George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess celebrated its 75th anniversary with nearly as much controversy as when it premiered in 1935.
creator
Jones, Randye L. (Faculty/Staff)
Title
Surveying Current Perspectives of Porgy and Bess
supporting host
Grinnell College. Libraries
Index Date
2011
Date (Other)
2011-10
Publisher
Grinnell College
Genre
Essays
Digital Origin
born digital
Extent
40 pages
Media Type
application/pdf
description
George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess celebrated its 75th anniversary with nearly as much controversy as when it premiered in 1935. While the opera is known for sparking the professional careers of many African American vocalists, its storyline has been thought to portray African Americans negatively. Secondly, despite the unquestioned musical quality of Porgy and Bess, companies, directors, and critics continue to debate whether to treat it as an opera, a musical, or a hybrid of the two. Furthermore, singing roles in staged productions of the opera, at least in the United States. are restricted to Black vocalists, challenging companies that would have to import enough Blacks to fill the opera's solo and choral parts.
citation/reference
Jones, Randye L. "Surveying Current Perspectives of Porgy and Bess" IMSLP Journal, October 2011
Language
English
Topic
Colorblind casting (Performing arts)
Topic
Porgy and Bess
Topic
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Topic
Musical theater
Topic
African Americans in musical theater
Geographic
United States
Temporal
21st century
Classification
M
Related Item
Faculty Scholarship
Related Item
Scholarship at Grinnell
Related Item
Digital Grinnell
Identifier (hdl)
http://hdl.handle.net/11084/230
Identifier (local)
grinnell:230
Access Condition
Copyright to this work is held by the author(s), in accordance with United States copyright law (USC 17). Readers of this work have certain rights as defined by the law, including but not limited to fair use (17 USC 107 et seq.).
