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Candide (operetta)
Encyclopedia
Candide is an operetta
with music composed by Leonard Bernstein
, based on the 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
, Leonard Bernstein
, John Mauceri
, and John Wells
. 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 enormous popularity. It is very popular among major music schools as a student show because of the quality of its music and the opportunities it offers to student singers.
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
(whose work was ultimately not used), 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.
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. This production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 73 performances. Hellman's libretto was criticized in a The New York Times
review as being too serious:
The first London production debuted at the Saville Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on 30 April 1959 (after playing for a short time at the New Theatre, Oxford and Manchester's opera house). 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. It ran for 60 performances.
, 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 in 1974 and running there for nearly two years. The 1974 Broadway revival 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. 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.
In response to requests from opera companies for a more legitimate version, the show was expanded on the basis of 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. Opera companies around the world have performed this version, and the production was a staple of New York City Opera's repertoire.
In 1988, by which point Hellman had died, Bernstein started working alongside John Mauceri
, then director of Scottish Opera
, to produce a version that expressed his final wishes regarding Candide. Wheeler died before he could work again on the text, and John Wells
was engaged. The new show was first produced by Scottish Opera
with the credit "Adapted for Scottish Opera by John Wells and John Mauceri". After Bernstein had attended the final rehearsals and the opening in Glasgow, he decided that the time had come for the composer himself to re-examine Candide. Taking the Scottish Opera version as a basis, he made changes in orchestration, shuffled the order of numbers in the second Act, and altered the endings of several numbers. Bernstein then conducted and recorded what he called his "final revised version" with Jerry Hadley
as Candide, June Anderson
as Cunegonde, Christa Ludwig
as the Old Lady, and Adolph Green
as Dr. Pangloss. Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD (2006, 147 min.), in 5.0 surround sound, of the 13 December 1989 recording at the London Barbican Centre
, with a bonus video prologue and epilogue from the composer and a printed insert "Bernstein and Voltaire" by narrative collaborator Wells
explaining what Bernstein wanted in this final revised version.
Ten years later (1999), 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 subsequently been performed a number of times.
Candide was revived on Broadway in 1997, directed again by Harold Prince. 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 first-night performance was recorded and released as a DVD (2005, 116 min., 5.1 sound). The cast featured Paul Groves
as Candide, Kristin Chenoweth
as Cunegonde, Sir Thomas Allen
as Dr. Pangloss, Patti LuPone
as the Old Lady,and Janine LaManna as Paquette, with choruses from both Westminster Choir College
and the Juilliard School
completing the cast. This production included two rarely sung duets between Cunegonde and the Old Lady, "We Are Women" and "Quiet", which were included in the more extensive Bernstein's 1989 final revised version.
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.
Candide continues to be produced around the world, with recent notable productions and performances including:
Guildford School of Acting, Surrey. (2011)
's performance of the aria at its introduction impressed audience and critics, bringing her wide recognition;
This aria poses considerable difficulties. Technically, it is among the most fiendishly challenging coloratura soprano
arias. If sung as written throughout (alternative phrases are provided at several points in the score), there are three high E-flats (above high C
), two staccato
and one sustained; there are also numerous uses of high C and D-flat. Some of the florid passages are very intricate, calling for marksmanship of the highest order. Theatrically, it demands an elaborate comic staging, in which Cunegonde adorns herself with jewellery while singing and dancing around the stage (much as does Marguerite in the "Jewel Song" of Gounod
's Faust
), and has a satirical quality that is a challenge to perform. Cook discussed the most difficult part of this aria—the "Ha ha hahahaha" section—with Renée Fleming
for Opera News in December 2001:
Apart from Cook, most other singers of this aria generally simplify this section by eliminating the aspirated "H's" and sing staccati instead. Subsequent performers of the role of Cunegonde have included:
This aria has been performed in concert by many musical theatre and opera stars, including (in addition to those listed above): Diana Damrau
(Munich, 2006, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Zubin Mehta), Natalie Dessay
, Renée Fleming
, Edita Gruberová
, Sumi Jo, Roberta Peters
, and Dawn Upshaw
.
l 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. Much of the music is written in time signature
s such as 6/4 and 3/2, which are often combined with 4/4 and 2/2 to make effective 5/2s and 7/2s in places by rapid, regular switching between them and 3/2.
