SUMMERTIME: FROM PORGY AND BES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Gershwin George & Heward Dubos | 32 pages | 01 Aug 2002 | Simon & Schuster Ltd | 9780689850479 | English | London, United Kingdom Summertime () Lyrics

Jazz has always been an expression of cultural diversity and individualism. Because of this, jazz artists have always been able to use improvisation to express themselves. Recorded over just four days in the summer of , Porgy and Bess is still considered as an historic jazz masterpiece. By the 70s, the song had travelled to Jamaica, and B. As the song spread around the globe, so did a number of interpretations. Moten was such a success that Bess became her signature role. The Crawford production ran for months and was far more successful financially than the original. The inch-diameter 78 rpm, glass base, lacquer-coated disks were transferred to open-reel tape on February 6, Performed during the Nazi occupation of the country, this performance was notable for being performed by an all-white cast made up in blackface. After 22 sold-out performances, the Nazis forced the theatre to close the production. Blevins Davis and Robert Breen produced a revival in which restored much of the music cut in the Crawford version, including many of the recitatives. It divided the into two acts, with the intermission occurring after Crown forces Bess to stay on Kittiwah Island. This version restored the work to a more operatic form, though not all of the recitatives were retained. In this version, Porgy and Bess was warmly received throughout Europe. The role of Ruby was played by a young Maya Angelou. It later toured North America. A historic yet tense premiere took place in Moscow in December ; it was during the Cold War and the first time an American theater group had been to the Soviet capital since the Bolshevik Revolution. During the s and early s, Porgy and Bess mostly languished on the shelves, a victim of its perceived racism. Though new productions took place in and , along with a Vienna Volksoper premiere in again with William Warfield as Porgy , these did little to change many African Americans' opinions of the work. Many music critics still had not accepted it as a true opera. A new staging of Porgy and Bess was produced by the Houston Grand Opera in , directed by Jack O'Brien with musical direction by John DeMain ; it restored the complete original score for the first time. This version was very influential in turning the tide of opinion about the work. For the first time, an American opera , not a Broadway production company, had tackled the opera. This production was based on Gershwin's original full score. It did not incorporate the cuts and other changes that Gershwin had made before the New York premiere, nor the ones made for the Cheryl Crawford revival or the film version. It allowed the public to take in the operatic whole as first envisioned by the composer. In this light, Porgy and Bess was accepted as an opera. William Harwood , based on the Houston production. The finally presented a production of Porgy and Bess in after considering it since the s. The conductor was . After an absence of nearly thirty years on the Met stage, the company staged the new London production conducted by David Robertson in Fall Trevor Nunn first tackled the work in an acclaimed production at England's Glyndebourne Festival. The Trevor Nunn production was scenically expanded and videotaped for television in see below in "Television". These productions were also based on the "complete score," without incorporating Gershwin's revisions. A semi-staged version of this production was performed at the Proms in The centennial celebration of the Gershwin brothers from to included a new production as well. It incorporated Gershwin's cuts made for the New York premiere, thus giving the audience an idea of what the opera sounded like on its Broadway opening. In October , its planned tour of the opera to Israel was criticised by Desmond Tutu. Although that was the title given to this production, the television adaptation of Nunn's production had also used it. For this new production, he adapted the lengthy opera to fit the conventions of musical theatre. Working with the Gershwin and Heyward estates, Nunn used dialogue from the original novel and subsequent Broadway stage play to replace the recitatives with naturalistic scenes. He did not use operatic voices in this production, but relied on musical theatre actors as leads. Gareth Valentine provided the musical adaptation. Despite mostly positive reviews, [22] Nunn's production closed months early due to poor box office returns. Fagbenle as Sportin' Life, and Cornell S. John as Crown. Following Trevor Nunn's latest production of the work, the ART Porgy was the second production initiated by the Gershwin and Heyward estates to adapt the opera for the musical theatre stage. Again spoken dialogue, here written by Parks, replaced the opera's sung recitatives. Prior to the opening, Paulus, Parks and Murray made statements to the press about the production's primary goal being to "introduce the work to the next generation of theatergoers". The production began previews on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in December and officially opened on January 12, Early reviews of the show were positive to mixed. All praised McDonald's performance of Bess, but critics were divided on the success of the adaptation, staging and setting. Some praised the intimate scale of the drama and the believability of the performances; others found the staging to be unfocused and the settings to lack atmosphere. The production ran through September 23, The production was directed by Timothy Sheader , [34] and also used the book adapted by Suzan- Lori Parks , but used a new arrangement of the score by David Shrubsole. With the exception of the small speaking roles, all of the characters are black. The opera begins with a short introduction which segues into an evening in Catfish Row. Jasbo Brown entertains the community with his piano playing. Clara, a young mother, sings a lullaby to her baby " Summertime " as the working men prepare for a game of craps "Roll them Bones". One of the players, Robbins, scorns his wife Serena's demands that he not play, retorting that on a Saturday night, a man has the right to play. Clara's husband, the fisherman Jake, tries his own lullaby "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" with little