Bernstein’s life was “all Lillian Hellman and Candide.” In that context, Bernstein insisted on subtitling the serenade “after Plato’s Symposium” to. Leonard Bernstein/arr. Candide was written in 1955, the result of a collaboration for the musical theater between composer Leonard Bernstein and playwright Lillian Hellman and others.
Program Notes. Leonard Bernstein was the first American composer to achieve. As a conductor, he was known for a dramatic.
Mahler who were seen as 'too difficult' for the public to comprehend. As an. educator, he brought classical music to a whole new generation through his. Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, beginning in. As a composer, he made his mark in the concert and ballet halls (1. Symphony No. His. West Side Story (1. American. musical theater.
West Side Story, a modern adaptation of. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that plays out in the New York slums, was.
The musical added a whole. Bard's tale of tragic lovers with its portrayal of. Jets (streetwise white New York teens) and the Sharks (tough.
Puerto Rican immigrants). Although social themes have always been a part of. West Side Story brought the idea of social consciousness to the. American musical, leading the way for later works such as Les Miserables. Rent. The play premiered in Washington DC in August, 1. New York that ran for two years, and a.
A motion picture version was released in 1. Bernstein created the orchestral. The New York Philharmonic premiered the dances at a fund- raiser.
- Program Notes & Articles; Youth & Family. Bernstein: West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein was born August 25, 1918, in Lawrence.
- Leonard Bernstein (1918–90) was the. Bernstein: Overture to “Candide. The timpani, bass drum.
- Event Details: Location. Program: Leonard Bernstein Candide. Music Director & Conductor.
The dances- -and the score of the musical- -revolve. C- -F- sharp- -G, the well- known opening of the song. I didn't do all this on purpose. It seemed to come out.
Cool' and as the gang whistle . The same three notes. Like all. of Bernstein's works the music is rhythmically challenging, yet it is also. Lady Diana Menuhin once said of Bernstein. The haunting strains of .
Candide (operetta) - Wikipedia. Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novellaof the same name by Voltaire. The primary lyricist was the poet Richard Wilbur.
Bernstein and the Bostonians. November 18, 2016 Conductor’s Notes Q&A at 7 PM Concert 8 PM‐10:15 PM. All seats in all locations are just $25 each when you choose 3 or more concerts. Program notes below the break. The duet takes place between the humble pauper Candide and the frilly Cun
Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, John Mauceri, John Wells, and Bernstein himself. 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.
Origins. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a . 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 . Hershy Kay orchestrated all but the overture, which Bernstein did himself.
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 featured Robert Rounseville as Candide, Barbara Cook as Cun. Pangloss, and Irra Petina as the Old Lady. This production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 7. Hellman's libretto was criticized in a The New York Times review as being too serious. When he makes lightning, rapier thrusts, she provides body blows.
Where he is diabolical, . 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. The Musical Director was Alexander Faris. It ran for 6. 0 performances.
Later productions. 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 (Maximilian) for Cunegonde's brother. This 1. 05- minute version, omitting over half of the musical numbers, was known as the . The 1. 97. 4 Broadway revival starred Mark Baker (Candide), Maureen Brennan (Cunegonde), Sam Freed (Maximilian), Lewis J. 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 1. 3- 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.
It was first performed by the New York City Opera in 1. 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. The Australian premiere in 1. Nimrod Theatre Company and directed by John Bell at Sydney's Seymour Centre featured Philip Quast in the title role. 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 .
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 .
Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD (2. December 1. 98. 9 recording at the London Barbican Centre, with a bonus video prologue and epilogue from the composer and a printed insert . A CD version, without Bernstein's commentary or audience applause, was also released by Deutsche Grammophon. Ten years later (1. 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.
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 2. New York Philharmonic under conductor Marin Alsop. It ran for four performances, May 5. This production was also broadcast on PBS's Great Performances.
The first- night performance was recorded and released as a DVD (2. The cast featured Paul Groves as Candide, Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde, Sir Thomas Allen as Dr.
