Palm Beach Opera Celebrates 100th Anniversary Of Leonard Bernstein's Birth With CANDIDE

Palm Beach Opera celebrates the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth with his comic operetta Candide, in the company's first ever fully-staged Bernstein production. Presented at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, this colorful multi-media production will be led by Palm Beach Opera Chief Conductor Maestro David Stern, who is also a friend of the Bernstein family, and Stage Director Jay Lesenger.

Upcoming tenor Miles Mykkanen, who's in high demand after his recent Bernstein roles at New York Philharmonic, The Kennedy Center's Songfest, and Arizona Opera, will sing the title role of Candide in his Palm Beach Opera debut. Also making her company debut, soprano Alisa Jordheim, praised for her "flawless coloratura" and "pinpoint high C's," portrays the character Cunegonde, while former Palm Beach Opera Benenson Young Artist Tobias Greenhalgh, who's building a successful career in Vienna, returns to the company to play Maximilian. Adding luster to the cast, opera legend mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves returns to Palm Beach Opera as The Old Lady, along with her daughter Ella Graves who will appear in the chorus, and Tony Award nominee Ron Raines debuts as Pangloss.

To recreate the vivid, fantastical scenes of Candide, Palm Beach Opera is using a digital set specifically designed to immerse audiences in the hyperreal settings of the story, integrating movie-theater quality projections on the stage. The high-definition digital projections will allow audiences to travel around the world with the characters, making for a unique opera experience.

Candide will be sung in English with English supertitles projected above the stage. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 and 24, and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 25.

Tickets start at $20 and are available at 561-833-7888 or pbopera.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts at 561-832-7469 kravis.org.

Palm Beach Opera is dedicated to producing live opera at an international standard of excellence and to enriching the life of the communities it serves with a diverse offering of educational programs. Founded in 1961, the fully professional Palm Beach Opera presents mainstage performances at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach and is a proud member of OPERA America and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.