RISE UP SINGING:
THE RESURRECTION OF CATFISH ROW
By Lynell George When Porgy and Bess premiered on a New York stage in 1935, no one could have predicted its reach, not its indelible impact on the American psyche nor its persistently shifting position within popular culture. Grand and unprecedented, the production clocked in at a little over three hours, featured an all-black cast in its singing roles, and showcased a textured, richly atmospheric George Gershwin score that seamlessly incorporated elements of blues and jazz and spirituals into a classic operatic structure. Ground-breaking on every level, the production closed after 124 performances, good for opera, but not for Broadway. Gershwin was not simply penning an adventurous score, but recasting the possibilities for American theatre. Although his hopes were high, much attention was given over to qualifying just what the production was: Gershwin preferred the idea of a Broadway run rather than an opera-hall setting; the term “opera” itself was strategically finessed, embroidered into a more homespun vernacular, “folk opera.” The completed piece represented what he considered to be his most ambitious work, but George Gershwin did not live to see the work fully understood or warmly embraced. After his death in 1937, Porgy and Bess would go on to be produced internationally, in scores of memorable versions on stage and screen. It would take 40 years for it to be considered a legitimate opera, first performed in 1976 in a Houston Grand Opera production and finally making its way to The Metropolitan Opera a decade later. Nathaniel Stampley, photos by mchael j. lutch.
P 6 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE