The life of U.S. conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) is being feted in Japan with the performance of his masterpiece, "Candide," under the baton of Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado, one of Berstein's pupils, in collaboration with Canadian director Robert Carsen.
"This satire was born from anger," says Carsen.
Although unsuccessful when it premiered on Broadway in 1956, "Candide" achieved popularity after many revisions, including Bernstein's own reworking. Among those variations, the version that the Chatelet Theater in Paris produced in 2006 under Carsen's direction is the one on show in Japan.