Continue the journey…
We suggest five works to explore after Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess
The succession of memorable tunes in Porgy and Bess – ‘Summertime’, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ and all – make it ripe for turning into a concert suite, not least Gershwin’s own Catfish Row. Some clunk along disjointedly, but among the more successful in keeping the opera’s spirit and sense of flow is the Fantasy on Porgy and Bess for violin and orchestra by film composer Alexander Courage (Joshua Bell (violin); LSO/JOHN Williams Sony G0100009115651).
And what about Gershwin’s other stage works? These include the 1926 musical Oh, Kay!, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Set on Long Island during the prohibition era, its plot is splendidly dotty – including swapped brides and pirates pretending to be tax officers – but with songs that include ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, it’s an enjoyable ride. (Barbara Ruick (Kay) et al; Oh, Kay! Orchestra/lehman Engel Masterworks Broadway G010001609649X).
William Grant Still (right) composed A Bayou Legend in 1941, just six years after Porgy and Bess, but it didn’t receive its premiere performance until 1974 and was then filmed for television soon after. Set in a Creole village in the Mississippi delta, the opera tells of the revenge taken by the beautiful but bitter Clothilde when her affection for the equally eye-catching Bazile is not reciprocated. (Gary Burgess (Bazile), Rachaelle Potter (Clothilde) et al; Opera South/leonard De Paur Youtube).
Pre-dating Porgy by over 20 years is Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, which has
enjoyed something A Bayou of a revival of late. Incorporating elements of African-american folk and spirituals with in a traditional framework, its title character is a former Texas slave who seeks to free those around her from the pernicious influence of local conjurers. (Anita Johnson (Treemonisha) et al; Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers/ Rick Benjamin New World NW80720).
And, finally, from the current century is Nkeiru Okoye’s 2014 opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom, whose two acts tell of its real-life title character’s early existence as a slave and then, after her escape, her later work as an important abolitionist. (Janinah Burnett (Harriet) et al; American Opera Project Youtube).
Grant Still’s 1941
Legend didn’t receive its premiere until 1974