Candide (1988)

Innocent, optimistic Candide grows up in the secluded paradise of a German castle, illegitimate nephew of a wealthy baron. His tutor Dr Pangloss instils in him the doctrine that 'All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds': anything, however apparently terrible, is part of the benevolent Creator's plan. But Candide is expelled from the family after falling in love with the baron's daughter, and what he experiences as he travels across Europe and America (war, bigotry, slavery, natural disaster) puts Pangloss's teachings very much to the test. Leonard Bernstein's musical version of the famous satire by Voltaire went through multiple rewrites over the decades. This BBC broadcast is the world premiere of the 1988 Scottish Opera version, with the composer himself as a guest of honour in the audience.