by Michael J. Vaughn
Celebrating their 40th anniversary with a 40-year-old light opera, Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," West Bay Opera offers a lively serving of virtual Voltaire, thanks to an ingenious computerized set from Joe Ragey and inventive staging from Jonathon Field. Not that Ragey's creation is what you would usually think of as a "set." It's more like a 20-foot-square computer monitor, placed at the back of a raked stage and stocked (uploaded?) with dozens of 18th-century etchings. The backgrounds are phased in with the click of a mouse, and, at times, even made to move with the characters. In a standard production of "Candide," a story that ranges from the German province of Westphalia all the way to the New World and the legendary paradise of El Dorado, the scenery changes are too rapid to depend on actual sets and are thus signalled mostly with costumes and accents. Thanks to Ragey's design, the backgrounds are as varied and ever-changing as the story.
Possibly the world's most perfectly executed satire, Voltaire's tale begins in the classroom of one Dr. Pangloss (Rick Williams), who through a steady barrage of sophistry indoctrinates his four pupils in the belief that, "since this is the only possible world, therefore this is the best of all possible worlds," and that everything in it, furthermore, happens for the best reasons.
Equipped with this dubious training, Candide (Rick Dougherty), his lady love Cunegonde (Wendy Loder), her vain brother Maximilian (Todd Donovan), and sultry servant Paquette (Marla Kavanaugh) spend the rest of the story losing, finding and relosing each other amidst a world-spanning background of pestilence, intolerance and human savagery.
Cunegonde, after being raped by a gang of invading Bulgarians, finds her way in ecumenical work, of a sort, as the co-mistress of a rich Jew (Don Issachar, played by Richard Bogart) and a Catholic Grand Inquisitor (Ed Sherry). She consoles herself with thoughts like, "If I'm not pure, at least my jewels are." Loder delivers the aria "Glitter and Be Gay," the only piece of real opera in the show, with dazzling control and a vivid sense of presence.
The rest of the music is relatively subdued, serving the narrative in a style that would be furthered by Bernstein's protege, Stephen Sondheim (who, in fact, contributed a few lyrics to "Candide"), in decades to come. And given Voltaire's wit and Richard Wilbur's lyrics, exemplified by the morbidly hilarious Inquisition scene ("What a day, what a day, for an auto da fe? It's a lovely day for drinking and for watching people fry."), why not? The only truly memorable song is the finale, "Make Our Garden Grow," but this lack does not necessarily detract from the whole.
Dougherty is subdued, also, as Candide (French for "guileless"), which is what the part calls for, and demonstrates a fine lyric tenor in Candide's numerous moments of doubt. The ring of protagonists is rounded out in style by Donovan as Maximilian, by Kavanaugh's sexy, playful Paquette (French for "packet" or "gift"), and by Williams, who delivers a wry narrative as Voltaire in addition to performing Pangloss and the Pasha of Constantinople.
As is usual for West Bay, the weaknesses can be found in the second circle. Both Bogart as the Jewish Don and Ross Halper as the randy Montivedean Governor are simply not entirely present. Anne Kiley as the mysterious Old Lady gets a lot of mileage from missing anatomical parts, but drags on unbearably during her big maritime monologue.
West Bay makes some tasty additions to the fringes, including fly-by props and topical humor (the Pasha refers to his new dancing girl as "shishka-blonde, the other white meat"). David Sloss and his orchestra follow Bernstein's tricky rhythms to a T, and the cast and chorus produce some spine-tingling a cappella passages during the finale.
"Candide"
Who: West Bay Opera
When: 8:15 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Cost: $29
Information: 424-9999
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