Leonard Bernstein's "Candide"

While Rachel and I were on our way to Himeji (she wanted to check out the Okiku well, which inspired the story of The Ring), I spotted an advert as I boarded the Hankyu train at Juso station. It was an advertisement about a production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, which will be performed in Nishinomiya this July (http://candide.jp/).

Candide, ou l'Optimisme was a novel by the French writer and philosopher Voltaire. Leonard Bernstein made it into an operetta. An operetta is kinda an intermediate between an opera and a musical. The music itself is classical, and arias such as Glitter and be Gay definitely requires operatic techniques, but the singers are not necessarily singing without amplification (one of the basic definition of opera - the singers do not use any microphones at all). I've seen Candide twice before, both were semi-staged student productions (one at The University of Manchester, and another at the adjacent Royal Northern College of Music); the production at Manchester was sung without any microphones, whilst the RNCM production used microphones to aid the amplification. Also, when you compare Candide with the more traditional operas, there are much more spoken dialogue (instead of a recitative), so it's classified as an operetta than an opera or a musical.

Glitter and be Gay is arguably one of the most fiendishly challenging arias in the coloratura soprano repertoire. Difficult not only in its necessity for coloratura techniques, but also in its demand for comical staging. The lyrics are satirical, and the vocal passages have very intricate details (and some very very high notes!). Notable performances of this aria include June Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth. Anderson, as a classically trained operatic soprano, performed this with a beautiful voice and flawless coloratura. Chenoweth is trained in both musical theatre and opera, and has obviously paid more attention to the comical staging of the aria.

The Overture to Candide is also popular in its own right, and has become a part of the standard orchestral repertoire.

I like Candide for first, its music, and secondly its comedic elements. The story is farcical, and sometimes the plot gets a bit ridiculous, but the story and characters such as Pangloss just make you laugh.

I look forward to this production - it'll be sung in English with Japanese surtitles. I've never seen a professional production of Candide! (A couple of years ago Kristin Chenoweth was scheduled to star as Cunegonde in the English National Opera production, but had to withdraw - I wanted to see her live!)