Review by Kate Gaul
Opera Australia’s eagerly awaited production of Victoria Opera’s “Candide” did not disappoint. “Candide” is an operetta by the great Leonard Bernstein, and based on Voltaire’s satirical 1759 novel “Candide, ou l’Optimisme” (“Candide, or all for the best”).In director Dean Bryant’s masterful hands there isn’t a dull moment as dialogue combines with music and song to drive the narrative. It is erratic, fantastical, and fast-moving. It parodies adventure and romance clichés and slaps you around the face with a sharp look at reality. It is all about optimism versus cynicism and how we can find happiness in a world full of fate and disaster. On his journeys, Candide is whacked around again and again by humankind’s unkindness and struggles to maintain his belief in Pangloss’s philosophy that the world is "the best of all possible worlds".
Conductor Brett Weymark wields the baton on this one and what glorious music it is! The musical styles and choice of instruments throughout “Candide” change with each new location in which the travellers find themselves. Broadway, jazz, baroque, opera, tango and even influences of Bernstein’s classical hero Mahler can be heard throughout, cleverly depicting through music the different locations, cultures and events seen on stage. It is just so incredible to hear Bernstein’s music live. For that alone it is worth buying a ticket.
But there is more. An incredible design by Dann Barber, lit beautifully by Matt Scott.
Barber channels lavish 18th-century fashions in a riot of crinolines, frills and powdered wigs, but reveals society’s tawdry underbelly by a cunning use of grungy plastic garbage bags and contemporary footwear (think crocs and gum boots). A vintage caravan transports us from Paris to Buenos Aires and beyond, opening to form a tiny stage complete with painted backdrops. Superb! The work is in English and amplified (without the need to see the surtitles on this one) I recommend getting a seat as close to the front of the stage to really enjoy the detail of the costuming, makeup, hair and scenic art. Supported by fabulous choreography by Freya List we have a cast of musical theatre and opera singers dancing up a treat.
The cast of nine principals is supported by the OA chorus who are onstage for most of the production. Eddie Perfect plays Voltaire/Pangloss. He’s possibly an acquired taste in this context but he acquits himself well. Lyndon Watts as Candide is incredibly good, he moves us to laughter and tears; Annie Aitken as Cunegonde is a genuine star with several minutes of rapturous applause and cheering for her work. She is stunning! Euan Fistrovic Doidge is an hilarious Maximillian. Opera stalwarts Cathy-Di Zhang (as a spirited Paquette), Dominica Matthews (genuinely fabulous as the Old Lady) shining alongside the mighty work of Eddie Muliaumaseali’I (as Cacambo). Big Ups to John Longmuir (Governor/Vanderdendur) and Andrew Moran (Martin) who prove once again how outrageously talented they are. There is much to admire in this work.
This “Candide” looks like and feels like you’ve eaten a LOT of fairy floss. But I think its Ok to break out occasionally and have some REAL fun with opera. Viva la Difference!
