Porgy and Bess:

A Racial Paradox

By: Carolyn Deemer INTRODUCTION

• Two Points of View:

The was beneficial

The opera was harmful Over the Years

“Colored people in America have natural and deep-rooted feeling for music, for melody, harmony and rhythm. Our music possesses exoticism without straining for strangeness. The natural practices in this music open up a new field which can be of value in larger musical works when constructed into organized form by a composer who, having the underlying feeling, develops it through his intellect.” – William Grant Still, 1895-1978 Gershwin on Porgy and Bess

“Because Porgy and Bess deals with Negro life in America it brings to the operatic form elements that have never before appeared in the opera and I have adapted my method to utilize the drama, the humor, the superstition, the religious fervor, the dancing and the irrepressible high spirits of the race.” - The Early Stages

• Based on Porgy by DuBose Heyward

• Spying out Charleston, SC

• Collaboration by Heyward and the Gershwins Porgy and Bess Over the Years The Original Bess

• (1912 – 2009)

• Classically trained at Juilliard

• Originally skeptical, then grew to love the musical and feel truly valued by Gershwin The Original Porgy

• (1903 –1998) • Also classically trained • Professor at • Same reaction as Brown • “I knew it would cause controversy among my people because of its representation of black life and music. But, Gershwin had me sold right then and there.” Porgy and Bess and Civil Rights

• Etta Moten, took the role of Bess in 1942, stood up against the use of the word “nigger”

• The National Theater changed its segregation policy for a week while Porgy and Bess played there at the demands of Duncan and Brown. Civil Rights

• In 1955 Marian Anderson was the first black opera singer to perform with the Metropolitan Opera

• Porgy and Bess wasn’t performed at the Met till 50 years after its premiere The Legacy of Porgy and Bess

• Guaranteed opportunities in opera

• Only opportunities in opera

• “Some singers have developed extraordinary careers after a Porgy commencement. Others languish in ‘Porgy purgatory,’ happy not to be in the hell of a temporary employment agency, but regarding the heaven of a more diversified operatic participation with longing.” Jason Oby Positive Responses

• Isaac Goldberg: Compared to West Side Story

• It was perceived by many as an astounding example of American nationalism.

• Marvis Martin, who sang Bess for the 1998 revival of the opera said, “I’m so touched every time I sing Porgy and Bess. I wish Gershwin were still alive so I could thank him for caring so much about my community, about my roots.” Negative Responses

• Lack of authenticity

• “African American critics were pleased at the attention the novel Porgy brought to southern folk culture, but raised doubts about the accuracy with which Heyward, as a white man, could portray their people.” – Ray Allen Negative Responses

“Were such endeavors by white creators truly noble efforts to elevate the art of black folk music to the prestigious concert stage or simply neominstrel practices (this time minus the blackface) aimed at commodifying black otherness for consumption by white audiences who longed for glimpses of authentic culture to countervail their increasingly complex modern world?” -Ray Allen Analysis of the Paradox– Theories

• Gershwin thought he was writing an authentic opera but failed/ White composers can’t accurately write about black culture.

• Gershwin knew that he was only using a surface-level reference to the culture.

• Gershwin did much to help bring about legitimacy for the African American performer. A Social Response

• To see a breakdown in segregation, there must be a holistic approach to reconciliation involving both the arts and the law, resulting in both de facto and de jure end to discrimination. A Social Response

• Reconciliation in the future will require the cooperation of both majority and minority representatives. The former have the power to affect change while the latter know what truly needs to be changed! Implications for Christians

• We must not take people only at face value if we are to model Christ. – Samaritan woman at the well – Zacchaeus – The blind man

• Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7b Implications for Christians

• We must be careful what we consume in the way of entertainment, valuing the dignity of humans above our desire to be entertained.

• Man is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26- 27) Implications for Christians

• We must recognize that complete racial reconciliation is only possible through reconciliation to Christ.

• “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” Col. 3:11