“I am easily assimilated”

About a year before his death, Leonard Bernstein conducted an “all-star” version of Candide, with Jerry Hadley as Candide, June Anderson, as Cunegonde, and Adolph Green as Pangloss.

Among the many lyricists who worked on the various versions of Candide was Bernstein himself, for “I Am Easily Assimiliated.” (Bernstein’s family came from Rodno Gobernya in Poland.) Bernstein’s Chilean-born wife Felicia wrote the Spanish gobbledygook lines such as “Me muero, me sale una hernia!” (“I’m dying, I’m having a hernia!”)

In an extravagant bit of overcasting, Bernstein’s old friend Christa Ludwig performs “I Am Easily Assimilated”:

In even more over-the-top casting, no less than Nicolai Gedda performs “Bon Voyage”:

Jerry Hadley, singing the title role, performs “It Must Be So”:

A truly tragic note: Jerry Hadley died on July 17 at the age of 55, after being taken off life support following a suicide attempt on July 10.

Technorati tags: Candide, Leonard Bernstein, Lillian Hellman, Christa Ludwig, Nicolai Gedda, Jerry Hadley