While many orchestration
s 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 flute
s, two oboe
s, an E-flat and two B-flat clarinet
s, bass clarinet
, two bassoon
s, contrabassoon
, four horns
, two trumpet
s, three trombone
s, 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 (especially the addition of a drum roll during the opening fanfares) in the symphony orchestral arrangement. Differences between the first publication and later printings (of both orchestrations) include a slowed opening tempo (half note equal 132 instead of 152). An arrangement for standard wind ensemble also exists.
Dick Cavett used the "Glitter and Be Gay" portion of the overture at the midpoint of his ABC
late-night TV show; it 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.
Act I
Act II
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
with music composed by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, based on the novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
of the same name
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
by Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Callingham Wheeler was an English-born playwright, screenwriter, librettist, poet, and translator. He resided in the United States from 1934 until his death and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He had attended London University.Under the noms de plume Patrick Quentin, Q...
which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. The primary lyricist was the poet Richard Wilbur
Richard Wilbur
Richard Purdy Wilbur is an American poet and literary translator. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987, and twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1957 and again in 1989....
. Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
, Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
, Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, John Mauceri
John Mauceri
John Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
, and John Wells
John Wells (satirist)
John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...
. Maurice Peress
Maurice Peress
Maurice Peress is an American orchestra conductor, educator and author. After serving as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein beginning in 1961, Peress went on to stand as leader of the orchestra in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1962. In 1970, he also became leader...
and Hershy Kay
Hershy Kay
Hershy Kay was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City Ballet....
contributed orchestrations. Although unsuccessful at its premiere, Candide has now overcome the unenthusiastic reaction of early audiences and critics and achieved enormous popularity. It is very popular among major music schools as a student show because of the quality of its music and the opportunities it offers to student singers.
Origins
Candide was originally conceived by Lillian HellmanLillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
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
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
(whose work was ultimately not used), then Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
, John Latouche and Richard Wilbur
Richard Wilbur
Richard Purdy Wilbur is an American poet and literary translator. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987, and twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1957 and again in 1989....
. 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
Hershy Kay
Hershy Kay was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City Ballet....
orchestrated all but the overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
, which Bernstein did himself.
Initial failure
Candide first opened on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as a musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
on December 1, 1956. The premiere production was directed by Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
and conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick. The sets and costumes were designed by Oliver Smith
Oliver Smith (designer)
Oliver Smith was an American scenic designer.Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Smith attended Penn State, after which he moved to New York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents as Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Carson McCullers, and Agnes de...
and Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.- Background :...
, respectively. It was choreographed by Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow was a Jewish American dancer and choreographer.-Training:...
. It featured Robert Rounseville
Robert Rounseville
Robert Rounseville was an American tenor, who appeared in opera, operetta, and Broadway musicals.-Career:Rounseville was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He made his Broadway debut in a small role in the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms, then appeared in other musicals in...
as Candide, Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
as Cunégonde, Max Adrian
Max Adrian
Max Adrian was a Northern Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre....
as Dr. Pangloss, and Irra Petina
Irra Petina
Irra Petina was an actress and singer, as well as a leading contralto with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was called the "floperetta queen" by critic Ken Mandelbaum.Born in St...
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 The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
review as being too serious:
The first London production debuted at the Saville Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue on 30 April 1959 (after playing for a short time at the New Theatre, Oxford and Manchester's opera house). This production used Lillian Hellman's book with an additional credit 'assisted by Michael Stewart', and it was directed by Robert Lewis
Robert Lewis
Robert Lewis was an American actor, director, teacher, author and founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947....
with choreography by Jack Cole
Jack Cole
Jack Cole may refer to:*Jack Cole *Jack Cole *Jack Cole *Jack Isadore Cole , founder of the Coles chain and Coles notes...
