George Gershwin's music to the "American Folk Opera" Porgy & Bess is a melding of blues, jazz, classical, gospel, and folk music. Set in fictitious 1920s "Catfish Row" of Charleston, South Carolina, the opera tells the story of Porgy, a crippled black man and his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her pimp, and Sportin' Life, the drug dealer. It is based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward and a subsequent play adaptation by his wife, Dorothy Heyward. Both of the Heywards and George's brother, Ira, collaborated with George on the creation of the opera. The Lyric Opera of Chicago is currently presenting the opera and is seeing strong demand. An additional performance has been added which I am planning to attend next week.
Familiar songs from the show include: Summertime; A Woman is a Sometime Thing; I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'; It Ain't Necessarily So; Bess, You is my Woman Now; and Oh Lawd, I'm on my Way.
If you want to hear more check out these youtube clips from a filmed version: one, two, three.
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