Preview: Candide, Coliseum, London

A former Rake turns his hand to Candide

Three years ago, having just sung the lead in The Rake's Progress in Paris, tenor Toby Spence told the ENO he'd be interested to sing the lead in a production of Bernstein's Candide. "There was something that touched me in it, and I sensed a connection with the Rake. Both heroes are propelled through a turbulent world, and fight to maintain the hope they started their story with, and fail," he says.

And lo, it came to pass. But Spence is finding the job harder than he expected: "The tone of the story is sarcastic, which makes it a challenge as an opera." Does Voltaire's sarcasm not translate to the stage? Spence's answer is that audiences find the world conjured up by Bernstein/ Voltaire a difficult one to plug into emotionally.

"It's surreal," he says. "Candide is confronted by hideous sights and stories, but, though he becomes more confused and doubtful, he continues to maintain Pangloss's optimism." All is for the best, in this best of all possible worlds. "The way we're doing it, Candide will seem to float above those terrible things – the battle scenes, the rape and butchery – and I think the audience will float above them with him. Bernstein's glossy, glitzy music will help to insulate them from what they see."

So Spence will be a character the audience can think with, rather than feel with? "Yes, as guided by Voltaire. But Candide is still the beating heart of the story. Bernstein gives him that luscious aria at the end, and also the affecting aria in the middle of the second act, when he comes to El Dorado – that's the sugar on the pill for the audience."

In this production the actor Alex Jennings will play Pangloss. Can he sing? "Yes – he did My Fair Lady – but when you ask me a question like that, I have to ask you, what is singing?" OK, what is singing? "It's projecting words through music. Which is why actors often make fantastic singers." But has he a voice? "It's quite annoying – he can't read music, but he sings on pitch, and he's got a good ear. He's a really good Pangloss."

In rep to 12 July (0871 911 0200)