Candide is a simple tale of what happens when the binary emotions and hopeful expectations of youth are rent asunder by the venality and violence of the real world. Candide, an innocent young man who takes joy in everything, including his beautiful love, Cunegonde, is exiled from his homeland, Westphalia. So begins a journey that takes him across the world into every type of disaster from volcanic eruptions and the Spanish Inquisition, to war and debauchery.
There's a lot of hanging, burning, skewering, sex and exploitation, but while her lover ducks the knives, Cunegonda thrives, enjoying the luxuries bestowed on beautiful women by older men. Her showstopping number, Glitter and Be Gay, is a tour de force marrying greed and joy. Scarlet Strallen as Cunegonda glitters plenty without any embellishment, but it's a joy to watch her avaricious display, crawling and jumping to grab at jewels while hitting continuous and perfect runs of top notes. Fra Fee as Candide is strangely unmemorable at the beginning but his lovely voice and growing character have him centre stage by the teary end.
And it is a teary end: not because anything bad happens, but because the bad things that've already happened change the characters forever. They grow up. Candide's optimism has been eroded by disappointments and failure. Cunegonde's vigour is sapped, reduced by her hunger for fripperies, to a chattel. What future now? This Leonard Bernstein operetta is new to me, and under the froth there are series questions. Are humans destined to forever behave in destructive ways? A quick Google of Candide confirms that Voltaire wrote the tale to express disillusion with life. Directors apparently, often skew it either for laughs or for gravitas. Here, Matthew White clearly opted for the fun, but the weightier issues are there if you listen.
In conclusion: Candide? Splendide. fabulous night out: funny, fun, and sombre. The music is fantastic, the arrangements sweet and beautiful, and the cast fresh and lively. The staging in the round draws everyone in, and there are unexpected star turns from James Dreyfus as the tutor, Pangloss, and Jackie Clune as the single-buttocked Old Lady.
References
Candide, Tickets
Menier
Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU
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