Opera "Porgy and Bess" Porgy and Bess The terrible disease Bess

The work, which was included in the top ten best musical creations of the twentieth century, was written based on the novel “Porgy”. The libretto, created in 1934, began to gain fame only in the 50s.

The problem of black life in society is very well revealed by the authors of the original source. Poor African Americans living in terrible conditions are represented by one of the main characters, Porgy, who is also a cripple. His image was taken from a real black man, left without legs, whom the author saw every day while getting to his workplace.

History of creation

George Gershwin, the opera's creator, was deeply impressed after reading Hayward's novel Porgy. Poetic images transferred him to the pages of the book, bringing the characters to life and forming melodic sounds in his head.

Then, without further hesitation, George sends the author of the novel a letter in which he describes his intention to create an opera based on the plot of his book. Hayward approves of his idea and soon they have a meeting. However, the opera was published only after 11 years.

The premiere was a great success: the applause did not stop, the audience was delighted. All Boston critics praised the composer with admiration and his ability to convey all the drama through music. Subsequently, the opera was called folk, a real American sensation. Now it is being played on the Broadway stage.

The main characters of the musical drama

The heroes of the melodrama are very good and kind people, despite all the suffering in their lives. Therefore, feelings of compassion and understanding are exactly what the audience feels while watching the opera “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin.

baritone and lyric baritone - beggar Porgy, longshoreman in the port of Crown, lawyer, owner of a funeral service, longshoreman Robbins (resident of the town of Catfish Row), fisherman Jake;
soprano, mezzo-soprano, dramatic soprano - young black woman Bess, wife of the honey seller Lily, wife of the loader Sirin, neighbor of the young black woman Maria, fisherman's wife Clara, seller of ripe strawberries;
tenor - drug dealer Sporting Life, honey seller Peter.

The secondary characters of the African-American neighborhood are Mingo, Jean, Annie, as well as a policeman, detectives, an investigator, a crab seller and local children.

Summary of the opera "Porgy and Bess": act one

The first picture shows the cozy and measured life of an unprepossessing and poor black quarter. It's warm summer weather outside.

And then the evening comes, when the entire population of the block gathers in the local vacant lot next to their houses and relaxes with conversations after a working day.

Men's favorite pastime is playing dice. Robbins, a local longshoreman, joins the game to the disapproval of his wife Sirina. Later, the lanky Porgy rolls up to them in a special wheelchair for the disabled. In the background there is a sweet song of the black woman Clara, rocking her boy, the son of a fisherman.

At the same time, Crown, who has found bad fame and works as a loader in the local port, goes for a walk with his young girlfriend Bess.

Joining the dice game is a Harlem drug dealer with the strange nickname Sporting Life. He purchased a shipment of cocaine in New York and came to the South American town to sell it. He was attracted by Bess's beauty, so after a commotion that occurred in a vacant lot, he invites her to run away with him to New York. But the girl refuses the merchant and tries to hide from the police, who arrived in response to the noise and deadly fight between Crown and the loader Robbins. The brawl arose amid an argument during a game of dice.

Bess's lover flees the crime scene, and the crippled Porgy unexpectedly comes to the rescue. And all because he has long-standing warm feelings for a young black woman.

Black night

A dark, impenetrable night falls over the city in the second scene of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

At this moment, a detective crawls out of nowhere. He speaks very rudely to the grief-stricken wife of the loader and reports that the funeral should take place as soon as possible, literally the very next day. After which he begins a search for eyewitnesses of what happened among the local residents. Peter, a honey seller, becomes the main witness. The detective takes him away with him.

Sirina continues her sad song, but now it is intensified due to the insufficient amount of money collected. Hearing this, the owner of the funeral home comes to the rescue. He takes upon himself the responsibility to bury her husband, even though the burial will bring a loss to his business.

The action of Gershwin's third film "Porgy and Bess", a brief summary of which tells about the life of the quarter, takes the viewer several weeks ahead after the murder of Robbins.

The life of the main character Porgy changed dramatically after Bess came to his shack. Blue eyes, a radiant smile, gentle hands and lively songs made a truly happy person out of a disabled person. Now there is no shadow of gloom and gloom on his face. The new life became his personal paradise. He cracks jokes with the fishermen and tells them parting words for a successful catch.

On this cheerful note, a drug dealer appears. While flirting with Bess, he encounters Porgy's unambiguous unkind glance. Residents invite a young black woman to participate in the annual picnic organized by the church community. Porgy, wanting to please her beloved, lets Bess go to a small green island.

Summary of the plot of the opera "Porgy and Bess": act two

In the fourth scene, the action takes place at a picnic. The island, where parishioners from different parts of Catfish Row came, turned into a joyful celebration. The picnic was clearly a success; people in colorful outfits were absorbed in the joyful day.