. The cast included Denis Quilley
Denis Quilley
Denis Clifford Quilley OBE was an English theatre, television and film actor who was long associated with the Royal National Theatre....
as Candide, Mary Costa
Mary Costa
Mary Costa is an American singer, actress, and Disney Legend. She is best known for playing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. She is also a professional opera singer....
as Cunegonde, Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
as Dr. Pangloss and Edith Coates
Edith Coates
Edith Coates OBE was an English operatic mezzo-soprano. A highly gifted actress with a striking stage presence, Coates initially found success in larger dramatic roles before transitioning into portraying mainly character parts in the 1950s. She began her career with Lilian Baylis's opera company...
as the Old Lady. It ran for 60 performances.
Revivals and Revisions
Without Bernstein's involvement, the show underwent a series of Broadway revivals under the direction of Harold Prince. Lillian HellmanLillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
, 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
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
. 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
Robert Kalfin
Robert Zangwill Kalfin is an American stage director and producer who has worked on and off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country. He is a former artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the founder/artistic director of The Chelsea Theater...
's Chelsea Theater Center
Chelsea Theater Center
The Chelsea Theater Center was a not-for-profit theater company founded in 1965 by Robert Kalfin, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. It opened its doors in a church in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, then moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1968, where it was in residence for ten...
in the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, before moving to Broadway in 1974 and running there for nearly two years. The 1974 Broadway revival starred Mark Baker
Mark Baker (actor)
Mark Baker is an American stage and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in the original production of Via Galactica, one of the most expensive flops in Broadway history.- Biography :...
(Candide), Maureen Brennan (Cunegonde), Sam Freed
Sam Freed
Sam Freed is an American actor who has performed on Broadway, television and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of Kate & Allie. In the short-lived series Ferris Bueller, he played Bill Bueller, the father of the title character. He...
(Maximilian), Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen is an American stage and screen character actor.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, New York to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with Sanford Meisner and Stella Adler...
(Dr. Pangloss), and June Gable
June Gable
June Gable is an American Character actress, best known for her role as Estelle Leonard of The Estelle Leonard Talent Agency in the American sitcom Friends.-Life and career:...
as the Old Lady.
The Chelsea version was marked by a unique production style. Eugene Lee
Eugene Lee (designer)
Eugene Lee was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, 1939. He attended Beloit Memorial High School. He has been resident designer at Trinity Rep since 1967. He has BFA degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University, an MFA from Yale Drama School and three honorary Ph.Ds. Mr...
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.
In response to requests from opera companies for a more legitimate version, the show was expanded on the basis of 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
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
in 1982 under Prince's direction, and ran for thirty-four performances. Opera companies around the world have performed this version, and the production was a staple of New York City Opera's repertoire.
In 1988, by which point Hellman had died, Bernstein started working alongside John Mauceri
John Mauceri
John Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
, then director of Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, to produce a version that expressed his final wishes regarding Candide. Wheeler died before he could work again on the text, and John Wells
John Wells (satirist)
John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...
was engaged. The new show was first produced by Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
with the credit "Adapted for Scottish Opera by John Wells and John Mauceri". After Bernstein had attended the final rehearsals and the opening in Glasgow, he decided that the time had come for the composer himself to re-examine Candide. Taking the Scottish Opera version as a basis, he made changes in orchestration, shuffled the order of numbers in the second Act, and altered the endings of several numbers. Bernstein then conducted and recorded what he called his "final revised version" with Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
as Candide, June Anderson
June Anderson
June Anderson is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. Originally known for bel canto performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini, she was the first non-Italian ever to win the prestigious Bellini d'Oro prize...
as Cunegonde, Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
as the Old Lady, and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
as Dr. Pangloss. Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD (2006, 147 min.), in 5.0 surround sound, of the 13 December 1989 recording at the London Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, with a bonus video prologue and epilogue from the composer and a printed insert "Bernstein and Voltaire" by narrative collaborator Wells
John Wells (satirist)
John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...
explaining what Bernstein wanted in this final revised version.
