GREAT PERFORMANCES: CANDIDE (TV)
Summary
One in this series presented under the umbrella of "Great Performances." In this program, a concert production of Leonard Bernstein's 1956 comic operetta "Candide" is performed in two acts at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.
Act One opens as the narrator explains the operetta's background and tells of its setting: the German "backwater" known as Westphalia. He introduces the hero Candide, describing him as "gentle, pure, innocent, and a bastard." Candide then sings "Life Is Happiness Indeed," encapsulating his philosophy that everything always works out for the best. Next, the serving maid Paquette tends to the dressing needs of the Baroness, and the sexual needs of the Baron. The Baron's virginal daughter Cunegonde and her vain brother, Maximilian, then reprise "Life Is Happiness Indeed." After the narrator tells how Candide longs for Cunegonde, he reveals his own identity to be that of Dr. Pangloss, tutor to Candide, Cunegonde, Maximilian, and Paquette. He leads his students in singing "The Best of All Possible Worlds." Cunegonde then sees Dr. Pangloss seduce Paquette, inspiring her to seek out Candide for a kiss. Both are thrilled with the turn of events, singing "Oh, Happy We." When Maximilian observes as the pair prepare to make love, he gets his parents to banish Candide, who packs his belongings while singing "It Must Be So."
Next, the Bulgarian army forces Candide to fight against Westphalia, though he deserts when war breaks out. When the army invades Westphalia, Cunegonde is raped and killed, and Candide searches among the bodies for her corpse. He instead finds an old beggar, who turns out to be Dr. Pangloss, now suffering from syphilis. After telling Candide of Cunegonde's fate, he sings "Dear Boy." When the two sail for Lisbon, their ship sinks and only Candide and Dr. Pangloss survive. After a volcano erupts when they reach land, Portuguese residents blame the pair, bringing them front and center for grilling by a Donald Trump clone, a representative of the Spanish Inquisition. The chorus then sings "Auto-da-fe (What a Day)." Dr. Pangloss is hanged and Candide is flogged, after which he sings "Candide's Lament."
Upon reaching Paris, Candide hears about a great beauty who is the lover of both a prominent Jew and a Catholic archbishop. The woman, who turns out to be Cunegonde, is chaperoned by a crafty survivor, known only as the Old Lady. Though unhappy, Cunegonde convinces herself that the wealth she's found from being a kept woman should allow her to "Glitter and Be Gay." After hearing her familiar voice, Candide reunites with Cunegonde. After telling him how a mistake was made about her demise, they sing "You Were Dead, You Know." When Cunegonde's Jewish lover returns, Candide accidentally kills him, then -- at Cunegonde's urging - impales her other lover, the archbishop. The Old Lady urges them to flee with her and they cross the border. The Old Lady then tells them of her own hard-luck story, "I Am Easily Assimilated." Shortly after Cunegonde finds that her jewels have been stolen, leaving the group penniless, Candide is offered a job fighting for the Jesuits in Montevideo in the "New World" by a ship's captain. As Act One ends, Candide, Cunegonde, the Old Lady and the captain sing of their pending adventures in "Quartet Finale."
As Act Two opens, the narrator tells of the hot-blooded governor of Montevideo, and how Paquette and Maximilian -- posing as a woman -- are among the latest slaves to be brought to the ruler for his approval. The governor falls hard for the disguised Maximilian, singing "My Love." When Maximilian insists on a wedding prior to being seduced, the governor arranges nuptials. However, during the vows, the governor discovers Maximilian's true gender and orders him killed. The priest instead pays for Maximilian and takes him away. Just then, Candide, Cunegonde and the Old Lady arrive in Montevideo. The governor immediately proposes to Cunegonde, while Candide receives news that he's under threat of death for having killing Cunegonde's two lovers. After Candide follows the Old Lady's advice to flee, the Old Lady and Cunegonde sing of their charms in "We Are Women."
