I’ve had opportunities to attend performances of Leonard Bernstein’s music drama Candide in the past, but I haven’t taken them. I am aware however, that the work straddles the worlds of opera and musical theatre, so productions are likely to be unpredictable in terms of ethos.
Based on a novel by Voltaire, my understanding of the show’s narrative is that it is at least partially a satire of the ideas of the Enlightenment thinker G.W. von Leibniz.
The character after who the show is named has a mentor and philosopher called Pangloss, who has an idea that all is for the best in this ‘best of all possible worlds’. When a person takes a ‘panglossian’ view of things, he or she could be described as naively optimistic.
2020 is turning out to be an emotional rollercoaster of a year. Apart from the uncertainties brought about by the disruptions of a pandemic, I have experienced this period as a time to let go of beliefs I have held for a long time. Usually these attitudes were connected to relationships I had with friends and associates who I relied on to construct my notions of reality. Suddenly, I have to look within, to rely primarily on the promptings of my instincts.
It’s possible that my current world view is panglossian, but I’m willing to latch on to a new North Star, to see what happens as a result.
