Candide (operetta)

Candide
Playbill from 1974 revival
Music	Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics	Richard Wilbur (primary) John Latouche Dorothy Parker Lillian Hellman Stephen Sondheim Leonard Bernstein
Book	Lillian Hellman (1956 version) Hugh Wheeler (1974 version)
Basis	Candide, novella by Voltaire
Productions	1956 Broadway 1957 New York Philharmonic[citation needed] 1973 Broadway revival 1982 New York City Opera 1988 Scottish Opera Version 1997 Broadway revival 1999 Royal National Theatre 2004 & 2005 New York Philharmonic 2006 Théâtre du Châtelet 2008 New York City Opera[citation needed] 2010 Goodman Theatre (Chicago), 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle) & Shakespeare Theatre (DC) 2013 Menier Chocolate Factory[citation needed] 2017 New York City Opera 2018 Kennedy Center[citation needed]
Awards	Tony Award for Best Book Drama Desk for Outstanding Book

Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics primarily by the poet Richard Wilbur, based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire.^[1] Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, John Mauceri, John Wells, and Bernstein himself. Maurice Peress and Hershy Kay contributed orchestrations.

The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman, but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler,^[2][3] which is more faithful to Voltaire's novella. Although unsuccessful at its premiere, Candide has overcome the unenthusiastic reaction of early audiences and critics, and achieved more popularity.