The unexpected appearance of the drunk Storing Life brings discord to the group of people walking. The drug dealer speaks complete nonsense, ridicules church parables and rituals, mocks those around him, making vulgar jokes.

Finally the day ends, the captain of the ship gives a signal to gather everyone at the pier. And while Bess is heading towards the water, her former lover Crown suddenly jumps out of the bushes. She has long forgotten about his existence and demands that he leave her alone. But the arrogant and daring loader forcibly leads her along.

Bess's terrible disease

In his shack, his beloved black woman is struggling with fever. Porgy is unhappy, and only the stevedore's widow, Sirina, tries in every possible way to console him. She prays and hopes for God's will.

Finally, the words addressed to heaven were heard, and Bess opens her eyes. She shares her fears about the mover Krone and believes that he will come back for her. Sirina and the disabled Porgy are trying to calm the sick girl, but at this time the bells are ringing from the church. This means a terrible storm is approaching. Porgy's house is covered in darkness.

Thirst for murder

Taking advantage of the temporary lull, Clara, the fisherman's wife and neighbor of the crippled man, sees her husband's boat in the window. In horror, she runs out into the street, and Krone runs after her.

The action moves into the seventh scene. A black night fell in the quarter, the bad weather gradually subsided. Only the beloved Porgy and Bess with Clara's child in their bosom are awake. A drug dealer conveniently running next to their window says that Krone is coming after them. And a moment later a loader appears at their door, a knife in his hands, and a thirst for revenge in his eyes. However, having surpassed all his capabilities, the crippled Porgy uses Krone's knife against him. He hits him in the chest to death.

Sad news

The eighth and ninth scenes complete the libretto of Porgy and Bess. Summary of the eighth part: a gloomy morning, after a raging disaster, residents of the black area hastily begin work to hide the traces of the bloody massacre of the loader. And despite the fact that the police have already found out something about the night's incident, residents are in no hurry to become witnesses for them.

All the houses of African Americans are closed to police officers, and those who meet on the street unanimously refuse to talk about the night's bloody incident. Then the investigator pretends to be Porgy's friend and uses cunning to find his house. He leads the killer to identify his victim.

The drug dealer is right there, his sympathy for Bess has not passed, and he brazenly informs her that her sweetheart will not return to their house. Sporting Life's lies about Porgy's imprisonment send Bess into a deep depression; completely distraught with her grief, she finally agrees to leave with the drug dealer for New York.

The final picture reveals a terrible secret to Porgy, who has returned after a week's absence. Instead of his beloved, to whom he brought a gift, the cripple encounters an empty shack and neighbors' stories that Bess no longer lives here.

But the disabled black man Porgy is not ready to put up with what is happening so easily. He gets back into his carriage, collects some belongings and sets off on a long journey to look for his Bess. He is full of confidence that he will definitely find his beloved, because love itself paves the way for him. At the end of the opera the words “Lord, I’m going to the Heavenly Country” are heard.

"Porgy and Bess" is not only the first national opera in US history, but also belongs to the ten best musical works of the 20th century.

The libretto, written by Gershwin's older brother Ira in collaboration with DuBose Hayward, was based on the novel, which was quite popular at the time Dubose and Dorothy Hayward - "Porgy".

The authors of the original source vividly and truthfully depicted the life of poor African Americans living in the squalid shacks of Catfish Row. Hayward copied the image of the crippled Porgy from a beggar, legless African American, whom he often met on the way to work, when he drove around the streets in a cart pulled by a goat. Residents of Charleston knew the unfortunate man under the nickname Sammy the Goat.

The main characters of the book are kind, good people who, however, are doomed to suffer in the modern world. This deeply humanistic work appealed to sympathy and understanding, evoking compassion for the fate of the heroes among readers.

Hayward's novel amazed George Gershwin from the first pages. He immediately felt the amazing power of poetic images. Involuntarily, melodies on the theme “Porgy” began to appear in the composer’s head.

Without hesitation, Gershwin wrote Hayward a letter in which he announced his intention to compose an opera based on his plot. The writer approved this idea.

A week later they met to personally discuss the future opera. The idea captured the artists, but the heavy workload of both prevented them from immediately getting to work.

The described meeting took place in 1926, and only in 1935 the audience heard the opera “Porgy and Bess”.

The public received the new opera with even greater enthusiasm than Gershwin's previous works. Applause thundered for a quarter of an hour, and enthusiastic exclamations did not cease. All Boston critics, without exception, admired the composer's dramatic and melodic gift, and Elinor Hughes called Porgy and Bess a folk opera.

“Here, finally, is the first real and completely American opera,” the critics summed up.

