'Candide' humorous, entertaining

Laughter, love and misadventure were the hallmarks of the IU Opera Theater's production of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" Friday at the Musical Arts Center. The performance featured beautiful music, powerful vocals and a hilarious storyline that made the opera entertaining and unique. The performers seemed to be enjoying themselves onstage, which made the evening enjoyable for the audience.\nThe Symphony Orchestra, skillfully led by guest conductor Michael Barrett, began the performance with the upbeat light overture. It mirrored the optimistic and naive nature of the title character. It was also full of unexpected tempo changes, capturing the surprising and unusual nature of the storyline.\nVoltaire, the author of the satiric novel "Candide," was portrayed in the opera by graduate student Michael Deleget. As Voltaire, he was the sarcastic narrator of the show, slipping into multiple roles and often speaking to the audience to move the plot forward. Deleget was an absolute joy to watch, as he not only sang beautifully, but slipped effortlessly into multiple roles. As Pangloss, Candide's pretentious yet loveable tutor, Deleget was pompous and proud, speaking in a nasal voice. While portraying Cacambo, a poor man who helped Candide in many sticky situations, Delegat had a delightfully bad Spanish accent and outlandish body language. While he was interesting and humorous, it was difficult at times to understand what Delegat was saying or singing. This was especially apparent when he was speaking over the orchestra and the singing.\nGraduate student David Ray played the perpetually optimistic Candide. Ray had a strong, clear voice and brought to life the many aspects of his character very well. He brought depth to a character that could easily be portrayed in a one-dimensional manner. Like Delegat, it was also hard to understand Ray at some points, but this problem was alleviated by the screen above the stage displaying the lyrics.\nCunegonde, the beautiful yet greedy object of Candide's affections, was portrayed by graduate student Shallen Atkins. She stole the show with a witty rendition of "Glitter and be Gay," simultaneously mourning and reveling in the fact that she had been reduced to the mistress of two wealthy men who showered her with gifts. Her range was impressive, and her voice was strong and steady even when she was moving about the space.\nThe versatile set designed by professor C. David Higgins provided an excellent vehicle for the action, changing from a palace to a ship to a jungle in the blink of an eye. The set was colorful and outlandish, adding to the humor and sarcastic nature of the show.\nThe costumes, designed for the Opera Theater of St. Louis, were beautiful in their simplicity, but it was often difficult to distinguish one character from another because of their similarity. At the same time, they were versatile and never distracted attention from the characters.\nOverall, the performance was entertaining and enjoyable. Although the fantastical situations and almost slapstick humor was a bit tiresome by the end of the production, the excellent vocals and orchestration made the production worthwhile. "Candide" is an excellent initial opera for those unfamiliar with the art, as the lyrics are in English, the music is melodic and upbeat, and the storyline is humorous and fun to watch. This production was an excellent way to end the season of "Magic, Mystery and Mayhem" of the IU Opera Theater.