Candide

Not only did Bernstein base his comic operetta Candide on Voltaire’s great novel, but he enlisted a veritable “Who’s Who” of American authors to work on the libretto, including Richard Wilbur, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker. The work’s overture is a well-known favorite, of course, but this Suite for Orchestra enables audiences to discover some of the work’s lesser-known music in a program-friendly instrumental version lasting eighteen minutes. The selections include You Were Dead You Know, Paris Waltz, Bon Voyage, Drowning Music/The King’s Barcarolle, Ballad of Eldorado, I Am Easily Assimilated, The Best of All Possible Worlds, and the touching finale, Make Our Garden Grow. The operetta itself is available for concert performance in both a full-length version lasting 110 minutes, and a vocal suite (50 minutes).