From the very beginning of its triumphant march through the opera stages of America - first in Boston, then on Broadway - it has invariably remained in the modern opera repertoire.

PORGS AND THE BESS

Musical drama in two acts (nine scenes)

Libretto by Du-Bose Hayward and Ira Gershwin

based on the play by Du-Bose and Dorothy Hayward

Characters

Porgy, beggar................................................... ........................................................ ....baritone

Bess, a young black woman.................................................. ....................................soprano

Crown, longshoreman.................................................... ......................................baritone

Sporting Life, drug dealer.................................................... .......................tenor

Inhabitants of Catfish Row:

Robbins, loader................................................... .................................................baritone

Sirina, his wife................................................... ............................dramatic soprano

Peter, honey seller......................................................... ..............................................tenor

Lily, his wife................................................... ........................................................ ...soprano

Maria, Porgy's neighbor.................................................... ...................................mezzo-soprano

Frazier, lawyer................................................... ........................................... baritone

Jake, fisherman................................................... .................................... lyric baritone

Clara, his wife................................................... ........................................................ .soprano

Owner of the funeral supplies bureau ............................................baritone

Nelson................................................. ........................................................ ...........baritone

Trader of ripe strawberries.................................................... ..................................soprano

Mingo, Annie, Jim and other inhabitants of the black quarter, detectives, an investigator, a policeman, a crab merchant, children.

The action takes place in Catfish Row, a poor black neighborhood of one of the southern cities of the United States.

Summary

Act one.

Picture one. Catfish Row is a poor black neighborhood in one of the southern cities of the United States. A warm summer evening descended on squat buildings, gray unprepossessing houses, narrow streets and dead ends. A quiet song comes from somewhere. Clara, a poor black woman who lives with her fisherman husband in one of the nearby houses, lulls her little son to sleep.

Gradually, residents of the neighborhood gather in the vacant lot in front of the houses, returning after a hard day of work. Every evening they practice their favorite pastime here - playing dice. Loader Robbins appears with his wife Sirina. Ignoring his wife's protests, he immediately enters the game. The crippled beggar Porgy, moving on a disabled person’s cart, also gets out of his wretched home. He also wants to try his luck in the game.

Longshoreman Crowe comes to the wasteland. Bad fame accompanies this man. If rumors are to be believed, many unclean deeds lie on his conscience. This time, Krone is not alone. He is accompanied by his beloved, the beautiful Bess. Like her companion, the young black woman also enjoys a bad reputation in Catfish Row...

Also included in the game is a sneaky drug dealer, whom everyone here knows as Sporting Life from Harlem. And now he has come from New York to profitably sell a shipment of cocaine. While playing, he glances at Bess every now and then.

Gradually, the passions of the players flare up. Some people think that their partner played dishonestly. A fight breaks out. Crown, driven to a frenzy by Sporgang Life drinks, deals a fatal blow to Robbins. In the blink of an eye, not a single one of the players is caught in the vacant lot. Only the sharp trills of police whistles fill the streets of the black quarter. Taking advantage of the turmoil, Krone, hastily saying goodbye to Bess, disappears.

Left alone, Bess tries to hide, but the inhabitants of the nearby houses slam the doors in front of her in fear. Taking advantage of the girl’s confusion, Sportiag Life persuades Bess to run away with him to New York. A young black woman rejects the vile proposal... The police whistles are getting closer and closer. Another minute - and Bess will fall into their hands. But at the last moment Porgy appears on his cart. He cannot leave in trouble the one whom he has long and passionately loved. Together with him, Bess hides in the wretched home of a cripple.

Picture two. Black night falls on the block. The lingering howl of Sirina, wailing over the body of the murdered Robbins, chills the blood in the veins. One by one the neighbors come up. They throw money, sweat and blood-earned coppers into a bowl standing on the ground, otherwise poor Sirina will have nothing to bury her husband with. Those who come pick up the funeral cry of a grief-stricken black woman - the singing becomes louder and louder. A detective appears from somewhere. He rudely warns Syarina not to delay the funeral - let it take place tomorrow. Then he begins to interrogate eyewitnesses to the murder. As the main witness, he detains the good-natured honey seller Dieter and forces him to follow him. And the labor coins of the poor keep falling and falling into the bowl with a dull clink. But there is not enough money even for the most modest funeral. The owner of the funeral supplies store helps out, who, having mercy, agrees to arrange Robbins’ funeral, even at the expense of his own pocket.

Picture three. Several weeks have passed. Much has changed during this time in Porgy's life. True human happiness came to him. Now the miserable home in which Porgy huddles with his beloved seems like paradise to him. None of the neighbors recognize the good-natured, merry fellow as the gloomy and gloomy disabled person...