Pangloss, Patti Lu. Pone as the Old Lady, Janine La. Manna as Paquette, and Stanford Olsen as the Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski 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, .
The production was to move to Milan's Teatro alla Scala in 2. English National Opera in 2. The production transforms the proscenium into a giant 1. TV set, and has Voltaire, appearing as the narrator, changing channels between certain scenes. Carsen sets the action in a 1. 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 1. Th. The cast included: Fra Fee as Candide, Scarlett Strallen as Cunegonde, James Dreyfus as Pangloss/Martin/Cacambo, David Thaxton as Maximilian, Jackie Clune as the Old Lady and Ben Lewis. 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 1.
Cun. 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 1. The Old Lady (contralto)Martin (baritone. Doubles with Pangloss in the 1. Does not appear in the 1. Cacambo (speaking role. Does not appear in the 1.
Doubles with Pangloss and Martin in Bernstein's 1. Synopsis. Pangloss, Candide's teacher expounds his famous philosophy, to the effect that all is for the best (. Westphalia is destroyed, and Cunegonde is seemingly killed. Candide takes comfort in the Panglossian doctrine (. Candide discovers Pangloss, who has contracted syphilis, yet remains optimistic (.
The Inquisition appears, in the persons of two ancient Inquisitors and their lawyer, and many citizens are tried and sentenced to hang, including Candide and Dr. Suddenly an earthquake occurs, killing Dr. Pangloss, and Candide barely escapes. Candide, faced with the loss of both Cunegonde and Dr. Pangloss, starts out for Paris. He is unable to reconcile Dr.
Pangloss's ideas with the bitter events that have occurred, but concludes that the fault must lie within himself, rather than in the philosophy of optimism (. A party is in progress. Urged by the Old Lady, who serves as her duenna, Cunegonde arrays herself in her jewels (. Candide stumbles into the scene and is amazed to find Cunegonde still alive (. In a duel, he kills both the Marquis and the Sultan, and flees with Cunegonde, accompanied by the Old Lady. They fall in with a band of devout Pilgrims on their way to the New World and sail with them (. Arriving in Buenos Aires, the group is brought to the Governor's Palace (where Maximilian is alive and working for the Governor), where all except Cunegonde and the Old Lady are immediately enslaved.
A street cleaner appears in the person of the pessimistic Martin, warning Candide of the future. Candide and Maximilian are joyfully reunited, but when Candide states his intention to marry Cunegonde Maximilian starts to strike him with a glove. Candide starts to strike him back, but before he actually does Maximilian drops, apparently dead. The Governor serenades Cunegonde (.
The Old Lady urges Candide to flee, but Candide, fired by reports of Eldorado from Martin, sets off to seek his fortune, planning to return for Cunegonde later (. Candide returns from Eldorado (. The Governor, however, has had both Cunegonde and the Old Lady tied up in sacks and carried to a boat in the harbor. He tells Candide that the women have sailed for Europe, and Candide eagerly purchases a leaky ship from the Governor and dashes off. As the Governor and his suite watch from his terrace, the ship with Candide and Martin casts off and almost immediately sinks (.
Martin is devoured by a shark, but Dr. Pangloss miraculously reappears. Candide is overjoyed to find his old teacher, and Pangloss sets about repairing the damage done to his philosophy by Candide's experiences. In a luxurious palazzo of Venice (.
Pangloss, both wearing masks, appear and are caught up by the merriment, the wine and the gambling. Candide is accosted by a masked Cunegonde and Old Lady, who try to steal his remaining gold (. His last hopes and dreams shattered, he drops his money at her feet and leaves. Cunegonde and the Old Lady are fired by Ferone and Pangloss is now penniless, having been completely swindled out of all his money.
With Candide now completely disillusioned, he and Pangloss return to the ruined Westphalia. Cunegonde, Maximilian (minus his teeth) and the Old Lady appear and within them a spark of optimism still flickers.