effect. Little by little, other characters in the opera enter Catfish Row, among them Mingo, another fisherman, and Jim, a cotton-hauling stevedore who, tired of his job, decides to give it up and join Jake and the other fishermen. Porgy, a disabled beggar, enters on his goat cart to organize the game. Peter, an elderly "honey man" [honey vendor] returns, singing his vendor's call. Crown, a strong and brutal stevedore, storms in with his woman, Bess, and buys cheap whiskey and some " Happy Dust " off the local dope peddler, Sportin' Life. Bess is shunned by the women of the community, especially the pious Serena and the matriarchal cookshop owner Maria, but Porgy softly defends her. The game begins. One by one, the players get crapped out, leaving only Robbins and Crown, who has become extremely drunk. When Robbins wins, Crown attempts to prevent him from taking his winnings. A brawl ensues, which ends when Crown stabs Robbins with Jim's cotton hook, killing him. Crown runs, telling Bess to fend for herself but that he will be back for her when the heat dies down. Sportin' Life gives her a dose of happy dust and offers to take her with him when he goes to New York, but she rejects him. He flees, and Bess begins to pound on doors, but is rejected by all of the residents of Catfish Row, with the exception of Porgy, who lets her in. The mourners sing a spiritual to Robbins "Gone, Gone, Gone". To raise money for his burial, a saucer is placed on his chest for the mourners' donations "Overflow". Bess enters with Porgy and attempts to donate to the burial fund, but Serena rejects her money until Bess explains that she is now living with Porgy. A white detective enters and coldly tells Serena that she must bury her husband the next day, or his body will be given to medical students for dissection. He suddenly accuses Peter of Robbins's murder. Peter denies his guilt and says Crown was the murderer. The Detective orders Peter to be arrested as a material witness , whom he will force to testify against Crown. Serena laments her loss in " My Man's Gone Now ". The undertaker enters. The saucer holds only fifteen dollars of the needed twenty-five, but he agrees to bury Robbins as long as Serena promises to pay him back. Bess, who has been sitting in silence slightly apart from the rest of those gathered, suddenly begins to sing a gospel song and the chorus joyfully join in, welcoming her into the community. Jake and the other fishermen prepare for work "It take a long pull to get there". Clara asks Jake not to go because it is time for the annual storms, but he tells her that they desperately need the money. This causes Porgy to sing from his window about his new, happy-go-lucky outlook on life. Sportin' Life waltzes around selling "happy dust", but soon incurs the wrath of Maria, who threatens him. A fraudulent lawyer, Frazier, arrives and farcically divorces Bess from Crown. When he discovers Bess and Crown were not married, he raises his price from a dollar to a dollar and a half. Archdale, a white lawyer, enters and informs Porgy that Peter will soon be released. The bad omen of a buzzard flies over Catfish Row and Porgy demands that it leave now that he finally has found happiness. He attempts to give her some "happy dust" despite her claims that she's given up drugs, but Porgy grabs his arm and scares him off. Sportin' Life leaves, reminding Bess as he goes that her men friends come and go, but he will be there all along. The chorus re-enters in high spirits as they prepare to leave for the picnic "Oh, I can't sit down". Bess is invited to the picnic by Maria, but she demurs as Porgy cannot come due to his disability, he cannot get on the boat , but Maria insists. Bess leaves Porgy behind as they go off to the picnic. Porgy watches the boat leave "I got plenty o' nuttin" reprise. The chorus enjoys themselves at the picnic "I ain't got no shame". Sportin' Life presents the chorus his cynical views on the Bible " It Ain't Necessarily So " , causing Serena to chastise them "Shame on all you sinners! Everyone gets ready to leave. As Bess, who has lagged behind, tries to follow them, Crown emerges from the bushes. He reminds her that Porgy is "temporary" and laughs off her claims that she has been living decently now. Bess wants to leave Crown forever and attempts to make him forget about her "Oh, what you want wid Bess? He grabs her and will not let her go to the boat, which leaves without her, and then forcefully kisses her. He laughs at his conquest as her resistance begins to fail, and commands her to get , where his intentions are only too clear. A week later, Jake leaves to go fishing with his crew, one of whom observes that it looks as if a storm is coming in. Peter, still unsure of his crime, returns from prison. Meanwhile, Bess is lying in Porgy's room delirious with fever, which she has had ever since returning from Kittiwah Island. Serena prays to remove Bess's affliction "Oh, Doctor Jesus" , and promises Porgy that Bess will be well by five o'clock. As the day passes, a strawberry woman, Peter the Honey Man and a crab man each pass by with their wares "Vendors' Trio". As the clock chimes five, Bess recovers from her fever. Porgy tells Bess that he knows she has been with Crown, and she admits that Crown has promised to return for her. Porgy tells her she is free to go if she wants to, and she tells him that although she wants to stay, she is afraid of Crown's hold on her. Porgy asks her what would happen if there was no Crown, and Bess tells Porgy she loves him and begs him to protect her. Porgy promises that she will never have to be afraid again " I Loves You, Porgy ". Clara watches the water, fearful for Jake. Maria tries to allay her fears, but suddenly the hurricane bell begins to ring. The residents of Catfish Row are all gathered in Serena's room for shelter from the hurricane. They drown out the sound of the storm with prayers and hymns "Oh, Doctor Jesus" while Sportin' Life mocks their assumption that the storm is a signal of Judgment Day. Clara desperately sings her lullaby "Summertime" [reprise]. A knock is heard at the door, and the chorus believes it to be Death "Oh there's somebody knocking at the door". Crown enters dramatically, having swum from Kittiwah Island, seeking Bess. He shows no fear of God, claiming that after the long struggle from Kittiwah, God and he are friends. The chorus tries to drown out his blaspheming with more prayer, and he taunts them by singing a vulgar song. Suddenly, Clara sees Jake's boat float past the window, upside-down, and she runs out to try to save him, handing her baby to Bess. Bess asks that one of the men go out with her, and Crown taunts Porgy, who cannot go. Crown goes himself, yelling out as he leaves "Alright, Big Friend! We're on for another Bout! University of California Press. Gershwin summertime spiritual style. : A New Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. Floyd Jr. New York: Westport. Penguin Books USA. The author displays the three songs aligned to each other. Princeton University Press. Retrieved 23 June The New York Times. Guinness World Records. Top Pop Singles — 1st ed. Record Research. Porgy and Bess. Novel Play. George Gershwin. Blue Monday Porgy and Bess Three Preludes French Ballet Class What Love Has Done to Me! Billie Holiday. Discography Awards and nominations. The history of George Gershwin’s Summertime | English National Opera

