In 1956, playwright Lillian Hellman conceived an idea to use Candide – Voltaire’s 200-year-old satirical attack on prevailing religion-based optimism – as the basis for a stage play. It was Leonard Bernstein who convinced Hellman to structure it as an operetta. They collaborated …but the result was a mismatch. Bernstein’s music was lauded, but Hellman’s story and lyrics were considered confusing and clumsy. The show lasted 73 performances.
In the program notes to the current production of Candide at Glimmerglass Music Festival, Bernstein’s daughter, Jamie, writes: “Both my father and Lillian Hellman were drawn to the satire of Voltaire, but my father was also drawn to the characters of Candide and Cunegonde. This was operetta/musical comedy, after all, which demands an element of romance – and he couldn’t help but give them “heart” through his music… [M]y father…had to believe that the characters were redeemable….”
It wasn’t until 1974 – almost two decades after he and Hellman tackled the project – that Bernstein worked with Hugh Wheeler for the book and Richard Wilbur for the lyrics. Further changes were made for the Royal National Theatre by John Caird in 1999, resulting in the production now on stage at Glimmerglass.
The saga is summed up in the phrase – and song – “Best of All Possible Worlds.” The story’s narrator, a Professor Pangloss, exhorts his followers that there is a better world…that one must search for it…and that all of the events in one’s life occur for good reason.
The title character – Candide, a bastard child rejected by society – is a disciple of Dr. Pangloss. Candide is in love with Cunegonde, and she with him. Cunegonde’s prominent family refuses to accept Candide as a son-in-law. When his beloved is kidnapped, Candide vows to travel the world to find and rescue her. And travel he must, through Europe, South America, and points in between.
This Glimmerglass production was conceived and directed by the company’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. The music is under the baton of Music Director Joseph Colaneri, who for over two decades was principle conductor of the New York City Opera and later conducted at the Met. To quote Maestro Colaneri, “Leonard Bernstein was one of the most gifted and erudite musicians of our time, and his love of literature and wry comedy are exuberantly exhibited in Candide.”
Let it be quickly stated: this is a fully, brilliantly staged production, with soloists and ensemble numbering almost 30. Within the Glimmerglass cast, there are many noteworthy gems. Kathryn Lewek as Cunegonde is a true coloratura, so easily seeming to conquer the diabolically difficult aria, “Glitter and Be Gay.” Candide is played with vigor and style by a youthful Andrew Stenson. As the Old Woman who aids the couple in their travels, Marietta Simpson, in her signature number, wonderfully lets it be known, “I Am Easily Assimilated.”
Other leading characters – and the chorus – are similarly outstanding. Conductor Colaneri notes, “The musical numbers performed by the ensemble capture the spirit, and music and radiates their enjoyment of performing before an audience.”
And for the Glimmerglass audience…the uplifting, magnificent finale, “Make Our Garden Grow,” captures the essence that Leonard Bernstein had in mind. It leads the show to culminate in a poignant yet joyous experience for all.
What a splendid triumph!
Candide plays in repertory on selected dates now through Thursday, August 21st, at Glimmerglass Festival, Cooperstown, New York.
Herbert Wolff studied under the guidance of Lee Strasberg and subsequently had roles with summer theater companies in upstate New York and on “live” television. He is former vice president of International Television Association and former Chairman of Massachusetts Advisory Council on Scientific and Technical Education. Herb continues to write, direct and appear in stage plays. For 25 years he has been the on-air reviewer of theater and opera productions for WAMC/Northeast Public Radio.
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