Bernstein: Candide

Available for over a year

Based on Voltaire's 18th-century satirical novel about the misadventures of the pure-hearted and naive Candide and his much more worldly mate Cunégonde, Leonard Bernstein's 1956 operetta isn't just another Broadway show. It opened during the infamous witch hunts of Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, which Bernstein and and book author Lillian Hellman had experienced firsthand. So alongside the blend of wit, sophistication and comedy, including brilliant parodies of operatic forms like 'Glitter and be Gay', the references to the Spanish Inquisition - 'What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fe' - and the irony of Candide's mantra that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds give the work a dark undercurrent. That Candide never had the lasting success he thought it deserved really bugged Bernstein who tinkered with it on-and-off until the end of his life, resulting in multiple versions and the question of which, if any, is definitive. Recommended Recording: Original 1956 Broadway Cast recording:- Robert Rounseville (Candide), Samuel Krachmalnick (conductor) Sony/Columbia SK 86859 (digital download) Other Recommended Recording: Below is another recording that Edward also liked, although we can’t guarantee availability. 1988 Scottish Opera recording:- Mark Beudert (Candide), Justin Brown (conductor) Jay Records CDTER1156 (CD)