By Album. Select another language:. Notify me of new comments via email. Cancel Report. Create a new account. Log In. Powered by CITE. We need you! Help build the largest human-edited lyrics collection on the web! Add Lyrics. Watch the song video Summertime Porgy and Bess. Lady Be Good. Embraceable You. Strike Up the Band. Hidden Cities City's T…. David Gagne. The song soon became a popular and much- recorded jazz standard , described as "without doubt Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of African Americans in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century". Gershwin began composing the song in December , attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. The song is sung several times throughout Porgy and Bess. Its lyrics are the first words heard in act 1 of the opera, following the communal "wa-do-wa". It is sung by Clara as a lullaby. The song theme is reprised soon after as counterpoint to the craps game scene, in act 2 in a reprise by Clara, and in act 3 by Bess, singing to Clara's now-orphaned baby after both its parents died in the storm. The movie version of the musical featured Loulie Jean Norman singing the song. That rendition finished at 52 in AFI's Years Summertime, an' the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' an' the cotton is high. Oh, yo' daddy's rich and yo' ma is good- lookin' So hush, little baby, don' you cry. One of these mornin's you goin' to rise up singin' Then you'll spread yo' wings an' you'll take to the sky. But till that mornin', there's a nothin' can harm you With Daddy an' Mammy standin' by. Heyward's inspiration for the lyrics was the southern folk spiritual-lullaby " All My Trials ", of which he had Clara sing a snippet in his play Porgy. Writing of the opening line, he says. That "and" is worth a great deal of attention. I would write "Summertime when" but that "and" sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like "My Man's Gone Now". It's the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. The choices of "ands" [and] "buts" become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric — or should, anyway — because each one weighs so much. Musicologist K. McElrath wrote of the song: [6]. Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use of the pentatonic scale C—D—E—G—A in the context of the A minor tonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a " blues ". Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles. While in his own description, Gershwin did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera, Summertime is often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual " Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child ", which ended the play version of Porgy. Statistics for the number of recordings of "Summertime" vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online. The Jazz Discography in listed 1, official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards. In September , a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching no. Big Brother and the Holding Company 's version featuring Janis Joplin on vocals has been highly praised. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aria from the opera Porgy and Bess. Retrieved Archived from the original on Summertime (George Gershwin song) - Wikipedia

Because of this, jazz artists have always been able to use improvisation to express themselves. Recorded over just four days in the summer of , Porgy and Bess is still considered as an historic jazz masterpiece. By the 70s, the song had travelled to Jamaica, and B. As the song spread around the globe, so did a number of interpretations. If it is possible, it would help us enormously if you could consider making a donation to ensure we come out of this period being able to continue to do what we have been doing for decades. Two years later, when the first Broadway revival occurred, American Decca rushed other members of the cast into the recording studio to record other selections not recorded in Although members of the jazz community initially felt that a Jewish piano player and a white novelist could not adequately convey the plight of blacks in a s Charleston ghetto, jazz musicians warmed up more to the opera after twenty years, and more jazz- based recordings of it began to appear. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald recorded an album in in which they sang and scatted Gershwin's tunes. The next year, Miles Davis recorded what some consider a seminal interpretation of the opera arranged for big band. In , Columbia Masterworks Records released a soundtrack album of Samuel Goldwyn's film version of Porgy and Bess , which had been made that year. It was not a complete version of the opera, nor was it even a complete version of the film soundtrack, which featured more music than could be contained on a single LP. The album remained in print until the early s, when it was withdrawn from stores at the request of the Gershwin estate. It is the first stereo album of music from Porgy and Bess with an all-black cast. However, according to the album liner notes , Sammy Davis Jr. Cab Calloway substituted his own vocals of Sportin' Life's songs. None of the other singers from that production appeared on that album, but John W. Bubbles , the original Sportin' Life, substituted for Cab Calloway who had played Sportin' Life onstage in the production. The album was arranged and conducted by Frank De Vol. It was jazz-based with full orchestrations, but the orchestrations used