein conducted and recorded what he called his "final revised version" with Jerry Hadley, June Anderson, Christa Ludwig, and Adolph Green.

Ten years later, when the Royal National Theatre in the UK decided to produce Candide, another revision was deemed necessary and Wheeler's book was rewritten by John Caird. This book stuck far closer to Voltaire's original text than any previous version. The songs remained largely as Bernstein intended, bar a few more tweaks from Sondheim and Wilbur. This, the "RNT version", was a major success and has been performed a number of times since.

Candide was revived on Broadway again in 1997, directed again by Harold Prince. The production received mixed reviews with critics commenting on an overall lack of focus within the show. The cast included: Jason Danieley (Candide), Harolyn Blackwell (Cunegonde), Jim Dale (Dr. Pangloss), Andrea Martin (Old Lady), and Brent Barrett (Maximilian).

Lonny Price directed a 2004 semi-staged concert production with the New York Philharmonic under conductor Marin Alsop. It ran for four performances, May 5–8, 2004. This production was also broadcast on PBS's Great Performances. The cast featured Paul Groves as Candide, Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde, Sir Thomas Allen as Dr. Pangloss, Patti LuPone as the Old Lady, with choruses from both Westminster Choir College and the Juilliard School completing the performance cast. This production included the rarely sung duet between Cunegonde and the Old Lady, "We Are Women".

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 production was to move to Milan's Teatro alla Scala in 2007 and to the English National Opera in 2008. The production transforms the proscenium into a giant 1950s-era TV set, and has Voltaire, appearing as the narrator, changing channels between certain scenes. Carsen sets the action in a 1950s-1960s world, with an American slant commenting on contemporary world politics. This production was filmed and broadcast on Arte. For an open-house day in French opera houses on February 17, 2007, this video was projected in high definition on a screen filling the proscenium of the Théâtre du Châtelet. The production was harshly criticized in the monthly magazine American Record Guide for mangling the style and intentions of the operetta.

In 2008 Vernon Mound directed an acclaimed production in Karlstad Sweden with a cast of 12 based on John Cairds Royal National Theatre version.

Candide has overcome its initial unenthusiastic reaction and achieved enormous popularity. It is very popular among major music schools as a student show because of its music and also because of the opportunities it offers to student singers.

Musical numbers (final revised version, 1989)

Act I

• Overture
• Westphalia Chorale
• Life Is Happiness Indeed
• The Best of All Possible Worlds
• Universal Good
• Oh, Happy We
• It Must Be So (Candide's Meditation)
• Westphalia
• Battle Music
• Candide's Lament
• Dear Boy
• Auto-da-fé (What a day)
• Candide Begins His Travels; It Must Be Me (2nd Meditation)
• The Paris Waltz
• Glitter and Be Gay
• You Were Dead, You Know
• I Am Easily Assimilated (Old Lady's Tango)
• Quartet Finale

Act II

• Universal Good
• My Love
• We Are Women
• The Pilgrim's Procession - Alleluia
• Quiet
• Introduction To Eldorado
• The Ballad Of Eldorado
• Words, Words, Words
• Bon Voyage
• The Kings' Barcarolle
• Money, Money, Money
• What's the Use?
• The Venice Gavotte
• Nothing More Than This
• Universal Good
• Make Our Garden Grow

Characters

• Candide (tenor)
• Voltaire/Pangloss (baritone or tenor; in the Hal Prince versions, he doubles with several other characters, including the Governor.)
• Maximilian (baritone, but can be played by a tenor; is a speaking role in the original 1956 version.)
• Cunégonde (soprano)
• Paquette (alto in versions of the musical from 1974 on. Although a major character in Voltaire's novella and all revivals of the show, she is a walk-on part with only one line in the 1956 stage version.)
• Old Woman (alto)
• Martin (baritone. Doubles with Pangloss in the 1956 version and some later versions.)
• Cacambo (Speaking Role. Doubles with Pangloss and Martin in Bernstein's 1989 revisions.)

Notable elements

Candide is most famous for its popular overture which is often performed alone as a concert piece. In 1987, it was the most often performed piece of concert music by Bernstein. Cunegonde's coloratura aria Glitter and Be Gay is a favourite showpiece for many sopranos.

References

Bibliography

• Leonard Bernstein, Lillian Hellman, and Richard Wilbur et al. Candide: Original Broadway Cast Recording. Columbia Masterworks, 1957.

External links

• Candide at the official Leonard Bernstein website.
• A Guide to Leonard Bernstein's Candide
• List of articles about Candide
• Live, Laugh, Love: Candide
• Great Performances: Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" in Concert
• June Anderson sings "Glitter and Be Gay", Leonard Bernstein conducting, London, 1989.
• Diana Damrau sings "Glitter and Be Gay", WM-Concert 2006.
• Natalie Dessay sings "Glitter and Be Gay", 2007, TV show.
• International Herald Tribune article on 2006 Théâtre du Châtelet production