CANDIDE at NYC Opera - Thoughts & Reviews

I searched and couldn't find a distinct thread on the subject...

I know some of us have already seen or plan to attend CANDIDE currently playing the New York City Opera now through Sunday. I'm going tomorrow matinee.

Jena's BWW review was published here:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=26972

Anyone else have thoughts or reviews? Favorite moments, performances? Anything uber-exciting happen? I'm anxious to go, simply for the music.

For tickets and information visit:
https://www.nycopera.com/browse/production.aspx?prod=61

Updated On: 4/18/08 at 02:36 PM

Me too....

The book drags in the second act, but the score is the thing. Always was the thing and always will be the thing.

Close your eyes for the Overture and just listen to those flutes and piccolos. Heaven.

The book feels padded, but that could be that my first exposure to it was the lightning-fast 1974 version that was 1:45 and in one act.

Daniel Reichard as Candide is the standout in this production. His performance carries the show so that everyone else can do their bit. I'd love to know how long Candide is onstage. It felt like 80-85%.

The rest of the principals are fine, but he stands above.

There is something so fundamentally moving during Make Our Garden Grow (a wonderful lyric too) when the orchestra drops out, and we get this beautiful a capella chorale and then the orchestra comes back in fortissimo to resolve the song-and the show.

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I was there last night and personally loved it. The story made no sense at all, but the music was so gorgeous i was ok with that. I love Daniel Reichard who owned his part as Candide and also Richard Kinds who had great comedic timing in all the roles he played. The ending of the show was stunning, if incredibly hokey. I can see how people wouldn't like it, but it is hard to say no to that music. And as someone else mentioned the overture is worth the price of admission.

I guess it was the production itself that upset me the most - and how operatically staged it was. There were far too many moments when the entire chorus was milling around stage with absolutely no intention whatsoever - other than to look like an opera chorus. I've always hated that.

As for the performances - they were all pretty good. Kind was strong...but then again he's always strong when he plays Kind. Daniel Reichard was strong. I enjoyed his voice - thought it was a little covered at times. Good performance. Probably the most solid in the show.

Everyone else worked - Glitter and Be Gay was a little thick, if you ask me, but Lielle Berman's top was stunning. She floated the high stunningly.

Make our garden grow seemed a little dense to me - this was completely the theater's fault, though. The accoustics are infamous.

I must say however, (spoiler!) that the waltz behind the curtain is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever experienced. It never grows old.