This month, Marin Alsop wrapped up a successful run of Bernstein’s Candide at MusikTheater an der Wien. 

The production was hailed as “a triumph” by Kurier, with BR Klassik writing: “Conductor Marin Alsop and the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra show the enormous multifaceted nature of Bernstein’s funny, parodic and also voluptuous music.”

Opera Now Newsletter reports: 

“There was plenty of gusto in the performance. The touchpaper was lit by a sparkling rendition of the overture, a potpourri of the show’s hit tunes, by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.”

In an interview with The New York Times about Lydia Steier’s production of the operetta, Alsop notes Bernstein’s long history with the Vienna Orchestra, where Alsop is chief conductor, and the relevance of Candide today: 

“There are a lot of absurd things in the story of ‘Candide,’ but it’s not far from the world we’re living in today,” Ms. Alsop said. “Bernstein’s constant quest for faith and optimism are never more prevalent than in this piece.”