Michael Christopher: My name is Michael Christopher and I'm playing the role of Candide.
Sashekia Brown: My name is Sashekia Brown and I am Cunégonde.
Aaron Cain: How might each of you describe the plot of this comic operetta?
Michael Christopher: Candide is like a bastard cousin of a royal family and falls in love with the daughter of the Baron Cunegonde, and is thrushed out of the castle of Thunder-ten-tronckh in Westphalia. He has this teacher-philosopher-guide-person named Pangloss that he really looks up to, who insists that the world that we live in is the best of all possible worlds. And the story that Candide goes through kind of challenges that idea again and again, you know, with bad things happening to him and the people that he really cares about. And I think the whole show is sort of like a commentary on you can't look at life in that sort of black-and-white, singular lens because it's proven to Candide time and time again that he can't just accept that “everything happens for a good reason,” and “everything is perfect the way it is,” because it's not. And I think that is what Voltaire was getting at in the original story as well. And that is that's what happens in the show.
Sashekia Brown: Yeah.
Aaron Cain: Your two characters have a fairly complicated relationship as well. Could you describe that relationship and talk about what it's been like to put that relationship on its feet in this production?
Sashekia Brown: Cunégonde and Candide, I think, they have a really special relationship that continues to evolve and change as the show progresses. And we're still trying to make sense of what life has dealt us, how we've had to overcome these challenges, and what we were taught, what we've been indoctrinated with.
Michael Christopher: Yeah, yeah.
Sashekia Brown: I think it's just such a beautiful love story, you know?
Michael Christopher: It really is because the audience is shown a lot of ways in which Cunégonde and Candide are not perfect for each other.
Sashekia Brown: Mmmm.
Michael Christopher: But I really do think, like, towards the end, they choose to love each other and build a life with each other. It's a really cool message because in a lot of operas it's kind of like, “ohh, they fell in love at first sight,” and “they're perfect,” and “it's wonderful,” but it's a lot more complex than that.
Sashekia Brown: We have a chance to, I think, build our love.
Michael Christopher: Exactly, yeah.
Sashekia Brown: Yeah.
Aaron Cain: Candide is a story that keeps reappearing in different guises, going all the way back to Voltaire, and it's a lens through which we can look at our own society. So, in this historical moment, where we are right now, what do you think is the importance of Candide?
Michael Christopher: Kind of how Candide is forever changing, the world is also forever changing, you know?
Sashekia Brown: Yeah.
Michael Christopher: I think there are a lot of people who try to hold on to old ideas or beliefs on the world, and kind of stick everything they have into that box. And Candide’s story kind of goes to reinforce that… that's not a way to live.
Sashekia Brown: I think in Candide we have so many wonderful stories and examples of women who are really taking charge and owning the way that they're going to navigate the world, and life, despite what they've had to do to kind of, you know, make ends meet, to be able to make their way safely through life, to preserve life. They're never really treated with a sense of shame, or like they're put aside or put away because of these things that they've had to do. They continue to be real human beings who have full lives, who are not just defined by whatever it is that they have to do for work. And that's just such a lovely message that we can continue to embrace today.
Michael Christopher: This is a very complex production and it's going to require a lot of attention, I think. Especially attention to detail.
Sashekia Brown: Mmm-Hmm.
Michael Christopher: Because there's a lot of details. I think something that will be surprising is how it ends. Because it's taken a really interesting direction. Every version of Candide is sort of different. If you've seen Candide before, it will still be Candide, but it's going to be something special and something new.
Sashekia Brown: Yeah.
Aaron Cain: Well, I hope for you and for the other cast, it is the best of all possible productions.
Sashekia Brown: [laughter] Thank you.
Michael Christopher: [laughter] Thank you.
Aaron Cain: And thank you both very much for speaking with me today.
Sashekia Brown: Thanks for having us.
Michael Christopher: Of course. Thanks for having us, yeah.
Aaron Cain: IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theatre presents Candide by Leonard Bernstein, starting this weekend at the Musical Arts Center. 7:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. And I've been speaking with tenor Michael Christopher, who sings the role of Candide and soprano Sashekia Brown, who sings the role of Cunégonde. They perform together in one of two casts. More information at operaballet.indiana.edu. For WFIU Arts, I'm Aaron Cain.