Ten years later (1999), when the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in the UK decided to produce Candide, another revision was deemed necessary, and Wheeler's book was rewritten by John Caird
John Caird (director)
John Newport Caird is a British stage director and writer of plays, musicals and operas. He is an Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a regular director with the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and the Principal Guest Director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre,...
. 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 subsequently been performed a number of times.
Candide was revived on Broadway in 1997, directed again by Harold Prince. The cast included: Jason Danieley
Jason Danieley
Jason D. Danieley is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He is married to fellow Broadway star, Marin Mazzie-Biography:...
(Candide), Harolyn Blackwell
Harolyn Blackwell
Harolyn Blackwell is an African-American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals...
(Cunegonde), Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
(Dr. Pangloss), Andrea Martin
Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin is an American and Canadian actress and comedienne. She has appeared in films such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, on stage in productions such as My Favorite Year, Fiddler on the Roof and Candide, and in the television series, SCTV.-Personal life:Martin, the oldest of three...
(Old Lady), and Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett is an American actor and tenor who is mostly known for his work within American theatre. Barrett has performed in musicals and in concerts with theatres, symphony orchestras, opera houses, and concert halls internationally...
(Maximilian).
Lonny Price
Lonny Price
Lonny Price is an American actor, writer, and director, primarily in theatre. He is known for making statements on current events in versions of his musicals. His acclaimed May 2008 New York Philharmonic production of Camelot was making a statement about the current war including having different...
directed a 2004 semi-staged concert production with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under conductor Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
. It ran for four performances, May 5–8, 2004. This production was also broadcast on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
. The first-night performance was recorded and released as a DVD (2005, 116 min., 5.1 sound). The cast featured Paul Groves
Paul Groves (tenor)
Paul Groves is an American operatic tenor. In 1991 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and in 1995 he won the prestigious Richard Tucker Award...
as Candide, Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
as Cunegonde, Sir Thomas Allen
Thomas Allen (singer)
Sir Thomas Boaz Allen, CBE is an internationally renowned English operatic baritone. He is widely admired in the opera world for his voice, the versatility of his repertoire, and his acting - leading many to regard him as one of the best lyric baritones of the late 20th Century...
as Dr. Pangloss, Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
as the Old Lady,and Janine LaManna as Paquette, with choruses from both Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music, part of Rider University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano...
and the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
completing the cast. This production included two rarely sung duets between Cunegonde and the Old Lady, "We Are Women" and "Quiet", which were included in the more extensive Bernstein's 1989 final revised version.
In 2006, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the creation of Candide, the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
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
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
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
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
. 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.
Candide continues to be produced around the world, with recent notable productions and performances including:
- A Vernon Mound-directed a production in Karlstad Sweden (2008)
- The Berkshire Theatre FestivalBerkshire Theatre FestivalThe Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional performing arts venues in the Berkshires, celebrating its 80th anniversary season in 2008.-History:...
of Massachusetts (2009). - The Oberlin Conservatory of MusicOberlin Conservatory of MusicThe Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
(2010). - Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival, The 5th Avenue Theatre5th Avenue TheatreThe 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theater building located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land is owned by the University of Washington and was once part of the original campus...
, Seattle, WA (2010). - Goodman TheatreGoodman TheatreThe Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
in Chicago in a co-production with The Shakespeare Theatre CompanyShakespeare Theatre CompanyThe Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. Their self professed mission "is to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their...
in Washington DC is mounting a revised version directed by Mary ZimmermanMary ZimmermanMary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
with music direction by Doug Peck and featuring Geoff Packard, Lauren Molina, Larry Yando, Hollis ResnikHollis ResnikHollis Resnik is an American singer and actress, especially in stage musicals.-Biography:Born in 1955 and raised in Euclid, Ohio , as a young girl she studied piano and took voice lessons and performed with the Cleveland Symphony Children's Choir. Attending Russell H...
