"Selections from Candide" by Leonard Bernstein

The State Repertory Opera, Society of Musical Arts (SOMA) orchestra, and the highly acclaimed Symphonic Choir of Columbia High School, will present a concert version of Candide. Candide (or “Optimism”) is a satire that remains as fresh and pertinent today as when it was written in the 18th century by Voltaire. In the early 1950s rocked by the hysteria of McCarthyism, Lillian Hellman proposed a musical theater adaptation of Candide to Leonard Bernstein who began to sketch out the music. The operetta was revised numerous times over the years, with Stephen Sondheim (among many others) contributing to the revisions. The SRO cast brings the operetta to life with many themes relevant to the 21st century – injustice, religious intolerance, corruption, exploitation, naïve optimism, love, loss, and more – ultimately teaching that hard work and a simple life offer the truest path to happiness.