• Candide - Opera Pacific, 3/4
• Pasadena Symphony - Robert Thies, pianist. 3/13

Thursday, Mar 4

ast night’s Candide was the freshest, liveliest production Opera Pacific has put on in recent memory.  Jerome Sirlin’s stunning visual projections happily transforms the modest-sized Segerstrom Hall stage into an 18th-Century French Court, a rain forest, a pirate ship, Paris, Lisbon and other worlds that young and hapless Candide must traverse in a quest for the “best of all possible worlds”.  Energetic production numbers by choreographer Michele Assaf and fine lighting design by Howell Binkley contribute mightily to the glitter and gaiety of the evening.

(Left to Right) William Parcher as Dr. Pangloss, Joanna Mongiardo as Parquette,  Richard Troxell as Candide, Laura Claycomb as Cunegonde,  Frank Hernandez as Maximillian

Conductor John DeMain, a Bernstein protégé, opted for the complete, uncut version that Bernstein himself used on his recording (the best of all possible versions).  The dialogs and lyrics are witty and wickedly delicious, comparing favorably with Voltaire’s original.  The music is a mixture of Broadway crooner tunes and operatic showstoppers with some intriguing polyphonic writing that only a classically-trained composer can muster. (The Act II finale is a virtuosic weaving of previously heard tunes and melodic fragments, all broken up and then magically transfigured into a whole new harmonic world.)

At best, “Candide” is a Broadway musical with operatic pretensions.  It calls for a cast of character actors who can croon, yodel and, in the case of Cunegonde’s “Glitter and be Gay”, sing with full-blown operatic bravura. 

Soprano Laura Claycomb offered dizzying vocalism to the role of Cunegonde.  Her fluty, at times breathy, high voice revealed an underlying vulnerability that helped humanize this somewhat shallow cardboard character. 

Laura Claycomb as Cunegonde

Candide is the most carefully-drawn character in the story.  We witness his progression from an innocent wide-eyed young lad to a disillusioned man of the world who realizes “life goes on even in a less-than-perfect world”.  Even with the amplified sound system, Richard Troxell’s bantam-weight lyric tenor was barely adequate to express Candide’s wide range of emotions.

William Parcher wore various hats superbly well as Dr. Pangloss, Voltaire (narrator), Martin and Candide’s South American sidekick Cacambo.  The irony of having different world views – both pessimistic and optimistic – all in the same person would have pleased the great satirist himself. 

(Left to Right) William Parcher as Cacambo, Richard Troxell as Candide

Judith Chritian raised camp to a high art as the loony one-buttocked old lady.  Joanna Mongiardo was a perky, coquettish Parquette.  Last but not least, Frank Hernandez displayed engaging lunacy as the cross-dressing Maximillian/Captain. 

The excellent Opera Pacific Chorus was undermined by a technical malfunction in the sound system – the only unfortunate mishap in this otherwise fine production.

In the best Broadway tradition, the pit band played on during the final curtain calls, even though the music was nearly drowned out by thunderous ovation from the capacity crowd.  For many, it was the best of all possible evenings at the theater.


(Tickets for two remaining shows may be purchased on www.operapacific.org or call 1-800-34-OPERA)

Saturday, Mar 13

aturday night’s easy-going, eclectic program of the Pasadena Symphony might not be too demanding intellectually, but it struck just the right balance of charm and emotion to make it worthwhile.  The concert opened with a sunny account of Martinů’s “La Jolla” Sinfonietta for piano and orchestra, its circus-like exuberance of the finale superbly brought out by pianist Ayke Agus and the Pasadena winds.  Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony exuded all the Haydnesque good humor and sparkle that the audience eagerly ate up.  Only Roussel’s entomological Ballet Suite “Spider’s Feast” failed to sustain interest because of its highly detailed program music and the lack of visual aids. 

Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 carried the emotional weight of the evening.  Or more precisely, I should say, pianist Robert Thies alone bore the emotional crux of a concerto inspired by an unrequited love.  Conductor Jorge Mester opted for jaunty, brisk tempos that  benefited the mazurka-like finale, but spoiled the delicate mood of the opening Maestoso and the middle Larghetto.  The orchestra was about as emotionally involved as Constantia Gladkowska, the object of Chopin’s unrequited love.  The horn call before the final coda, for example, sounded indifferent and weak.  In the face of such adversaries (including a major power amp malfunction), Thies played with aristocratic refinement and masterfully-judged rubato, whether in the serenely poetic Larghetto or the brilliant triplets of the Allegro vivace.  Few young pianists I know can paint so many soft-toned colors with their keyboard, and Thies is one of them (another is the Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes). 

Tonight's busy program was proof that more isn't necessarily better.  For me, the Chopin alone was worth the price of admission.

(KMZT 105.1FM will broadcast this concert on Sunday, 8pm, March 21.)

Truman C. Wang is editor of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and other Southern California publications. 

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