South Australia’s twin arts powerhouses come together for a concert version of Bernstein’s sparkling operetta. Based on Voltaire’s Enlightenment critique of blind optimism, it stars Alexander Lewis as Candide, a cheerful young man born on the other side of the sheets, with Annie Aitken as the less-than-pure Cunegonde and cabaret star Hans as her brother Maximilian. Caroline O’Connor plays the Old Lady (with just the one buttock) and Mitchell Butel is Candide’s know-it-all teacher Dr Pangloss. The glittering score includes a string of hits from Pangloss’s chipper The Best of All Possible Worlds to Cunegonde’s coloratura showpiece Glitter and Be Gay. Anthony Hunt conducts the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

In 2024, South Australia’s flagship theatre and opera companies will come together for the first time in more than a decade, along with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, to present a spectacular concert version of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved comic operetta and existential vaudeville, Candide.

Based on Voltaire’s 1759 novella, this ever-relevant Broadway hit tells the story of naïve young Candide, facing exile after falling in love with the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde, and their mutual embarking on an enthralling, lyrical, sobering but hilarious journey across the globe that challenges their optimistic outlooks on life and love.

Prepare to be swept away, as the history and artistry of State Theatre Company South Australia and State Opera South Australia converge in this epic, mischievous and stirring new production at Adelaide’s glorious Her Majesty’s Theatre.