, Jonathan Weir, Erik Lochtefeld, Margo Seibert, Jesse Perez and Tom Aulino (September–December 2010). - Hollywood BowlHollywood BowlThe Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
concert, conducted by Bramwell ToveyBramwell ToveyBramwell Tovey, OM is an English-born Grammy Award winning conductor and composer. His musical roots are in The Salvation Army. He was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as a pianist and composer...
, with Richard SuartRichard SuartRichard Suart is an English opera singer and actor, who has specialised in the comic roles of Gilbert and Sullivan operas and in operetta, as well as in avant-garde modern operas...
as Pangloss, Frederica von StadeFrederica von StadeFrederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
as the Old Lady, Alek Shrader as the title character and Anna ChristyAnna ChristyAnna Christy is an America soprano opera singer. She studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and made her debut in 2000 at New York City Opera as Papagena....
as Cunegonde (September 2010)
Guildford School of Acting, Surrey. (2011)
Roles
- Candide (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Pangloss (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
; doubles with Martin in the 1956 stage version and Bernstein's 1989 revision. In the Hal Prince versions, he doubles with several other characters, including the narrator Voltaire and the Governor.) - Maximilian (baritone, but can be played by a tenor; is a speaking role in the original 1956 version.)
- CunégondeCunégondeCunégonde is a fictional character in Voltaire's novel Candide. She is the title character's aristocratic cousin. Her name is probably derived from Cunigunde of Luxemburg....
(sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - Paquette (altoAltoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
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.) - The Old Lady (alto)
- Martin (baritone. Doubles with Pangloss in the 1956 version and some later versions. Does not appear in the 1973 version.)
- Cacambo (speaking role. Does not appear in the 1956 or 1973 versions. Doubles with Pangloss and Martin in Bernstein's 1989 revisions.)
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 CookBarbara Cook
Barbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
's performance of the aria at its introduction impressed audience and critics, bringing her wide recognition;
This aria poses considerable difficulties. Technically, it is among the most fiendishly challenging coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
arias. If sung as written throughout (alternative phrases are provided at several points in the score), there are three high E-flats (above high C
C (musical note)
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
), two staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
and one sustained; there are also numerous uses of high C and D-flat. Some of the florid passages are very intricate, calling for marksmanship of the highest order. Theatrically, it demands an elaborate comic staging, in which Cunegonde adorns herself with jewellery while singing and dancing around the stage (much as does Marguerite in the "Jewel Song" of Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
), and has a satirical quality that is a challenge to perform. Cook discussed the most difficult part of this aria—the "Ha ha hahahaha" section—with Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
for Opera News in December 2001:
Apart from Cook, most other singers of this aria generally simplify this section by eliminating the aspirated "H's" and sing staccati instead. Subsequent performers of the role of Cunegonde have included:
- Mary CostaMary CostaMary Costa is an American singer, actress, and Disney Legend. She is best known for playing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. She is also a professional opera singer....
(in the 1959 London premiere) - Madeline KahnMadeline KahnMadeline Kahn was an American actress. Kahn was known primarily for her comedic roles in films such as Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, What's Up, Doc?, and Clue.-Early life:...
(in a 1968 concert version) - Maureen Brennan (In Hal PrinceHal PrinceHarold Smith Prince is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century...
's first broadway revival of the show in 1974) - Erie Mills (at the New York City OperaNew York City OperaThe New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
in 1982) - June AndersonJune AndersonJune Anderson is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. Originally known for bel canto performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini, she was the first non-Italian ever to win the prestigious Bellini d'Oro prize...
(under Bernstein's direction in concerts and a 1989 recording shortly before his death) - Constance HaumanConstance HaumanConstance Hauman is a soprano. She attended Northwestern University. Constance Hauman is credited with having the only live recording of Alban Berg's Lulu in the title role; recorded in Copenhagen 1996 at the Queen of Denmark's Castle...