Reaching the Jesuit brothers for whom he was commissioned to fight, Candide discovers Paquette and Maximilian pretending to be part of the group. Maximilian is still outraged when hearing that Candide intends to marry Cunegonde, reminding Candide that he is illegitimate. When attacked by his cousin, Candide accidentally kills Maximilian, then runs away with Paquette. Three years later, Cunegonde berates the governor for not marrying her, but continuing to sleep with her. She sings of her troubles, as does the Old Lady, while the governor musically responds: "Quiet." Meanwhile, Candide and Paquette enter the mountainous realm of Eldorado and find gold, along with "highly intelligent" sheep that sing "Sheep Song." Though aware of its paradise-like conditions, Paquette and Candide long to return to their own world. They journey to Suriname with two jewel-laden sheep, as they sing "The Ballad of Eldorado." Candide later gets news that Cunegonde and the Old Lady have been kidnapped by pirates and taken to Constantinople. After selling one of his sheep for a ship, Candide and Paquette set sail as the natives sing "Bon Voyage." However, the ship's owner admits to the natives that the boat is worthless because it leaks.
Candide, Paquette, and the remaining sheep are saved when their waterlogged ship sinks, finding passage on a slave galley headed to Constantinople. There, Cunegonde and the Old Lady are serving at an evil prince's whims. He insists that, under threat of death, both women help him cheat the patrons in his gaming room. The Old Lady, joined by the prince and his colleagues, sings "What's the Use?" as they contemplate their future. Candide then arrives and offers to buy Cunegonde. When Maximilian pops up as another of the prince's slaves, Candide is surprised to find that he hadn't killed him. He subsequently buys Maximilian's freedom, to Paquette's delight. As the wisest man in the world approaches, Candide asks for his advice. The group then realizes that the man is actually the amnesiac Dr. Pangloss. When the doctor is unable to offer concrete advice, Candide recognizes the meaninglessness of the world. Finally, the group employs its own philosophy and sings how to "Make Our Garden Grow."
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: January 12, 2005 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:19
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 100154
- GENRE: Opera
- SUBJECT HEADING: Opera; Comedy; Literature - Adaptations; Satire
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1976-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Ellen M. Krass … Executive Producer
- Mort Swinsky … Executive Producer
- Iris Merlis … Producer
- Jay Good … Producer
- Eric Duke … Co-Producer
- Mal Albaum … Co-Producer
- Steven Paul Mark … Co-Producer
- Lonny Price … Director, Adapted by
- Voltaire … Based on the novella by
- Leonard Bernstein … Composer, Lyricist
- Richard Wilbur … Lyricist
- Stephen Sondheim … Lyricist
- John LaTouche … Lyricist
- Lillian Hellman … Lyricist
- Hugh Wheeler … Librettist
- Marin Alsop … Conductor
- Casey Nicholaw … Choreographer
- New York Philharmonic … Symphony Orchestra
- Westminster Symphonic Choir … Choir/Chorus
- Juilliard Undergraduate Workshop … Choir/Chorus
- Joseph Flummerfelt … Choral Director
- Edward Berkeley … Choral Director
- Paul Groves … Cast, Candide
- Kristin Chenoweth … Cast, Cunegonde
- Patti LuPone … Cast, The Old Lady
- Thomas Allen … Cast, Dr. Pangloss
- Jeff Blumenkrantz … Cast, Maximilian
- Janine LaManna … Cast, Paquette
- Michael McCormick … Cast, Baron/Inquisitor/Don Issachar/Cacambo
- Gina Ferrall … Cast, Baroness/Sheep
- Michael McElroy … Cast, Judge/Captain/Crook
- John Herrera … Cast, Governor/Prefect
- Ray Wills … Cast, Heresy Agent/Archbishop/Priest
- Patty Goble … Cast, Sheep
- Stanford Olsen … Cast, Vanderdendur/Prince Ragotski
- Donald Trump