| Author | Dominika Kobylska |
|---|---|
| Title | Optimism all’italiana or „Candide” in 21st Century |
| Keywords | Aldo Nove, Andrea Liberovici, Italian literaure, consumerism, Candide |
| Pages | 585-597 |
| Full text | |
| Volume | 34 |
The aim of this paper is to show the results of the analysis of the Candido. Soap opera musical, a 2004 theatre piece written by two Italian artists – Aldo Nove and Andrea Liberovici, inspired by Voltaire’s Candide (1759). The author of the article points out the common elements of the contemporary Candido and the 18th century Candide and responds to research questions such as: do the Italian authors build upon Voltaire’s thoughts on Leibniz’s theory on optimism or show their inconsistencies? Which timeless values can be found in Italian Candido? The investigation is based on Leibniz’s theory of “best of all possible worlds” with its Ortega y Gasset’s interpretation and on the modern consumer society theories of Jean Baudrillard.