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Porgy and Bess:From Novel to Play to Opera

Name: <em>Porgy and Bess:</em>From Novel to Play to Opera
Start: 2021-03-19T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2021-03-19T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Streamed Online

Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm

Free

Presented by Keith Cushman,

Professor Emeritus, UNCG Department of English

The Greensboro and Triad arts and humanities community has been hit hard with the cancellation of live performances and other events. Thanks to a North Carolina Humanities Council Relief Grant, Greensboro Opera brought our community together in a virtual, immersive experience focusing on the evolution of the Gershwins’ beloved Porgy and Bess from novel to play to opera.

On three evenings in February and March 2021, Greensboro Opera presented this series in celebration of Black History Month and in anticipation of its fully staged production of Porgy and Bess, scheduled to be staged at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro on January 21 and 23, 2022.

#1:

The Novel Porgy (1925) by DuBose Heyward

This best-seller by a South Carolina writer became the source for the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Porgy is notable for its powerful depiction of the Catfish Row community and its introduction of the tragic love story of Porgy and Bess. George Gershwin read the novel and decided that he wanted to make it the basis for an opera.

#2:

The Play Porgy (1927) by Dubose and Dorothy Heyward

The Heywards adapted Porgy into a stage play. The play, not the novel, provided the basic plot and structure for Porgy and Bess. Porgy ran for 207 performances in New York and then went on an extensive road tour.

#3:

The Opera Porgy and Bess (1935) with Music by George Gershwin and Lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

Porgy and Bess is universally acclaimed as the great American opera. It is filled with such well known songs as “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Over the decades Porgy and Bess has provided classically trained Black singers the opportunity to perform and launch their careers.