Leonard Bernstein
Candide
Sydney Opera House20 February–14 March 2025
Leonard Bernstein
Candide
Sydney Opera House20 February–14 March 2025
Choose a date to see seats and prices
See All Events2025
February
20 Feb 2025
22 Feb 2025
26 Feb 2025
March
01 Mar 2025
06 Mar 2025
08 Mar 2025
11 Mar 2025
14 Mar 2025
Venue
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point, Sydney
Language
Performed in English.
Running time
Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one interval.
Please note
This production contains mature content, depictions of hanging and flogging, atmospheric haze, strobe lightning effects, loud thunder, and simulated explosion sounds.
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Opera Australia presents Victorian Opera’s production of Candide.
Music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Hugh Wheeler after Voltaire, Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John La Touche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein
Orchestrations by Leonard Bernstein and Hershy Kay; Musical continuity and additional orchestrations by John Mauceri.
These performances are given by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agents for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London.
Come on a wild and witty journey through the best of all possible worlds.
Life is happiness, indeed. Or so believes Candide at the start of his great adventure through a world gone mad. By the end? Just wait and see.
Candide is a brilliant satire about humankind’s capacity for mindless optimism, set to a remarkable score by famed West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein.
Bernstein’s genius is on full display: from the exuberant overture (a favourite of concert orchestras around the world), to the soprano showpiece ‘Glitter and Be Gay’ and the touching choral finale ‘Make Our Garden Grow’.
This new staging by award-winning director Dean Bryant was a smash hit upon its Melbourne premiere in 2024, with critics declaring it “the best of all possible productions” (Australian Book Review).
Musical theatre renaissance man Eddie Perfect and the star of Hamilton Lyndon Watts reprise their roles in a production that delivers both first-rate comedy and the symphonic magic of Bernstein’s score.
Since its premiere, Candide has defied classification — it’s played seasons on Broadway but has been embraced by many of the world’s great opera houses as part of the canon. Is it operetta or musical theatre? Whatever the case, it has some of the best music and most rollicking adventures you’ll see in any theatre.
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
Candide - Victorian Opera (2024)
Photographer: Charlie Kinross
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Cast & Creative
Conductor
Director
Set & Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Choreographer
Voltaire / Pangloss
Candide
Cunegonde
Old Lady
Maximilian
Paquette
Cacambo
Governor/ Vanderdendur
Martin
Opera Australia Orchestra
Opera Australia Chorus
Cheat Sheet: Candide
A cheat's guide to Bernstein's glittering Broadway operetta.
What happens in the story? Who was the composer? What should I expect from the music? Here’s everything you need to know…
Opera Australia presents Victorian Opera’s production of Candide.
Music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Hugh Wheeler after Voltaire, Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John La Touche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein
Orchestrations by Leonard Bernstein and Hershy Kay; Musical continuity and additional orchestrations by John Mauceri.
These performances are given by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agents for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London.