were not Gershwin's. Rouben Mamoulian, who had directed the Broadway premiere, was hired to direct the film, but was subsequently fired in favor of director Otto Preminger after a disagreement with the producer. Mamoulian urged making the film on location in South Carolina after a fire on the sound stage destroyed the film's sets. Goldwyn, who never liked making films on location, considered Mamoulian's request a sign of disloyalty. Although Dandridge and Carroll were singers, their voices were not considered operatic enough. Sammy Davis Jr. The Gershwin estate was disappointed with the film, as the score was substantially edited to make it more like a musical. Much of the music was omitted from the film, and many of Gershwin's orchestrations were either changed or completely scrapped. It was shown on network television in the U. Critics attacked it for not being faithful to Gershwin's opera, for over-refining the language grammatically, and for its "overblown" staging. The film was removed from release in by the Gershwin estate. In , it was selected to the U. National Film Registry. Mike Medavoy and Bobby Geisler announced in that they are developing a re-envisioned and updated film version with the approval of the Gershwin estate. The Warner Bros. Included was the original Bess, Anne Brown, recreating her performance. The scene includes a more elaborate and historically inaccurate arrangement for the film of the song "Summertime", sung by Anne Brown as Bess with full chorus, but the Catfish Row set design is a virtual duplicate of the one seen in the Broadway stage production. Hines' rendition, before a Siberian audience, included a tap dancing sequence. Director Taylor Hackford pointed out in a special edition DVD release of the film that it was necessary to locate a Russian woman of color Helene Denbey to portray Bess, as per Gershwin's stipulations. In , Trevor Nunn's Glyndebourne Festival stage production of Porgy and Bess , not to be confused with his later production, was greatly expanded scenically and videotaped in a television studio without an audience. It featured a cast of operatic American singers, with the exception of Willard White, who is Jamaican but sounded American, as Porgy. Cynthia Haymon sang the role of Bess. Nunn's "opening up" of the stage production was considered highly imaginative; his cast received much critical praise, [71] [72] [73] and the three-hour production retained nearly all of Gershwin's music, heard in the original orchestrations. This included the opera's sung recitatives, which have occasionally been turned into spoken dialogue in other productions. No extra dialogue was written for this production, as had been done in the film. All performers lip-synched rather than singing live on set, leading The New York Times to write: "What you hear is basically Mr. Nunn's acclaimed Glyndebourne Festival production, the original cast intact. What you see was filmed later in a London studio. The performers, some new to the production, are lip-synching. It's as if an elaborate visual aid had been concocted for the EMI recording. It has won far greater acclaim than the film, which was widely panned by most critics. The television production of Porgy and Bess was nominated for four Emmy Awards , and won for its art direction. This version featured far more cuts than the previous telecast, but, like nearly all stage versions produced since , used the sung recitatives and Gershwin's orchestrations. The telecast also included interviews with director Tazewell Thompson and was hosted by . Duncan and Brown also appeared on the CBS Gershwin memorial concert on September 8, , broadcast from the Hollywood Bowl less than two months after the composer's death, along with several other members of the Broadway cast, including John W. Bubbles and Ruby Elzy. They performed several selections from the opera. The complete Porgy and Bess has been broadcast by the Metropolitan Opera three times as part of the Met's live radio broadcast series. Bumbry was heard with Robert Mosley as Porgy. In , Estes and Leona Mitchell sang the leads in the third broadcast. Gershwin prepared an orchestral suite containing music from the opera after Porgy and Bess closed early on Broadway. In Robert Russell Bennett arranged a medley rather than a suite for orchestra which has often been heard in the concert hall, known as Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture. It is based on Gershwin's original scoring, though for a slightly different instrumentation the piano was removed from the orchestral texture at the request of the conductor Fritz Reiner , for whom the arrangement was made. Morton Gould also arranged an orchestral suite in the s. In , Australian-born composer Percy Grainger , who was an admirer, performer and arranger of Gershwin's music, completed a twenty-minute piece for two pianos titled Fantasy on George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess". Porgy and Bess contains many songs that have become popular in their own right, becoming standards in jazz and blues in addition to their original operatic setting. Numerous other musicians have recorded "Summertime" in varying styles, including both instrumental and vocal recordings; it may be even the most popular cover song in popular music. On July 14, , the United States Postal Service recognized the opera's cultural significance by issuing a commemorative cent postage stamp. In , Porgy and Bess was proclaimed the official opera of the state of South Carolina. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Porgy and Bess disambiguation. Opera by George Gershwin. Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. Main article: Porgy and Bess discography. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. September Learn how and when to remove this template message. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, Archived from the original on January 30, Ohio State University Libraries. Retrieved 18 May Retrieved February 4, The Metropolitan Opera. The Washington Post. BBC News. November 11, Retrieved August 13, Retrieved American Repertory Theater. August 10, The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 30, Retrieved November 18, Open in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess ". Retrieved September 2, Broadway World. Retrieved July 18, Charleston Magazine. Retrieved April 27, Princeton University Press. The Hollywood Reporter. The Rest Is Noise. