Jeremy Eichler in the Boston Globe writes:

"...Baritone Richard Suart drew a knowing laugh from Saturday’s crowd at the outset, when his narration, delivered with a delightful archness, referred to the political landscape of the 1950s and nodded implicitly to the present day. But in this vibrant concert performance of a 1993 version, it was of course the romance and comedy that dominated. On the podium, Bramwell Tovey led a taut and brisk reading of this score, while also demonstrating, as he did with “Porgy and Bess” a few summers back, no aversion to joining the stage action playing out around him. At one point in Act I, when poor Candide and Pangloss are about to be strung up in Lisbon, Tovey lowered a noose around Suart’s neck as the chorus zestfully sang: “What a day, what a day, for an auto-da-fé!”

Leading the cast, tenor Nicholas Phan sang Candide with tonal purity and impeccable control, though his dramatic vision for the role seemed less fully developed. Anna Christy pulled off Cunegonde with ample vocal agility and a knowing, sassy insouciance. And Frederica von Stade came out of semi-
retirement to bring glamor and a rather cautious vocalism to the role of the Old Lady, drawing a cheer from the crowd the moment she stepped onstage.

Many of the smaller roles were capably taken up by vocal fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center and even members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which not only sang well but threw itself wholeheartedly into the action, at one point pulling out red scarves and sombreros..."

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