ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA, June 28 2008
CANDIDE
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John
Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein.
Book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, freely adapted by Robert
Carsen and Ian Burton
Orchestrations by Leonard Bernstein and Hershy Kay, with additional
orchestrations by John Mauceri.
(Co-production with Theatre du Chatelet, Paris and Teatro alla Scala, Milan)
CANDIDE is rather unfamiliar in the UK, at least in comparison with West
Side Story, but after seeing this production, I must say that it deserves
to be better known.
Voltaire's satire (or comic novel) was updated by Bernstein to the 1950s
(i.e. the time in which it was written - it was first performed in 1956) -
for this production, much of the 1950s setting has been retained -
costumes, stage design, etc - but the spoken dialogue has been updated to
include present-day references. It was intended by Bernstein to be "a
political comment in the aftermath of Joe McCarthy" - the satire seems
obvious enough to me, and to everyone else in the ENO audience, but,
according to the programme notes, "The point of the satire was
anti-American, particularly anti-Middle America, but this went over the
heads of most of the orginal first-night audience". (Then again, if they
had got it, it would probably have been banned......)
During the overture, the stage resembles a giant television set in the
style of the late 50s/early 60s, and scenes of American glamour (including
the Kennedys) are shown on the screen. The linking passages are spoken by
Alex Jennings as Voltaire, who then divests himself of his 18th century
costume to reveal a 1950s suit and tie, in which he plays Pangloss,
Candide's optimistic tutor, who believes that in spite of everything, "all
is for the best in the best of all possible worlds" - this is the subject
of one of the first songs. Jennings then also plays Martin the pessimist
(the one who joins up with Candide in the second half, and believes that
this is the WORST of all possible worlds).
Voltaire's Westphalia has become "West Failure" - which in due course goes
to war with "East Failure", the point (Voltaire's point, effortlessly
transferred to a 20th century setting) is that the two powers are
identical in their barbarity, each believing that the other is the evil
one...
The role of Candide was sung pleasingly by Toby Spence - he's the only
character who has what might be described as set-piece, "operatic-style"
arias - the rest do have solos, obviously, but the lyrics of Candide's
songs are not ironic or witty, as are most of the others, his songs
describe his reaction to the increasingly bizarre experiences he
undergoes, until he is finally stripped of all his illusions, but decides
he'll marry the gold-digging Cunegonde anyway,as they now no longer have
any ideals about each other and they'll "make their garden grow". This
isn't quite how Voltaire's novel ends - that is, in Voltaire there is a
real garden attached to the house in which all the main characters end up
(having survived various attempts on their lives, drowning, execution, etc
etc), and they do cultivate it and live on its produce, so it is real as
well as being a metaphor. For Bernstein, it becomes the occasion for the
final show-stopping number, in which all the characters and the chorus
join.
The opera (operetta? musical? piece of musical theatre?) follows the broad
outlines of Voltaire's novel, and for the most part the updating is
seamless, since most of the institutions that Voltaire was satirising are
still unfortunately in existence. When Pangloss and Candide arrive on dry
land, after escaping from West Failure in a ship provided by 'a kindly
Anabaptist' (sic) , there is an earthquake and Pangloss and Candide are
arrested and accused of being responsible for it. The trial scene is of
course a parody of the MacCarthy HUAC trials in the 1950s, after which
Pangloss and Candide are sentenced to be hanged. (They miraculously
escape, of course - although we don't find out until the end that Pangloss
has escaped too). Then there is a chorus number which beings cheerily -
"What a day, what a day, for an auto-da-fe"......it's a bit of a pity I've
booked to see DON CARLO this afternoon, I HOPE I can forget about this
before I get there!! It's an excellent satire on the hypocrisy of Church
and State, the lyrics are very witty - throughout, in fact, but it was
this number which I particulaly noticed.
Apart from the overture, the only other well-known number is Cunegonde's
"Glitter and be Gay". Anna Christy, who was previously seen here as Lucia
di Lammermoor, was indeed a very 'glittery' Cunegonde, reaching the high
notes with great skill and accuracy, and without a hint of shrillness. I
haven't seen it in context before, it is actually the centre-piece of a
dance routine, in which all Cunegonde's lovers and suitors surround her,
presenting her with diamond bracelets and necklaces. Bernstein's musical
inventiveness seems inexhaustible!
The orchestra of ENO was conducted by Rumon Gamba.
**************
Dr. Jane Susanna ENNIS
http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/leonora/opera.html
