Ladies of Longford
ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, 59 E. MOUND ST.
www.stjohnschurch columbus.org
In the final installment of the Triune Concert Series, the ensemble will perform contemporary Celtic and traditional Irish music. Irish dancers will be featured. 7:30 p.m. Friday donations accepted
Leonard Bernstein just couldn’t figure out “Candide.” In the early 1950s, Bernstein — best known for scoring the musicals “On the Town” and “West Side Story” — composed an operetta drawn from the 1759 novel by French writer Voltaire. Easy enough, right?
Alas, before its premiere in 1956 and for decades thereafter, “Candide” was relentlessly reworked.
Consider the words penned to accompany Bernstein’s music: Lillian Hellman wrote the book for the production when it premiered, but Hugh Wheeler supplied a text of his own in the ’70s. Meanwhile, those hired to write lyrics included Bernstein and Hellman, plus John La Touche, Dorothy Parker, Stephen Sondheim and Richard Wilbur.
At present, five versions of the operetta circulate for performing-arts groups.
In a presentation of the Ohio State University Opera & Lyric Theatre, “Candide” will be performed Thursday and Friday in Weigel Hall. In the pared-down production, the singers will be joined onstage by the OSU Symphony Orchestra; the show will be staged and choreographed but will not feature sets.
True to the scrambled spirit of the show, the performance will be something of a hodgepodge. Director A. Scott Parry selected the music from a version unveiled in 1989, but music publisher Boosey & Hawkes did not supply a script.
“In order to actually put the piece together and create a script, I’ve actually gone back to all the other productions,” Parry said. “We’ve put together a script based upon the four other major Road 614-292-2295, music. osu.edu Friday 8 p.m. Thursday and
$20, or $10 for senior citizens, Ohio State students, faculty, staff and alumniassociation members productions — just pulling bits and pieces of them.”
Still, the operetta’s story is taken straight from Voltaire: Despite his training in the ethos of optimism from Dr. Pangloss (Thomas Petrushka), a young man of humble means named Candide (Dane Morey) acquires a cynical outlook after getting a taste of the world.
Other principal parts include Cunegonde (Regan Tackett), Candide’s blueblooded cousin and eventual romantic partner; and her brother, Maximilian (Justin T. Swain). The performance will be narrated by a stand-in for Voltaire, played by Peter Bradley.
Morey, an undergraduate who plans to major in engineering and theater, described Candide as a character who does not present a facade to the outside world.
“He’s somebody who’s completely honest and true, and expects ... other people will be that way, too,” said Morey, 22. “Everyone starts at a place of naivete, and through world interactions, experiencing things, just gradually builds up this wealth of knowledge.”
The operetta finishes with the majestic song “Make Our Garden Grow,” in which Candide and Cunegonde renounce both unsophisticated optimism and shallow cynicism for deeper, more complex sentiments.
“The finale of this piece," Parry said, "is such this uplift about humanity and acceptance and coming together in unity that, I think, puts a different spin on Voltaire.”
Although the text will still refer to the operetta’s European setting, the cast will be dressed in contemporary costumes; allusions to present-day society will be included.
“It has a bite, and it has social commentary,” Parry said, “and I think it’s something that we’re not used to seeing in the concert hall.”
The OSU performances will take place during a year celebrating the centennial of Bernstein (1918-1990), whose gifts are evident in the score.
“Despite the fact that it’s this variety show of musical genres,” Tackett, 23, said of “Candide,” “I think it demonstrates his skill and also his sense of fun.”