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. September Stephen J. Porgy and Bess. Producer: David R. Recorded at No. Retrieved 21 May October 6, The Summertime Connection. Retrieved 3 September Library of Congress. Novel Play. George and Ira Gershwin musicals , and films. George Gershwin. Blue Monday Porgy and Bess Three Preludes French Ballet Class What Love Has Done to Me! Awards for Porgy and Bess. Tony Award for Best Revival. Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Opera portal. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. I would write "Summertime when" but that "and" sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like "My Man's Gone Now". It's the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. The choices of "ands" [and] "buts" become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric — or should, anyway — because each one weighs so much. Musicologist K. McElrath wrote of the song: [6]. Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use of the pentatonic scale C—D—E—G—A in the context of the A minor tonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a " blues ". Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles. While in his own description, Gershwin did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera, Summertime is often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual " Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child ", which ended the play version of Porgy. Statistics for the number of recordings of "Summertime" vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online. The Jazz Discography in listed 1, official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards. In September , a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching no. Big Brother and the Holding Company 's version featuring Janis Joplin on vocals has been highly praised. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aria from the opera Porgy and Bess. Retrieved Archived from the original on George Gershwin: His Life and Work. University of California Press. Gershwin summertime spiritual style. George Gershwin: A New Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Porgy and Bess - Wikipedia

Gareth Valentine provided the musical adaptation. Despite mostly positive reviews, [22] Nunn's production closed months early due to poor box office returns. Fagbenle as Sportin' Life, and Cornell S. John as Crown. Following Trevor Nunn's latest production of the work, the ART Porgy was the second production initiated by the Gershwin and Heyward estates to adapt the opera for the musical theatre stage. Again spoken dialogue, here written by Parks, replaced the opera's sung recitatives. Prior to the opening, Paulus, Parks and Murray made statements to the press about the production's primary goal being to "introduce the work to the next generation of theatergoers". The production began previews on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in December and officially opened on January 12, Early reviews of the show were positive to mixed. All praised McDonald's performance of Bess, but critics were divided on the success of the adaptation, staging and setting. Some praised the intimate scale of the drama and the believability of the performances; others found the staging to be unfocused and the settings to lack atmosphere. The production ran through September 23, The production was directed by Timothy Sheader , [34] and also used the book adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks , but used a new arrangement of the score by David Shrubsole. With the exception of the small speaking roles, all of the characters are black. The opera begins with a short introduction which segues into an evening in Catfish Row. Jasbo Brown entertains the community with his piano playing. Clara, a young mother, sings a lullaby to her baby " Summertime " as the working men prepare for a game of craps "Roll them Bones". One of the players, Robbins, scorns his wife Serena's demands that he not play, retorting that on a Saturday night, a man has the right to play. Clara's husband, the fisherman Jake, tries his own lullaby "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" with little effect. Little by little, other characters in the opera enter Catfish Row, among them Mingo, another fisherman, and Jim, a cotton-hauling stevedore who, tired of his job, decides to give it up and join Jake and the other fishermen. Porgy, a disabled beggar, enters on his goat cart to organize the game. Peter, an elderly "honey man" [honey vendor] returns, singing his vendor's call. Crown, a strong and brutal stevedore, storms in with his woman, Bess, and buys cheap whiskey and some " Happy Dust " off the local dope peddler, Sportin' Life. Bess is shunned by the women of the community, especially the pious Serena and the matriarchal cookshop owner Maria, but Porgy softly defends her. The game begins. One by one, the players get crapped out, leaving only Robbins and Crown, who has become extremely drunk. When Robbins wins, Crown attempts to prevent him from taking his winnings. A brawl ensues, which ends when Crown stabs Robbins with Jim's cotton hook, killing him. Crown runs, telling Bess to fend for herself but that he will be back for her when the heat dies down. Sportin' Life gives her a dose of happy dust and offers to take her with him when he goes to New York, but she rejects him. He flees, and Bess begins to pound on doors, but is rejected by all of the residents of Catfish Row, with the exception of Porgy, who lets her in. The mourners sing a spiritual to Robbins "Gone, Gone, Gone". To raise money for his burial, a saucer is placed on his chest for the mourners' donations "Overflow". Bess enters with Porgy and attempts to donate to the burial fund, but Serena rejects her money until Bess explains that she is now living with Porgy. A white detective enters and coldly tells Serena that she must bury her husband the next day, or his body will be given to medical students for dissection. He suddenly accuses Peter of Robbins's murder. Peter denies his guilt and says Crown was the murderer. The Detective orders Peter to be arrested as a material witness , whom he will force to testify against Crown. Serena laments her loss in " My Man's Gone Now ". The undertaker enters. The saucer holds only fifteen dollars of the needed twenty-five, but he agrees to bury Robbins as long as Serena promises to pay him back. Bess, who has been sitting