CANDIDE: A Comic Operetta Based on Voltaire's Satire

New York: Random House, 1957. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. Candide was originally conceived by Lillian Hellman as a play with incidental music in the style of her previous work, The Lark. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a "comic operetta"; she then wrote the original libretto for the operetta. Many lyricists worked on the show: first James Agee (whose work was ultimately not used), then Dorothy Parker, John Latouche, and Richard Wilbur. Illustrated with photographic illustrations from the 1956 original Broadway production at the Martin Beck Theatre. Octavo: [xii], 143 pp. Original (truncated) gray cloth binding, with a pictorial label inset on the front board, and black and gilt stamping. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a small number written in blue ink along the bottom of the rear panel. (Inventory #: 77818)