The DePaul Opera Theatre will present Leonard Bernstein’s great comic operetta “Candide” at 7:30 p.m. March 14 and 15 and 2 p.m. March 16, 2003, at the Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive.

The performance marks the Chicago premiere of the Scottish Opera version of the operetta, with a book adapted from Voltaire by Richard Wilbur and additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Bernstein. Orchestrations are by Bernstein and Hershy Kay, with additional orchestrations by John Mauceri. Harry Silverstein will direct and Robert Debbaut will conduct the production, which is the first event of the DePaul School of Music’s United Sounds of America™ festival, a four-month celebration of American music.

“’Candide’ is a colorful, tune-filled show that people know and love, and includes a truly famous overture,” said Silverstein. “It’s a wonderful work, with singing, dancing and comedy, that appeals to both fans of opera and musical theater. The opera delves into the philosophic questions raised in Voltaire’s book in a fun, lighthearted way.” A very popular satirical comedy, Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” is based on Voltaire’s 1758 novel, which condemns the assertive, yet unfounded, optimism of the French writer’s contemporaries through the character of Candide, who maintains a comical certainty that everything happens for the best no matter what tragedy befalls him.

The DePaul Opera Theatre production will feature sets designed by Brian Sidney Bembridge, costumes by Mary Trumbour and lighting by Christine Binder.

On March 13, the day before the opera opens, the DePaul Opera Theatre will host “My Travels with Candide,” a free, public discussion by Chicago singer/dancer Deborah Darr, who performed the role of Paquette in the Harold Prince production of “Candide” at the Chelsea Theatre Center of Brooklyn, the Broadway Theater, the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center, the Canadian Opera in Toronto and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Darr’s talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the DePaul Recital Hall, 804 W. Belden Ave.

Darr currently works as a physical therapist, an occupation she entered after an automobile accident forced her to relinquish a full-time career as a singer/dancer. However, performing has remained a favorite pastime for her. She was featured in the role of Lola in “Damn Yankees’ for a 2002 fundraiser for Victory Gardens Theater.

In its fifteenth year, the DePaul Opera Theatre is a highly successful training organization for talented DePaul School of Music students who aspire to grace the stages of the world’s opera houses and theaters. Graduates of the troupe have appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera and in theaters around the globe.

Tickets to “Candide” are $5 to $25 and are available from the Merle Reskin box office after Jan. 20. Call (312) 922-1999.