in silence slightly apart from the rest of those gathered, suddenly begins to sing a gospel song and the chorus joyfully join in, welcoming her into the community. Jake and the other fishermen prepare for work "It take a long pull to get there". Clara asks Jake not to go because it is time for the annual storms, but he tells her that they desperately need the money. This causes Porgy to sing from his window about his new, happy-go-lucky outlook on life. Sportin' Life waltzes around selling "happy dust", but soon incurs the wrath of Maria, who threatens him. A fraudulent lawyer, Frazier, arrives and farcically divorces Bess from Crown. When he discovers Bess and Crown were not married, he raises his price from a dollar to a dollar and a half. Archdale, a white lawyer, enters and informs Porgy that Peter will soon be released. The bad omen of a buzzard flies over Catfish Row and Porgy demands that it leave now that he finally has found happiness. He attempts to give her some "happy dust" despite her claims that she's given up drugs, but Porgy grabs his arm and scares him off. Sportin' Life leaves, reminding Bess as he goes that her men friends come and go, but he will be there all along. The chorus re-enters in high spirits as they prepare to leave for the picnic "Oh, I can't sit down". Bess is invited to the picnic by Maria, but she demurs as Porgy cannot come due to his disability, he cannot get on the boat , but Maria insists. Bess leaves Porgy behind as they go off to the picnic. Porgy watches the boat leave "I got plenty o' nuttin" reprise. The chorus enjoys themselves at the picnic "I ain't got no shame". Sportin' Life presents the chorus his cynical views on the Bible " It Ain't Necessarily So " , causing Serena to chastise them "Shame on all you sinners! Everyone gets ready to leave. As Bess, who has lagged behind, tries to follow them, Crown emerges from the bushes. He reminds her that Porgy is "temporary" and laughs off her claims that she has been living decently now. Bess wants to leave Crown forever and attempts to make him forget about her "Oh, what you want wid Bess? He grabs her and will not let her go to the boat, which leaves without her, and then forcefully kisses her. He laughs at his conquest as her resistance begins to fail, and commands her to get into the woods, where his intentions are only too clear. A week later, Jake leaves to go fishing with his crew, one of whom observes that it looks as if a storm is coming in. Peter, still unsure of his crime, returns from prison. Meanwhile, Bess is lying in Porgy's room delirious with fever, which she has had ever since returning from Kittiwah Island. Serena prays to remove Bess's affliction "Oh, Doctor Jesus" , and promises Porgy that Bess will be well by five o'clock. As the day passes, a strawberry woman, Peter the Honey Man and a crab man each pass by with their wares "Vendors' Trio". As the clock chimes five, Bess recovers from her fever. Porgy tells Bess that he knows she has been with Crown, and she admits that Crown has promised to return for her. Porgy tells her she is free to go if she wants to, and she tells him that although she wants to stay, she is afraid of Crown's hold on her. Porgy asks her what would happen if there was no Crown, and Bess tells Porgy she loves him and begs him to protect her. Porgy promises that she will never have to be afraid again " I Loves You, Porgy ". Clara watches the water, fearful for Jake. Maria tries to allay her fears, but suddenly the hurricane bell begins to ring. The residents of Catfish Row are all gathered in Serena's room for shelter from the hurricane. They drown out the sound of the storm with prayers and hymns "Oh, Doctor Jesus" while Sportin' Life mocks their assumption that the storm is a signal of Judgment Day. Clara desperately sings her lullaby "Summertime" [reprise]. A knock is heard at the door, and the chorus believes it to be Death "Oh there's somebody knocking at the door". Crown enters dramatically, having swum from Kittiwah Island, seeking Bess. He shows no fear of God, claiming that after the long struggle from Kittiwah, God and he are friends. The chorus tries to drown out his blaspheming with more prayer, and he taunts them by singing a vulgar song. Suddenly, Clara sees Jake's boat float past the window, upside-down, and she runs out to try to save him, handing her baby to Bess. Bess asks that one of the men go out with her, and Crown taunts Porgy, who cannot go. Crown goes himself, yelling out as he leaves "Alright, Big Friend! We're on for another Bout! A group of women mourn Clara, Jake, and all of those who have been killed in the storm "Clara, Clara, don't you be downhearted". When they begin to mourn for Crown as well, Sportin' Life laughs at them and is told off by Maria. He insinuates that Crown may not be dead, and observes that when a woman has a man, maybe she's got him for keeps, but if she has two men, then it's highly likely she'll end up with none. Bess is heard singing Clara's lullaby to her baby, whom she is now taking care of. A fight ensues that ends when Porgy kills Crown. Porgy exclaims to Bess, "You've got a man now. You've got Porgy! The detective enters and talks with Serena and her friends about the murders of Crown and Robbins. They deny knowledge of Crown's murder, frustrating the detective. Needing a witness for the coroner's inquest, he next questions an apprehensive Porgy. Once Porgy admits to knowing Crown, he is ordered to come and identify Crown's body. Sportin' Life tells Porgy that corpses bleed in the presence of their murderers, and the detective will use this to hang Porgy. Porgy refuses to identify the body, but is dragged off anyway. Bess is distraught, and Sportin' Life puts his plan into action. He tells her that Porgy will be locked up for a long time, and points out that he is the only one still here. He offers her happy dust, and though she refuses, he forces it on her. After she takes a whiff, he paints a seductive picture of her life with him in New York "There's a boat dat's leavin' soon for New York". She regains her strength and rushes inside, slamming the door on his face, but he leaves a packet of happy dust on her doorstep, and settles down to wait. On a beautiful morning, Porgy is released from jail, where he has been arrested for contempt of court after refusing to look at Crown's body. He returns to Catfish Row much richer after playing craps with his cellmates. He gives gifts to the residents, and