Candide 1989 Concert performance on DVD

There are several versions of Candide available, but I thought I would choose the 1989 concert version, since Bernstein himself chose the cast and conducts the performance.

Candide has got to have one of the best overtures of all time, I assume owing to Bernstein's capable orchestral writing. I believe in usual Broadway scores, the overture is an arrangement of tunes from the show done by someone other than the primary composer. Here, Bernstein uses the entire color palette available within the resources of an orchestra--in this case, the London Symphony Orchestra--not a bad band to be backing you up.

The cast features June Anderson as Cunegonde, Jerry Hadley as Candide, Kurt Ollman as Maximillian, Christa Ludwig as The Old Lady, and Adolph Green as Doctor Pangloss. Kurt Ollman is a name that might not be as familiar as the others; he's a wonderful baritone who has had an interesting "cross-over" career straddling opera, song recitals, and musical theater. The late Jerry Hadley had a bit of the same type of career. Ms. Anderson and Ms. Ludwig are straight out of the opera house, while Mr. Green represents the true Broadway tradition and had had a working relationship as performer and lyricist with Bernstein for more than 40 years by the time this concert was performed in 1989.

The musical aspects of this concert are very good. All the performers are lively, and Ms. Anderson and Mr. Hadley sing particularly well. "Glitter and be Gay" is done just about as well as it can be done by Ms. Anderson, who was still in the youthful bloom of her voice. Mr. Green does admirably with an enormous amount of text, both spoken and sung.

I did get tired a bit of the amount of camera time afforded Mr. Bernstein, though, and while some of his "asides" were interesting, they didn't help the flow of the performance. Owing probably to his musical stature, there is quite a bit of congratulatory hugging and hand-shaking, which only manages to slow down the proceedings even further, but when the music is happening, it is all pretty good.

Candide
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book by Lillian Hellman
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, and Dorothy Parker
Based on the novel by Voltaire
1989 Concert version with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Barbican Center
Released by Deutsche Grammaphon
Cast: Adolph Green, Kurt Ollman, Jerry Hadley, June Anderson, Christa Ludwig