Candide, English National Opera

2:00pm Friday 11th July 2008

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Zee Gaines reviews the ENO's first staging of Leonard Bernstein's 1956 satirical operetta, Candide

First performed to a McCarthyism-era American audience, this is the ENO's first staging of Leonard Bernstein's 1956 satirical operetta, based on the 1759 novel by Voltaire.

The story follows Candide, a young man banished from his home, for kissing the pretty Cunegonde.

He sets out on the road for many adventures, from war to earthquakes, religious fanaticism to sailing into the New World. Ideas of free will and fate/destiny arise as Candide finds himself on trial, after which he is hanged.

Never fear, he survives, as do his comrades, in spite of the worst fates befalling them. Candide continually finds then loses his beloved Cunegonde, as he battles through this strange world trying to discover whether his tutor Doctor Pangloss is right in insisting, "Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds."

Toby Spence, as Candide, has a disturbing wide-eyed boyishness, that, combined with the brightly-coloured shorts and dungarees of the other characters, make this production the perfect vehicle to introduce opera to schoolchildren. The good-looking singer from G4 (Jonathan Ansell) would be great in the role, teaching cause and effect with charming gaiety.

Act two begins with a bang, as The Old Lady, played by Beverley Klein, provides the first real humour, quite lost in other places.

Voltaire's subtle philosophical allusions and social commentary are heavily handled and often glossed over; I blinked and missed Candide's amazing trip to El Dorado. The last few scenes drag on and culminate in a very unsatisfactory environmental conclusion.

The comic operetta combines the brilliant music by Bernstein with the flamboyance of vaudeville, the visual spectacle of a musical, and the witty words of a social publication.

If only they remembered to add the acting of a play. Only Alex Jennings, not an ENO regular, was interesting as a grand Voltaire, helping to tell his story; Doctor Pangloss, Candide's miraculous and optimistic friend, and Martin, a pessimistic road-sweeper.

The words are by a mixture of Lillian Helman (50s actress famously under investigation by the House Committee on Un-American activities), Dorothy Parker (witty socialite) and Bernstein running mate, Stephen Sondheim.

Although the brilliant concept of the mix of all of the above is a recipe for greatness, this version needs updating and maturing.

London Coliseum, St. Martin's Lane, Trafalgar Square, London. Runs until July 12. Box office 0871 9110200.