pulls out a beautiful red dress for Bess. He does not understand why everyone seems so uneasy at his return. He sees Clara's baby is now with Serena and realizes something is wrong. He asks where Bess is. Porgy calls for his goat cart, and resolves to leave Catfish Row to find her. He prays for strength, and begins his journey. From the outset, the opera's depiction of African Americans attracted controversy. Virgil Thomson , a white American composer, stated that "Folklore subjects recounted by an outsider are only valid as long as the folk in question is unable to speak for itself, which is certainly not true of the American Negro in Ellington publicly repudiated the article shortly after its publication. His telegram to the producer read: "Your Porgy and Bess the superbest, singing the gonest, acting the craziest, Gershwin the greatest. A planned production by the Negro Repertory Company of Seattle in the late s, part of the Federal Theatre Project , was cancelled because actors were displeased with what they viewed as a racist portrayal of aspects of African-American life. The director initially envisioned that they would perform the play in a " Negro dialect. Florence James attempted a compromise of dropping the use of dialect but the production was canceled. Another production of Porgy and Bess , this time at the University of Minnesota in , ran into similar troubles. According to Barbara Cyrus, one of the few black students then at the university, members of the local African-American community saw the play as "detrimental to the race" and as a vehicle that promoted racist stereotypes. The play was cancelled due to pressure from the African-American community, which saw their success as proof of the increasing political power of blacks in Minneapolis—Saint Paul. The belief that Porgy and Bess was racist gained strength during the civil rights movement and Black Power movement of the s, s and s. As these movements advanced, Porgy and Bess was seen as more and more out of date. When the play was revived in the s, social critic and African-American educator Harold Cruse called it, "The most incongruous, contradictory cultural symbol ever created in the Western World. In the Houston Opera production, the director, Sherwin Goldman, had trouble finding interested performers. Goldman, a white Texas native and a graduate of Yale and Oxford Universities, recalled, "I was auditioning singers all around the country, I guess thirty cities in all, from theater groups to church choirs, but was having a hard time finding directors I don't think there was a single black person, of those who had never been associated with Porgy, who didn't seriously bad-mouth it. Gershwin's all-black opera was also unpopular with some celebrated black artists. Harry Belafonte declined to play Porgy in the late s film version, so the role went to Sidney Poitier. Betty Allen, president of The Harlem School of the Arts , admittedly loathed the piece, and , who excelled in the Metropolitan Opera production as Bess, made the often cited statement:. I thought it beneath me, I felt I had worked far too hard, that we had come far too far to have to retrogress to My way of dealing with it was to see that it was really a piece of Americana , of American history, whether we liked it or not. Whether I sing it or not, it was still going to be there. Over time, however, the opera gained acceptance from the opera community and some though not all [46] in the African-American community. Maurice Peress stated in that " Porgy and Bess belongs as much to the black singer-actors who bring it to life as it does to the Heywards and the Gershwins. That Gershwin sought to write a true jazz opera, and that he believed that Metropolitan Opera staff singers could never master the jazz idiom, which could instead only be sung by a black cast, seems to indicate he did not intend the work to belittle African-Americans. Some black singers were overjoyed at Gershwin's work, going so far as to describe him as the "Abraham Lincoln of Negro music". Gershwin wrote Porgy through an idiom of jazz that was influenced by Western European opera traditions, African-American music, and Russian-Jewish music. During the era of apartheid in South Africa , several South African theatre companies planned to put on all-white productions of Porgy and Bess. Ira Gershwin , as heir to his brother, consistently refused to permit these productions to be staged. Most of the cast were black South Africans; American singers involved in the production have found the "passionate identification with the opera" by the South African singers "a wake-up call". They're not thinking that you can still find places where this is real. And if we're not careful we could be right back there. While the opera was presented in the context of the Syrian migrant crisis moved from Catfish Row to an airport , the controversy of recasting continued. While the Hungarian State Opera, in discussions with the Tams-Witmark Music Library originally agreed to the casting requirements, it ultimately declined to do so when the wording was not included in the written contract. This production galvanized conservative commentators who lauded it as a success over "political correctness". Ultimately, Tams-Witmark required the Hungarian State Opera to include in its printed material that this production "is contrary to the requirements for the presentation of this work". He drew inspiration from the James Island Gullah community, which he felt had preserved some African musical traditions. This research added to the authenticity of his work. The music itself reflects his New York jazz roots, but also draws on southern black traditions. Gershwin modeled the pieces after each type of folk song which the composer knew about; jubilees, blues , praying songs, street cries, work songs, and spirituals are blended with traditional arias and recitatives. The most fundamental influences on the composition and orchestrations in evidence throughout Porgy and Bess , aside from those of American Jazz and Black religious music, are the European composers whose music Gershwin studied and absorbed during his tutelage with the likes of Edward Kilenyi , Rubin Goldmark , Charles Hambitzer , and Henry Cowell. Some commenters have believed they heard simililarities to melodies heard in Jewish liturgical music in Gershwin's opera. Gershwin biographer Edward Jablonski heard a similarity between the melody of "It Ain't