Skip to main content

Candide

20 February – 14 March 2025

In the Joan Sutherland Theatre

Opera Australia

Opera

A hilarious satire set to dazzling music by West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein.

A frilly, frothy, fantastical jaunt.

The Age

Useful information:

Take a journey through the best of all possible worlds

Take a wild and witty journey through a world gone mad! Candide is a brilliant satire about humankind’s capacity for mindless optimism, set to a remarkable score by famed West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein.  

Bernstein’s genius is on display: from the exuberant overture, to the soprano showpiece Glitter and Be Gay and the moving finale Make Our Garden Grow. 

This new staging by award-winning director Dean Bryant was a smash hit upon its Melbourne premiere in 2024, with critics declaring it “the best of all possible productions” (Australian Book Review). 

Musical theatre renaissance man Eddie Perfect and the star of Hamilton Lyndon Watts reprise their roles in a production that delivers both first-rate comedy and the symphonic magic of Bernstein’s score. 

Presented by Opera Australia

Artist information

Conductor  Brett Weymark
Director  Dean Bryant
Set & Costume Designer  Dann Barber
Lighting Designer  Matt Scott
Choreographer  Freya List
 

Voltaire/Pangloss  Eddie Perfect
Candide  Lyndon Watts
Cunegonde  Annie Aitkin
Old Lady  Dominica Matthews
Maximilian  Euan Fistrovic Doidge
Paquette  Cathy-Di Zhang
Cacambo  Eddie Muliaumaseali’i
Governor/Vanderdendur  John Longmuir
Martin  Andrew Moran

Opera Australia Orchestra
Opera Australia Chorus

Plan your visit

You may also like

Cinderella

2 Jan – 28 Mar 2025

Feel all the magic of the fairy tale with enchanting music, playful choreography and extravagant costumes in this whimsical production of the classic opera.

  • Opera

La Traviata

23 Jan – 27 Mar 2025

Glamour, riches and a tragic secret: this is the story of a courtesan falling in love. Classic opera with stunning costumes and outstanding music.

  • Opera
Woman in gold ballgown stands away from other partygoers

Nijinsky

4 – 22 Apr 2025

Acclaimed narrative ballet choreographer John Neumeier examines Nijinsky’s final performance, charting the rise and fall of a creative genius in vivid detail. He recalls his troubled family, his ill-fated romances and the transcendent performances that brought him fame.

  • Dance

Checking availability