Hundred years ago (25.8.1918) Leonard Bernstein was born and therefore this day was a perfect day to go and see his most operatic operetta “Candide” in the Savoy Theatre. The previous time “Candide” was seen in Helsinki was 40 years ago. The operetta is based on Voltaire’s famous novel by the same name.
The story line of the operetta is completely insane and just about impossible to explain in a few words, but let’s try. The overly optimistic Candide and beautiful Cunegonde have grown up together and wish to get married (though they do have rather different views on their marriage). The lovers are separated, travel all around the globe and meet misfortune after misfortune (a couple of ship wrecks, an erupting volcano, a bloodthirsty mob and white slavery to mention a few). In the end the lovers end up married in a small rural village. Voltaire wrote his novel as a satire, but during this eventful performance the spectator did not really have time to think about philosophical questions.
I liked the work of director Tuomas Parkkinen a lot. It was suitably racy and with the help of the choir and some carton props quite “believable” ocean and jungle scenes were created. Helsinki Sinfonietta conducted by Jonas Rannila played beautifully and the Candide Choir was absolutely spectacular!
The soloists also did well in their demanding roles. The biggest star was Kaisa Ranta, who chirped the super difficult solos of Cunegonde through superbly and still managed to make a real person out a truly bonkers character. Tero Harjunniemi was a great choice as the naïve Candide and personally I also liked Jussi Merikanto as the solidly fiery Maximilian.
The performance brought a smile on my lips and I can warmly recommend it to everybody, who needs a bit of cheering up. There are still two performances left (on Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th of August) and tickets are available in www.lippu.fi.
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