Powerful institutions like the church and government seem to do no good-and instead, much harm-to their defenseless subjects. Catholic authorities burn heretics alive, priests and governors extort sexual favors from their female subjects, masters mistreat slaves, and Candide himself is drafted into and abused in the army of the King of Westphalia. He is relentless in his optimistic belief that “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds,” that their tutor Pangloss taught them, meaning whatever happens, it happens for a reason and it is for the best of all.īut next, Candide witnesses the horrors of oppression by the authorities of numerous states and churches. She ends up on her own journey after running away and we watch them travel separately to the four corners of the earth in search of one another. It tells of a simple servant’s journey through many lands after being thrown out from the German estate where he worked after falling in love with the master’s daughter, Cunegonde. What is it about Candide that continues to resonate with modern audiences?įrancesca Zambello: I urge folks to read the slim volume of Voltaire’s Candide, a central work of satire written during the French Enlightenment in 1759. We are looking forward to your production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide in January as part of the Bernstein 100 worldwide celebration. BRAVO: Welcome back to Los Angeles for the seventh time.

Candide la opera