Judy Kaye & Peter Sagal to Lead Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's CANDIDE This Summer

For the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and Music Director Marin Alsop lead the BSO premiere of Leonard Bernstein's comedic operetta Candide on June 11 at the Music Center at Strathmore, and June 12 through June 14 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The BSO announced today that the semi-staged production of Candide will be directed by Garnett Bruce and features an all-star cast including Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's weekly current events quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me," and Judy Kaye, Tony Award-winning star of The Phantom of the Opera. Rounding out the cast are Keith Jameson, Lauren Snouffer, Joshua Hopkins, Mark Diamond, Marie Lenormand, Stephanie Sadownik, Curtis Bannister, Patrick Cook, Andrew McLaughlin, Melissa Wimbish and Lewis Shaw.

Leonard Bernstein always wanted to write "the Great American Opera," and he came closest with Candide (1956), which he called "a comic operetta." Based on Voltaire's satirical novel of 1759, it chronicles the misadventures of Candide, a naive, pure-hearted youth, and his tough-minded sweetheart, Cunégonde. Although Candide has been taught by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, that "All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds," throughout the story he is assailed by legions of man-made and natural disasters that test this theory. Candide includes such highlights as "Glitter and be Gay," and "Make Our Garden Grow."

Tickets start at $45 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.