When young Candide's marriage offer to a baron's daughter backfires, the naïve student of optimism is hurled into an eye-opening journey around the globe, discovering the horrors of existence at every step. Turning Voltaire’s Candide, a stinging blast against tyranny and feigned moralising, into toe-wiggling musical theatre is a crazy idea. Bernstein revised his operetta countless times before settling on the final version. The Grange Festival’s 2018 semi-staged production commemorates the composer’s 100th birthday.
Katie Hall was born in Oakham, Rutland in the English East Midlands on 31 August 1990. She attended private school at Oakham and went on to become a graduate of the National Youth Music Theatre. She also attended Peterborough High School for part of her senior education. Her parents, John Graham Hall and Helen Williams, were both professional opera singers.