Four Hours That Felt Like Two

Today I met two friends to watch the Opera of Porgy and Bess at the AMC Theater in Westminster. The opera is from a novel by DuBose Heyward written in 1925. The opera, by George Gershwin came out, with an all negro cast, in 1935. The only two songs I recognized were Summer Time and I Got Plenty of Nothing. Most of the story is sung by terrific voices with few speaking parts.

Porgy is a cripple who falls in love with Bess but she is with a gangster type named Crown. Sportin' Life, is a drug dealer and tempts Bess. In the first act, Crown kills a man and goes into hiding. Bess and Porgy become friends but on a picnic to an island, Crown shows up and makes Bess stay with him. When she returns Porgy tells her he will take care of her. She warns him that Crown will come for her and Porgy tells her he will protect her.

When Crown arrives, there is a fight between the handicapped Porgy and Crown but Porgy ends up killing Crown. When Porgy is taken away to identify the body, Sportin' Life tells Bess that Porgy will never return, gives her some drugs and she goes off with Sportin' Life to New York. When Porgy returns, he is broken hearted and the ending comes with Porgy going to look for Bess. We never know if he finds her!

The amazing set is huge and it turns slowly around to change the scene. The translucent curtain helps to set the different moods. The opera is four hours long yet it felt like two. A lot of action, dancing and singing kept my attention throughout the whole opera. The words scrolling along the bottom of the screen helped me keep track of what everyone was singing!

I looked to see who played in previous Porgy and Bess Operas and Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, and
Sidney Poitier were the only names I recognized. I had seen the movie many years ago and was surprised how much of the story I had forgotten. It seems to me that what I saw in the past was a movie with some singing and not like an opera.

The Metropolitan Opera is on the screen with the inside of the huge theater filled by viewers and we were an extension of those persons sitting at the actual opera house.

 Porgy and Bess taking a bow.

"Summer time and the livin' is easy

fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.

Your daddy's rich

and your mama's good-looking

so hush little baby,

don't you cry."
George Gershwin