(understudy to Anderson, filled in for at least one performance) - Elizabeth FutralElizabeth FutralElizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan....
(at Lyric Opera of ChicagoLyric Opera of ChicagoLyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
in 1994) - Michael CallenMichael CallenMichael Callen was a singer, songwriter, composer, author, and AIDS activist. He was a significant architect of the response to the AIDS crisis in the United States....
(in his 1996 posthumously released LEGACY 2-CD album) - Harolyn BlackwellHarolyn BlackwellHarolyn Blackwell is an African-American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals...
(in Hal PrinceHal PrinceHarold Smith Prince is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century...
's 1997 Broadway revival of the show). - Kristin ChenowethKristin ChenowethKristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
(in a 2004 concert production with the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
; recorded with many other orchestras including the Boston PopsBoston Pops OrchestraThe Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
) - Lauren MolinaLauren MolinaLauren Molina is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and musician. She made her Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed 2005 revival of Sweeney Todd, playing the role of the Johanna. In this production, Molina played the cello onstage. In 2008, she originated the role of Regina/Candi in...
(in Mary ZimmermanMary ZimmermanMary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
's 2010 production at the Goodman TheatreGoodman TheatreThe Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
)
This aria has been performed in concert by many musical theatre and opera stars, including (in addition to those listed above): Diana Damrau
Diana Damrau
Diana Damrau is a German lyric coloratura soprano of the operatic stage.-Biography:Diana Damrau was born in 1971 in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and began her operatic studies with Carmen Hanganu at the Musikhochschule in Würzburg. After graduating from music conservatory she worked in Salzburg...
(Munich, 2006, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Zubin Mehta), Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay is a French coloratura soprano. She dropped the silent "h" in her first name in honor of Natalie Wood when she was in grade school and subsequently simplified the spelling of her surname outside France...
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, Edita Gruberová
Edita Gruberová
Edita Gruberová , is a Slovak soprano who is one of the most acclaimed coloraturas of recent decades. She is noted for her great tonal clarity, agility, dramatic interpretation, and ability to sing high notes with great power, which made her an ideal Queen of the Night in her early years...
, Sumi Jo, Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
, and Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
.
The overture
The Overture to Candide soon earned a place in the orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l repertoire. After a successful first concert performance on January 26, 1957, by the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
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
20th century classical music
20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
American
Music of the United States
The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. Among the country's most internationally-renowned genres are hip hop, blues, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, barbershop, pop, techno, and rock and roll. The United States has the...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
; 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. Much of the music is written in time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
s such as 6/4 and 3/2, which are often combined with 4/4 and 2/2 to make effective 5/2s and 7/2s in places by rapid, regular switching between them and 3/2.
While many orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
s 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
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, two flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, an E-flat and two B-flat clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, four horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, three trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, a large but standard percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
contingent, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, and a standard string
Bowed string instrument
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.-Violin family:...
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 (especially the addition of a drum roll during the opening fanfares) in the symphony orchestral arrangement. Differences between the first publication and later printings (of both orchestrations) include a slowed opening tempo (half note equal 132 instead of 152). An arrangement for standard wind ensemble also exists.
Dick Cavett used the "Glitter and Be Gay" portion of the overture at the midpoint of his ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
late-night TV show; it served as his signature introduction during the years the Cavett show aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
.
At a memorial concert for Bernstein in 1990, the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
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
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
performed the Overture to Candide as part of its historic concert
2008 New York Philharmonic visit to North Korea
The New York Philharmonic concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 26, 2008 was a significant event in North Korea-United States relations...
in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, on February 26, 2008.
Musical numbers
This list is from Bernstein's "final revised version", recorded in 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
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 BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
conducting, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1989. - Diana Damrau sings "Glitter and Be Gay", WM-Concert 2006.
- International Herald Tribune article on 2006 Théâtre du Châtelet production