Exclusive: Initial casting announced for LMTO's Candide

London Musical Theatre Orchestra has announced initial casting for its concert production of Candide at Cadogan Hall in July.

Rob Houchen (Les Miserables, Titanic) will play the titular role in Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical, which will feature a 34-piece orchestra under the baton of conductor Freddie Tapner. Further casting is to be announced.

Based on Voltaire’s novel, Candide tells the story of a young man determined to cling to his instructor’s philosophy that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds" despite the many tragedies that he encounters. The musical features the songs "Glitter and Be Gay", "We Are Women" and "Make Our Garden Grow".

LMTO was founded by Tapner in 2015 and has since produced sell-out concerts including Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens’ A Christmas Carol which starred Robert Lindsay and Carrie Hope Fletcher, and Honeymoon in Vegas at the London Palladium starring Samantha Barks and Arthur Darvill.

Candide plays Cadogan Hall on Friday 21 July 2017.