It occurred to me that, given the variety of the Metropolitan Opera’s current problems, maybe General Manager Peter Gelb should consider putting this best of all possible Candides on his menu.

Candide (concert performance). A comic operetta in two acts, the 1993 concert version, performed at Tanglewood, Lenox, MA on August 16.

Frederica von Stade with TMC Fellows Ryan Casperson and Sam Filson Parkinson, performing in “Candide” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Photo: Hilary Scott.

By Helen Epstein

What better night — with violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Ferguson, Missouri and a new plague called Ebola just declared an epidemic — to hear Candide, Leonard Bernstein’s operetta based on Voltaire’s enlightened send-up of Gottfried Leibnitz’s philosophy of Optimism. Published in 1759, the novella features a hero and heroine who survive catastrophes across the globe, including the Inquisition, the Lisbon earthquake, and rampant syphilis.

Many, many cooks have been involved in the making and remaking of this Eisenhower-era broth over the years, starting with Bernstein (who began working on it in 1953 and revised his book and score seven times over 35 years). Playwrights Lillian Hellman and Hugh Wheeler adapted Voltaire’s book for the stage, adding, editing and rewriting. Their work was subsequently re-edited and supplemented by Bernstein and John Wells and then reworked by Erik Haagensen. John Latouche, Richard Wilbur, Stephen Sondheim and – for one song — Dorothy Parker wrote the lyrics. Bernstein, Hershy Kay, and John Mauceri arranged successive orchestrations.

You can hear Lenny conduct his 1989 version (slower and larded with ad libs and conductor lectures) with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus here. Every word of the lyrics and narration is intelligible in this version and the choral renditions are backed up by super-titles. But, to my ears, the Boston Symphony Orchestra version under the baton of Bramwell Tovey gave the operetta a better, tighter and more vigorous interpretation at Tanglewood.

Imagine Tanglewood on an August night with picnickers lending an informal, sing-along quality to this American classic. Add Tanglewood’s extraordinary resources: the Boston Symphony Orchestra in black tie, sounding young, fresh and fearless; the formidable Tanglewood Festival Chorus under John Oliver in all-white, waving, gesturing, interjecting, acting as jury and mob, sprouting scarlet neck scarves (and two sombreros) for the Auto-da-Fe number; and a stellar line-up of soloists. The result was a spectacular and, clocking in at about two hours and fifteen minutes, an all-too-short production.

The BSO performs “Candide” with singers (l-r) Anna Christy, Nicholas Phan, Bramwell Tovey (conducting), Richard Suart, Kathryn Leemhuis, and Paul LaRosa. Photo: Hilary Scott.

Conductor Tovey, Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, kept the production, which is filled with opportunities for all varieties of hammy self-indulgence, moving right along. His approach was consistently brisk and bracing rather than mawkish or cutesy.

He was conducting fourteen accomplished soloists, including a set of strong and disciplined principal singers. Soprano Anna Christy sang a sly, ironic and florid Cunegonde, whose rendition of “Glitter and Be Gay” managed to both bring the house down and yet seemed to be an essential part of the fabric of the show. Tenor Nicholas Phan’s understated mien and limpid lyric voice was her perfect match as Candide. The pair were a seamless blend of archness and innocence as they sang such lines as “Dearest how can this be so? You were dead you know — shot and bayoneted too…” and “That is very true. Ah but love will find a way.”

Baritone Richard Stuart was fascinating to listen to as he channeled Voltaire and Bernstein as the narrator and pleasing as he took on the roles of the syphilitic Pangloss, Martin, and Cacambo. For me, though, the most enjoyable soloist was the always rewarding Frederica Von Stade as the Old (“I’m so Easily Assimilated”) Lady. Her very presence incarnated so much of the operatic repertoire that Bernstein quotes and evokes — it was a shrewd choice.

It occurred to me that, given the variety of the Metropolitan Opera’s current problems, maybe General Manager Peter Gelb should consider putting this best of all possible Candides on his menu.

Helen Epstein’s classic interview with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood appears in her collection Music Talks, available at Plunkett Lake Press.