Candide (Leonard Bernstein) - dir. Christopher Luscombe, con. Alfonso Casado Trigo, Grange Festival, eng

When young Candide’s marriage offer to a baron’s daughter backfires, the naïve student of optimism is hurled into an eye-opening journey around the globe, discovering the horrors of existence at every step. Turning Voltaire’s Candide, a stinging blast against tyranny and feigned moralising, into toe-wiggling musical theatre is a crazy idea. Bernstein revised his operetta countless times before settling on the final version. The Grange Festival’s 2018 semi-staged production commemorates the composer’s 100th birthday. Narrator/Pangloss/Martin Richard Suart Candide Rob Houchen Cunegonde Katie Hall Maximilian Charles Rice Old Woman Rosemary Ashe Paquette Kitty Whately Cacambo/Governor/Vanderdendur/1st Agent Robert Murray Chorus The Grange Festival Chorus Orchestra Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Music Leonard Bernstein Text Richard Wilbur Conductor Alfonso Casado Trigo Director Christopher Luscombe Chorus Master Tom Primrose