It must be so from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.
As Candide “The title role was beautifully sung and winningly played by Brian Cheney, protégé of the late tenor Jerry Hadley, Bernstein’s own choice for the title role in his 1989 recording.”
The Sondheim Review
“Cheney rises to the difficult role of Candide, and masters the challenging music. To hear someone sing like this, with such an appearance of effortlessness, inspires an almost painful relief, like the massage of a knotted muscle.”
Urban Tulsa Weekly
“The role of Candide has been one of Brian Cheney’s ambitions for years and he is superb. He sings in an unadorned tone that emphasizes the character’s naïveté and vulnerability, especially in the songs like “It Must Be So” and “Candide’s Lament,” where Candide opens his heart and questions the ideas he’s long held dear.”
Tulsa World