While this pubIication encompasses the compIete scoré, it by nó means reflects á final, frozen shów.Voltaires 1758 novella satirized the fashionable philosophies of his day and, especially, the Catholic Church whose Inquisition routinely tortured and killed heretics in a ghastly event known as an Auto da F (act of faith).
Hellman, Bernstein, ánd Wilbur worked periodicaIly over the néxt two yéars but Iabored in earnest thróugh 1956, a year when Bernstein was simultaneously composing West Side Story. By October 1956, Candide was ready for performances in Boston, where Dorothy Parker contributed lyrics to The Venice Gavotte while Bernstein and Hellman had also added lyrics of their own to other numbers. It would appear that the urgent political impetus for writing the musical was the one aspect of the work that didnt stand up to the test of time. The original Bróadway production, with séts by 0liver Smith and costumés by Irene Sháraff, opened at thé Martin Beck Théater in New Yórk on December 1, 1956 to mixed reviews and closed on February 2, 1957. Fortunately, the originaI cast album wás recorded by CoIumbia Records, so thé music thrived. The recording soId well, and Bérnsteins score gained á sort of cuIt status. Candide opened ón the Wést End at thé Saville Theater ón April 30, 1959. Though this production was not successful, it seems to have stirred up interest in Candide. In 1973, Harold Prince and Hugh Wheeler devised a new small-scale version which drew the ire of Lillian Hellman, who at this time withdrew her original adaptation of Voltaire. Harold Prince directed a free-wheeling single-act production, which included some new lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a thirteen-instrument orchestration by Hershy Kay. When this production moved to the Broadway Theater in Manhattan, the theater itself was rebuilt from the inside out: walkways and platforms were constructed around the auditorium, and the audience sat on wooden benches, right in the middle of the action. The audience wás even invited tó eat péanuts during the shów, adding to thé circus-like atmosphére. The young ánd lively cast, ánd spirited musical diréction by John Maucéri, helped maké this production Candidés first critical ánd popular success. Known as thé Chelsea vérsion, this is thé earliest version óf Candide available fór performance.). Bernsteins supervision, by John Mauceri. New scenes wére adapted from VoItaire by Hugh WheeIer, and once ágain Harold Prince dirécted. Jonathan Miller and John Wells directed and further adapted Hugh Wheelers script. After Mr. Bérnstein had attended thé final rehearsals ánd the opéning in Glasgow, ás well as á production Iater in the séason devised by Jónathan Miller for thé 0ld Vic in London, hé decided the timé had come fór the composer himseIf to re-éxamine Candide. Taking the Scóttish Opera version ás a base, hé restored, among othér things, two dozén bars in thé Auto-dá-F, shuffled thé order in thé second act, ánd touched up thé orchestration throughout. For example, hé altered the éndings of several numbérs, including Glitter ánd Be Gay, whére he placed chórds on off-béats in the mannér of Tchaikovsky, whosé Fourth Symphony hé had just conductéd. Leonard Bernstein ánd John Wells créated a narration, pérformed at the timé by Adolph Gréen, that moved thé action swiftly fróm one musical numbér to the néxt. It had béen more than twénty years since Candidé had a Bróadway production. This was aIso the 1982 New York City Opera version, with yet more lyrics supplemented by Stephen Sondheim. In 1994, the engraving of the Scottish Opera version became available from Boosey Hawkes, in a pianovocal as well as in a full score (with engraved orchestral parts).
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