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Candide (musical)

Candide
Candide playbill.jpg
Playbill from 1974 revival
Music Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics Richard Wilbur
John Latouche
Dorothy Parker
Lillian Hellman
Stephen Sondheim
Leonard Bernstein
Book Lillian Hellman
Hugh Wheeler
Basis Candide, novella by Voltaire
Productions 1956 Broadway
1957 New York Philharmonic
1973 Broadway revival
1982 New York City Opera
1988 Scottish Opera Version
1997 Broadway revival
1998 Royal National Theatre
2004 & 2005 New York Philharmonic
2006 Théâtre du Châtelet
2008 New York City Opera
2010 Goodman Theatre (Chicago), 5th Avenue Theater (Seattle) & Shakespeare Theatre (DC)
2013 Menier Chocolate Factory
2017 New York City Opera
Awards Tony Award for Best Book
Drama Desk for Outstanding Book

Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. The primary lyricist was the poet Richard Wilbur. 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.

Candide was originally conceived by Lillian Hellman as a play with incidental music in the style of her previous work, The Lark. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a "comic operetta"; she then wrote the original libretto for the operetta. 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 "I Am Easily Assimilated" were done by Leonard and Felicia Bernstein, and Hellman wrote the words to "Eldorado". Hershy Kay orchestrated all but the overture, which Bernstein did himself.


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