Necessarily So" and the Haftarah blessing , [55] while others hear similarities with Torah blessing. The score makes use of a series of leitmotifs. Many of these represent individual characters: some of these are fragments of the opera's set numbers Sportin' Life, for example, is frequently represented by the melody which sets the title words of "It Ain't Necessarily So". Other motifs represent objects such as the sleazy chromatic "Happy Dust" motif or places, notably Catfish Row. Many of the through-composed passages of the score combine or develop these leitmotifs in order to reflect the on-stage action. Particularly sophisticated uses of this techniques can be seen after the aria "There's a boat dat's leaving soon for New York" in act 3, scene 2. The opera also frequently reprises its set numbers these might be considered extended Leitsektionen. Notable in this respect are the reprises of "Bess, you is my woman now" and "I got plenty o' nuttin' " which conclude act 2, scene 1. The song " Summertime " is stated four times alone. The work is scored for two flutes second doubling piccolo , two oboes second doubling English horn , three clarinets in B-flat second and third doubling alto saxophones , one bass clarinet in B-flat doubling fourth clarinet and tenor saxophone , one bassoon ; three French horns in F, three trumpets in B-flat, one trombone , one bass trombone , one tuba ; a percussion section that includes timpani , xylophone , triangle , glockenspiel , suspended and crash cymbals , snare drum , tom-toms , bass drum , African drums, an unspecified small drum, tubular bells , wood block , temple blocks , cowbell, sandpaper and train whistle ; one piano ; and strings. The and recordings of the opera won Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording , making Porgy and Bess the only opera to win this award over two consecutive years. Days after the Broadway premiere of Porgy and Bess with an all-black cast, two white opera singers, Lawrence Tibbett and Helen Jepson , both members of the Metropolitan Opera , recorded highlights of the opera in a New York sound studio, [60] released as Highlights from Porgy and Bess. Members of the original cast were not recorded until , when Todd Duncan and Anne Brown recorded selections from the work. Two years later, when the first Broadway revival occurred, American Decca rushed other members of the cast into the recording studio to record other selections not recorded in Although members of the jazz community initially felt that a Jewish piano player and a white novelist could not adequately convey the plight of blacks in a s Charleston ghetto, jazz musicians warmed up more to the opera after twenty years, and more jazz- based recordings of it began to appear. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald recorded an album in in which they sang and scatted Gershwin's tunes. The next year, Miles Davis recorded what some consider a seminal interpretation of the opera arranged for big band. In , Columbia Masterworks Records released a soundtrack album of Samuel Goldwyn's film version of Porgy and Bess , which had been made that year. It was not a complete version of the opera, nor was it even a complete version of the film soundtrack, which featured more music than could be contained on a single LP. The album remained in print until the early s, when it was withdrawn from stores at the request of the Gershwin estate. It is the first stereo album of music from Porgy and Bess with an all-black cast. However, according to the album liner notes , Sammy Davis Jr. Cab Calloway substituted his own vocals of Sportin' Life's songs. None of the other singers from that production appeared on that album, but John W. Bubbles , the original Sportin' Life, substituted for Cab Calloway who had played Sportin' Life onstage in the production. The album was arranged and conducted by Frank De Vol. It was jazz-based with full orchestrations, but the orchestrations used were not Gershwin's. Rouben Mamoulian, who had directed the Broadway premiere, was hired to direct the film, but was subsequently fired in favor of director Otto Preminger after a disagreement with the producer. Mamoulian urged making the film on location in South Carolina after a fire on the sound stage destroyed the film's sets. Goldwyn, who never liked making films on location, considered Mamoulian's request a sign of disloyalty. Although Dandridge and Carroll were singers, their voices were not considered operatic enough. Writing of the opening line, he says. That "and" is worth a great deal of attention. I would write "Summertime when" but that "and" sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like "My Man's Gone Now". It's the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. The choices of "ands" [and] "buts" become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric — or should, anyway — because each one weighs so much. Musicologist K. McElrath wrote of the song: [6]. Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use of the pentatonic scale C—D—E—G—A in the context of the A minor tonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a " blues ". Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles. While in his own description, Gershwin did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera, Summertime is often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual " Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child ", which ended the play version of Porgy. Statistics for the number of recordings of "Summertime" vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online. The Jazz Discography in listed 1, official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards. In September , a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching no. Big Brother and the Holding Company 's version featuring Janis Joplin on vocals has been highly praised. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aria from the opera Porgy and Bess. Retrieved Archived from the original on George Gershwin: His Life and Work. University of California Press. Gershwin summertime spiritual style. George Gershwin: A New Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. Floyd Jr. New York: Westport. Penguin Books USA. The author displays the three songs aligned to each other. Princeton University Press. Retrieved 23 June The New York Times. Guinness World Records. Top Pop Singles — 1st ed.

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