Candide
music by Leonard Bernstein (1956)
book adapted from Voltaire (1758)
by Hugh Wheeler, in a new version
by John Caird (1999)
lyrics by Richard Wilbur
additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim,
John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein
Voltaire's towering work of comic and philosophical genius is one of the glories of 18th-century satire and is as relevant today as when it was first written.
Candide explores a world that is dominated by violence, greed, war, hatred and a series of catastrophic events seemingly unmitigated by goodness, truth, beauty or God.Voltaire's great achievement is to temper his merciless analysis of human cruelty, and the apparent emptiness of heaven, with extraordinary wit and good humour. While disturbed by his story, we also find ourselves laughing uproariously
at it.
Add one of Leonard Bernstein's most brilliant scores and Richard Wilbur's witty lyrics to this heady mix, and you have a work of unalloyed pleasure.
Running Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Candide finished on: 25 January 2000
