Leonard Bernstein wrote his musical Candide in 1956, loosely based on a story by Voltaire. Voltaire's novel is a biting satire, fast paced and punchy, the action moving from country to country and from one disaster to another with comic-strip brevity. It ends with the famous phrase “one must cultivate one's garden” – but this is ultimately quite cynical, because Voltaire means that there is nothing else in life worth while. Bernstein makes the ending much more positive and hopeful, even though his stated aim in writing the musical was to take a swipe at the smug complacency of post-war America.

Candide is problematic to stage, because the cartoon-like nature of the story line and huge number of different locations make for a fragmented, not integrated, work of musical art. But musically it displays Bernstein's huge intelligence and skill, and includes sly references to other styles of opera and operetta. Dance forms like the waltz, polka, gavotte and mazurka crop up frequently, and overall the music is superb.

The overture is very short and fast paced, and even in this short span he manages to imitate a Rossini overture!