Stephanie Adrian

ON THE HEELS of Atlanta Opera’s announcement of its 2023–24 season—which will include The Shining, La Bohème, Rigoletto, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the second installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Die Walküre—the company offered Leonard Bernstein’s titillating Broadway operetta Candide (seen March 12). The production, adapted by Steven Kemp and lighting designer Thomas Hase from John Conklin’s 2015 Glimmerglass Festival staging, boasted a two-tiered set punctuated by a pair of functional staircases and sparkling chandeliers. Jennifer Moeller’s fanciful costumes provided the enlightened eye-candy for this production: eighteenth–century gowns and wigs, chorus members in bloomers and jewel-toned tights, and sparkling garb evoking gilded El Dorado and other exotic locales. Choreographer Ricard Aponte elevated the work further with beautifully-appointed dancers who first appeared during the overture and served as the harbingers of natural disaster, personifying fire and water.

Conductor James Lowe evoked previously untapped emotion from the Atlanta Opera Orchestra in John Caird’s version of a work that has evolved into a delightful stagework, leading a troupe of lovely singers including Jack Swanson in the title role and Deanna Breiwick as the scrappy yet glamorous Cunegonde. Swanson’s euphonious tenor and pollyannaesque demeanor provided stage director Alison Moritz an ideal basis upon which to poke fun at theodicy in a tastefully raunchy way. Her chief co-conspirator, Voltaire, played by the ever-charming Kevin Burdette, editorialized each wanton misfortune that occurred, with spot-on tone and timing as Candide, accompanied by his faithful friend, Cacambo (Tyler Nelson), experienced each disaster. Breiwick’s effervescent coloratura did not disappoint in Cunegonde’s showpiece, “Glitter and be gay.” The soprano capped off her vocal fireworks with maniacal laughter, a stark contrast to Swanson’s lyrical naiveté in “It must be so.”

AO Studio artist Gretchen Krupp played Paquette with lighthearted élan; Craig Irvin, last seen in Atlanta as Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirate King, sang the role of Maximilian with melodramatic narcissism. Deborah Bowman’s over-the-top shtick was spot on in the role of the Baroness/Old Lady, despite delivering a vocalism that lacked the requisite full lyric mezzo soprano timbre heard from previous interpreters in “I am easily assimilated.” The triple role of Martin/Grand Inquisitor/Sea Captain was inhabited by the versatile Curtis Bannister who possesses a refined baritone voice, smooth and resonant. Victor Ryan Robertson was also impressive in the underappreciated bevy of comical roles that included the Governor/Vanderdendur/Baron/Ragotski, executing some quick costume changes and admirable high notes. —Stephanie Adrian