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Candide (1974 Broadway Revival Cast)
by Leonard Bernstein, Mark Baker, Maureen Brennan, Lewis J. Stadlen, Sam Freed, June Gable, Deborah St. Darr, Richard Wilbur
Product Group: Music
Studio: Sony
ISBN: B000GRTQR0
EAN: 0828768839126
UPC: 828768839126
Audio CD
Original Release Date: 2006-08-29
Release Date: 2006-08-29
SKU: 08010114
Condition: New New
Comments: New audio CD with tiny remainder hole in case sealed in factory shrink wrap.
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Customer Reviews
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A betrayal of the original -- and disliked by Bernstein
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-04-12
5 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have to add my voice to the minority of one who thoroughly dislikes this jokey, cartoonish version of Candide. I was in a group that discussed the state of Candide with Bernstein in 1967, and although he agreed with everyone else who found Lilian Hellman's libretto humorless and dated, Bernstein was baffled over what to do next.
At the time hoe promised not to authorize any version that dissatisfied him (he had turned down several already), but he must have authorized Hal Prince's revival, with its thin, pop-oriented singers and (worst of all) the decision to make the characters overgrown school kids. Sondheim's additional lyrics were mostly jejune. Bernstein came to regret this staging and kept fiddling with the score until almost the very end. As I write, New York City Opera has just revived the Hal Prince-Sondheim version, so it must be a crowd pleaser. We die-hard fans will stick with the original cast album on Sony and the honorable Scottish National Opera revival, which includes more music and yet remains true to the spirit of the original, as well as to Voltaire.
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The ONLY Candide
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-09-29
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is, bar none, my favorite recording of "Candide." It may be because I saw the production when I was mere lad, but even listening to it today,I think it captures the humor that the more musically polished productions miss.
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Oh Happy Day!!
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-01-09
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Finally!! My album was worn out years ago. This will be the definitive production of Candide in my memoir. The Broadway Theater, gutted and actors and audience scattered about everywhere! I was so smitten I saw it 3 times.
Lewis J Stadlen is one of America's premiere character actors and here we have captured an early shining example of his talents. A fine singing cast with wonderful orchestrations and smart musical direction (a lot is gained by losing a number or two, like "Quiet") round out a delightful audio transcription of this wry, witty production.
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The Whole Story
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-01-05
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Saw this production in NY and loved it. All subsequent performances that I have seen have paled in comparison. There are better versions musically but this is the only one that included the narration by Lewis J. Stadlin as Dr. Pangloss and all of the other characters that he plays. The cast is youthful and energetic- musically, this version is one of the most upbeat that I've heard. The Overture is a force of nature by itself. Worth a listen if only because the presentation is so different than any version of the work out there.
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Having actually seen the production...
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-11-28
3 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
... as one who sat on one of the hills overlooking the valleys (directly above Cunegonde when she sang Glitter and Be Gay), I'd posit that this is the production Voltaire himself would have adored. Yes, it's vulgar (in a 70s kind of way) and offensive (in a 70s kind of way), but it's also far truer to the spirit of the book than anything presented in an opera house (with the possible exception of the concert version staged last year at Lincoln Centre). Prince approached this as something akin to a medieval-era "round", with numerous stages set about the space connected by a circular ramp that in turn led to a main stage at one end and a higher secondary stage at the other (all of which was used brilliantly in the "ship at sea" scene, amoung many others). The action was non-stop, incredibly subversive, and as improvisational as the Voltaire novel: people die, then they re-appear later with some fantastic story of how they managed to survive, only to die yet again.
I had this version on tape and practically wore it out. It doesnt have the full blown orchestral feel, but that's the beauty of the concept: it doesnt need it, nor does it feel it necessary. It's Candide presented as commedia, not opera. And it's one you simply cannot go wrong listening to.
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