John La Touche

An attempt to bring the work of surrealist artists to a wider public. The plot is that of an average Joe who can conjure up dreams that will improve his customer's lives. This frame story serves as a link between several avant-garde sequences created by leading visual artists of their day, most of whom were emigres to the US during WWII.

The legendary Harold Prince directs Bernstein's perennial favorite Candide, which premiered at New York City Opera under his direction in 1982 and became a staple of the company's repertoire.

The legendary Harold Prince directs Bernstein's perennial favorite Candide, which premiered at New York City Opera under his direction in 1982 and became a staple of the company's repertoire.

Leonard Bernstein's brilliant comic operetta comes to dazzling new life under the guidance of director Lonny Price (A Class Act). Based on the classic Voltaire tale of an innocent young man's journey through a life filled with colorful characters and unexpected life lessons, this tune-filled frolic features Tony Award-winners Patti LuPone and Kristin Chenoweth heading a dazzling cast with Paul Groves, Stanford Olsen, Sir Thomas Allen and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. The impeccable score (with lyrics by luminaries including Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Wilbur and John La Touche) includes a host of delightful songs such as "Life Is Happiness Indeed," "It Must Be So," "You Were Dead, You Know" and "Make Our Garden Grow." Now enjoy this all-new production of a musical comedy favorite with Broadway's top stars!

The film begins with a sun materializing out of the emptiness of space. In the first of three sequences we see various images from nature against music: the sky, trees, leaves, a bird, water, sand, a beach. A little boy wanders along the beach observing the natural world around him. He walks and presently comes to a house and peers inside. The second sequence has no music. The narrator speaks of sculptor Alexander Calder and his work, as we see Calder in his workshop, cutting and creating unusual shapes, and seeing the resultant artworks. The last sequence has music as we view images of Calder's work. However, now they are intercut with images from nature so that we understand that Calder's inspiration is the natural world around him. The film ends as it began, with an image of the sun, now fading into the sky.

Candide is a comic operetta written by Leonard Bernstein in 1956. The story is based on a novella by Voltaire, a satire about a man named Candide and his journey to becoming much more world weary. Recorded live at the Teatro Argentina, Rome.

Candide is a comic operetta written by Leonard Bernstein in 1956. The story is based on a novella by Voltaire, a satire about a man named Candide and his journey to becoming much more world weary. Recorded live at the Teatro Argentina, Rome.