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This 1956 recording based on George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess was the second "complete" recording of the opera after the 1951 version, and the first recording of the work to feature jazz singers and musicians instead of operatic singers and a classical orchestra.
- May 1956
- Bethlehem Records
- 1956
2 mag 2005 · Find release reviews and credits for The Complete Porgy and Bess - Duke Ellington, Frances Faye, Johnny Hartman, Mel Tormé on AllMusic - 2005
Explore the tracklist, credits, statistics, and more for George Gershwin's Porgy And Bess by George Gershwin, Mel Tormé, Frances Faye With Betty Roche, George Kirby, Johnny Hartman, Sallie Blair, Frank Rosolino, Loulie Jean Norman, Duke Ellington And His Famous Orchestra, Russ Garcia Conducting The Studio Orchestra, The Australian Jazz Quintet ...
George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess bears the odd distinction of being both the most acclaimed and vilified of all American operas. Gershwin – Self-portrait.
- Overview
- Background and context
- Cast and main vocal parts
- Setting and summary
- Act I
- Act II
- Act III
Porgy and Bess, dramatic folk opera in three acts by George Gershwin. Its English libretto was written by DuBose Heyward (with lyrics by Heyward and Ira Gershwin), based on Heyward’s novel Porgy (1925). The opera—which premiered at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on October 10, 1935—is considered to be the first great American opera. It contains...
In 1926 George Gershwin wrote to Heyward about collaborating on an operatic version of Porgy. Heyward was enthusiastic, but Gershwin’s other obligations delayed work until 1934. That summer Gershwin and Heyward worked together on an island near Charleston, South Carolina. There the Brooklyn-born composer hoped to absorb the feeling of the Southern setting and the accent and rhythms of African American speech. The ambience was inspirational; Gershwin finished the three-hour opera within a year.
Although the writing had proceeded smoothly, casting proved more difficult. Once he had assembled a cast of African American singers who could successfully balance jazz and operatic singing, it became clear that the opera world was not ready for a “black opera,” and the jazz world was not ready for opera at all. Most frustrating of all was that various Broadway producers with whom Gershwin had worked successfully for years insisted that he hire only white singers and put them in blackface. Only after much negotiating and a refusal to compromise on his black cast did Gershwin manage to arrange for an opening on Broadway, where his own reputation could carry the show. Even then, he lost money on the production, only recouping his expenses by the separate popularity of “Summertime” and other tunes from the opera when they were published separately as jazz songs.
•Bess, Crown’s girlfriend, then Porgy’s (soprano)
•Robbins, a Catfish Row resident (tenor)
•Clara, Jake’s wife (soprano)
•Jake, a fisherman (baritone)
•Sportin’ Life, a drug dealer (tenor)
•Porgy, a disabled beggar (bass-baritone)
Porgy and Bess is set in Catfish Row, a dockside area of Charleston, about 1930.
Clara sings a lullaby (“Summertime”) to her baby while a group of men gamble. When an argument breaks out, one of the men (Crown) strikes another (Robbins) dead. Crown flees, telling Bess, who is his girlfriend, that he will be back for her. The drug dealer Sportin’ Life offers Bess refuge, but instead she hides with Porgy, a disabled beggar. During Robbins’s wake, the police arrive in search of his killer.
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A month later Jake and the other fishermen prepare to go to sea. They are seen off by Porgy, who is a happy man: having nothing worth stealing, he need not fear thieves, and he has the love of Bess. Sportin’ Life is still seeking customers for his “happy dust.” When Sportin’ Life makes overtures to Bess, Porgy orders him off. Porgy and Bess pledge their love before she departs for a community picnic on a nearby island. At the picnic, Sportin’ Life diverts the gathering with his scandalously cynical views. Crown—the fugitive murderer—appears from the bushes and confronts Bess. She tells him that she is Porgy’s girl now, but Crown prevents her from taking the boat back to the mainland with the others.
Back at Catfish Row a week later, Bess is unwell, and Porgy and the neighbours pray for her. She is recovering, but then the hurricane bell rings, energizing the community. As the storm rages, the community worries about the missing fishermen, including Clara’s husband, Jake. Consigning her baby to Bess’s care, Clara runs out in the storm in search of Jake. Crown has returned and quarrels with Porgy before himself going back out into the storm.
Clara, Jake, and Crown are all thought to have died in the hurricane. Sportin’ Life arrives to taunt Bess. When Crown arrives, he and Porgy fight. Porgy gains the upper hand and kills Crown. When the police arrive, they take Porgy away to identify the body. In Porgy’s absence, Sportin’ Life tells Bess that Porgy will be gone for a long time and reg...
Porgy and Bess was George Gershwin's longest and most ambitious creation, but it was not truly successful during his lifetime. Some of the songs had achieved popularity before Gershwin's death in 1937, but the work earned real approval and favor only after the 1940 Theater Guild presentation of a slightly revised version.
Terry Blain explains how American songwriter George Gershwin came to compose his country’s first great opera Porgy and Bess, and finds the best recordings.
