Leonard Bernstein dubbed into other languages. All of them were released on DVD by Kultur Video (half of them in 2013). Around the time he was appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic, and living opposite Carnegie Hall at The Osborne, Bernstein composed the music for two shows. The first was for the operetta "Candide", which was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman based on Voltaire's novella. The second was Bernstein's collaboration with the choreographer Jerome Robbins, the writer Arthur Laurents, and the lyricist Stephen Sondheim to produce the musical "West Side Story". The first three had
Stephen Sondheim vocals, such as the five minor characters who make up a Greek chorus in 1973's "A Little Night Music". Sondheim uses angular harmonies and intricate melodies. His musical influences are varied; although he has said that he "loves Bach", his favorite musical period is from Brahms to Stravinsky. Sondheim has been described as introverted and solitary. In an interview with Frank Rich, he said, "The outsider feeling—somebody who people want to both kiss and kill—occurred quite early in my life". The composer is in a relationship with Jeff Romley, and lived with dramatist Peter Jones for eight years (until 1999).