Madison Opera Presents Candide
Madison Opera welcomes spring with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide
Madison, Wis. – Madison Opera closes its 23/24 mainstage season with its first production in over 30 years of Candide, Leonard Bernstein’s beloved American opera. Based on Voltaire’s satirical novella, Candide mixes a dazzling score with comedy, tragedy, and impossible situations that result in a sublime whole. Performances are April 26 at 8pm and April 28 at 2:30pm in Overture Hall.
Set in 18th century Europe, Candide tells of a naïve young man who has been taught by his tutor Dr. Pangloss that this is the best of all possible worlds. Exiled from his home after caught kissing his beloved Cunegonde, Candide gets swept up in a series of adventures that test his belief in Dr. Pangloss’ teachings. As he travels the world, from Lisbon to Paris, Buenos Aires, Eldorado, and Venice, he is beset by a seemingly endless series of disasters, including war, an earthquake, and a shipwreck. By turns funny, moving, and deeply philosophical, Candide ends in the greatest finale in opera.
Candide was Leonard Bernstein’s fifth theater piece, premiering the year before West Side Story. When wrote Der Rosenkavalier.” It was nonetheless a box office failure, but its cast album became a favorite of music lovers. In the decades that followed, Candide was rewritten multiple times, with new lyrics, new books, and even new music. Its roster of lyricists includes Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Stephen Sondheim, and Bernstein himself. The result has now taken its place as one of the great American operas.
“Candide is a simply glorious piece,” says Kathryn Smith, Madison Opera’s General Director. “No other opera has such a mixture of the sublime and the absurd, of impossible situations that both entertain and move. I am so delighted to be sharing it with Madison audiences, particularly with this amazing cast and colorful production.”
The large cast features both debuts and returning favorite artists. Martin Luther Clark debuts as Candide, the naïvely optimistic hero; Jeni Houser (Lucia di Lammermoor) plays his beloved Cunegonde, who is forced to make her own way in the world. Alan Dunbar (She Loves Me) is Dr. Pangloss, Candide’s mentor who insists that this is the best of all possible worlds. Meredith Arwady (Sweeney Todd) plays the Old Lady, Cunegonde’s companion with a practical outlook on life. Voltaire himself is played by James Ridge, a member of the core company of American Players Theatre. Robert A. Goderich (Salome) plays the Governor of Buenos Aires; Luis Alejandro Orozco (debut) plays Maximilian, Cunegonde’s brother; Hailey Cohen (The Anonymous Lover) plays the maid Paquette; and Scott Lewis (debut) plays Cacambo. In addition, many members of the Madison Opera Chorus play small roles, as Bernstein builds a true ensemble.
Brian Cowing directs this production, returning after his delightful choreography on She Loves Me (2022); he was recently appointed Artistic Director of Children’s Theater of Madison. The production comes from Des Moines Metro Opera (set design by Steven C. Kemp, who designed The Anonymous Lover for Madison Opera; costume design by Linda Posano); lighting design is by Matthew Taylor in his debut.
John DeMain conducts, with members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The opera will be sung in English, with projected text.
Madison Opera’s production of Candide is sponsored by Kay and Martin Barrett, Diane Adams in Memory of Bert Adams, Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Kennedy Gilchrist and Heidi Wilde, Fran Klos, Patricia and Stephen Lucas, Thomas Terry, the Wallach Family, David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd, Amy and Jerry Nickles, the Ann Stanke Fund, and Thompson Investment Management, Inc.
Performances:
Candide opened on Broadway in 1956, one critic called it “the best light opera since Richard Strauss
Friday, April 26, 2024 • 8pm
Sunday, April 28, 2024 • 2:30pm Overture Hall, Overture Center for the Arts
Box Office:
201 State St. Madison, WI
608.258.4141
www.madisonopera.org
Tickets:
$20-149
Student and group discounts available
WHAT
Madison Opera Presents
Candide
By Leonard Bernstein
Sung in English with projected text
The performance will last approximately 3 hours including one intermission
WHEN
Friday, April 26, 2024, at 8pm
Sunday, April 28, 2024, at 2:30pm
WHERE
Overture Hall
Overture Center for the Arts
201 State St. Madison, WI
608.258.4141
WHO
Martin Luther Clark as Candide
Jeni Houser as Cunegonde
Meredith Arwady as The Old Lady
Alan Dunbar as Dr. Pangloss / Martin
James Ridge as Voltaire
Robert A. Goderich as The Governor
Luis Alejandro Orozco as Maximilian
Hailey Cohen as Paquette
Scott Lewis as Cacambo
Directed by Brian Cowing
Conducted by John DeMain
with the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra
MORE INFORMATION
https://www.madisonopera.org/candide/
TICKETS
$20 - $149
Student and group discounts available
Published on March 26, 2024
