Overture to Candide
Leonard Bernstein (b Lawrence, Mass, 1918; d New York, 1990)

Candide opened in New York in 1956 with high expectations after Leonard Bernstein’s previous successful Broadway musicals On the Town and Wonderful Town. However, Candide did poorly at the box office. Later many critics would point to the jarring contrast of the rather dark script by Lillian Hellman (based on the Eighteenth Century satire by Voltaire) and the sparkling music of Bernstein. Candide has been revived in recent years with a different script and become a more commercial success, and yet it will always be Leonard Bernstein’s witty songs and music which keeps this musical alive.

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