Fishermen are preparing to go to sea. Porgy wishes them happy fishing and jokes with his friends. Life seems cloudless to him, And it doesn’t matter that he is still poor: as long as Bess is next to him - her eyes, deep as the sky, her smile, caresses, songs - nothing in the world bothers him!

Sporting Life appears on the street. He tries to flirt with Bess, but frightened by Porgy's menacing appearance, he goes home. Neighbors start talking about the church's annual picnic. Knowing that Bess loves entertainment, they invite the young woman to take part in the celebration. They are joined by Porgy, who sincerely wants his beloved to have fun. Having agreed, Bess, joyful and happy, sets off.

There is only one Porgy left on the street.

Act two.

Picture one. Small green island. All festivals and festivities usually take place here. And now almost all the inhabitants of Catfish Row and other poor neighborhoods of the city have come here. The picnic is in full swing. Fun is on the island. Happy people are, their outfits are colorful.

The Storting Life appears, staggering. He's clearly drunk. Right and left he spits out flat, vulgar jokes, mocks church parables and rituals, and bullies those walking.

The ship's whistle sounds. The holiday is over. People are rushing to the pier. Among the latter is Bess. Suddenly, Crown jumps out of the roadside bushes. The young black woman is scared. She had long forgotten her lover. Bess asks Crown to leave her. But the loader, not listening to the girl, forcibly takes her away with him.

Picture two. Life in Catfish Row goes on as usual. Fishermen are getting ready for their next fishing trip. The berry seller is loudly inviting customers. Sellers of fish and crabs are also trying to sell their goods...

Meanwhile, in Porgy’s dark room, Bess lies in a fever. Next to her are Porgy and Sirina. Hopeless grief is written on the face of the unfortunate cripple: it seems to him that his beloved will never recover again... Sirina tries as best she can to console Porgy. Her prayers sound ardent and passionate.

Bess regains consciousness. She is horrified at the mere memory of Crown. Afraid that he will come back again. Porgy and Sirina do their best to calm the patient. An alarming bell ringing sounds outside the window - a warning of an impending storm. The whistling of the increased wind is heard. The house becomes completely dark.

Picture three. The hurricane was terrible. Frightened women crowded into Sirina's room to escape the raging elements. Suddenly there is a rough knock on the door. This is Krone. The weather did not stop him - he is looking for Bess. The loader laughs at the women's fear... But the storm seems to subside. Porgy's neighbor, Clara, looks out the window and immediately recoils in horror: the oncoming wave brought her husband's overturned fishing boat. Without even throwing a blanket over herself, the unfortunate woman runs out into the street. Crown rushes after her.

Scene four. Deep night. The storm has subsided. But Porgy and Bess, who is holding Clara’s child, are not sleeping. 3a Sporting Life runs by the window. He warns: Crown is approaching Porgy's home...

A loader appears. He has a knife in his hands. At that very moment, Porgy deftly knocks out the weapon and inflicts a fatal blow on Crown himself. “Now Bess has a real husband!” - he exclaims.

Scene five. A gloomy morning finds the residents of Catfish Row doing something unusual: they are carefully hiding the traces of a bloody incident. The police appear, having already managed to find out something... However, no matter who the guards go to, the doors and windows immediately slam shut in front of them. Detectives are trying to find out something from those who remained on the street. But the inhabitants of the block seemed to have taken their breath away: no, they had not heard anything about the night incident. Pretending to be Porgy's friend, the investigator finds out where his home is. The police take the crippled man away so that he can identify the murdered man.

Sporting Life is trying to take advantage of Porgy's absence. He assures Bess that her lover was taken as a criminal and that he will never return. The clever merchant again invites the young woman to go with him to New York, promising a luxurious, carefree life. He manages to wrest consent from Bess, distraught with grief.

Scene six. At the end of the week, Porgy returns. He yearned for home, for his beloved. Porgy happily greets his neighbors. For everyone he has a kind word or a small gift. And he brought Bess a beautiful dress...

Suddenly Porgy notices a hawk hovering over his home. A bad feeling grips his heart; this is a harbinger of misfortune... Porgy learns the whole truth from her neighbors. Bess is no longer with him...

The cripple is unable to come to terms with this. Silently, he bundles his few belongings into a knapsack and, on his unchanged old cart, sets off on a long, unknown journey - in search of his beloved. He is sure that he will find his beloved Bess - after all, love leads him.

The opera ends with the chorus “Lord, I am going to the Heavenly Land.” It sounds in the spirit of courageous, faith-filled spirituals.

Many melodies from the opera Porgy and Bess have taken on an independent life. “Lullaby” - “Summertime” (Clara’s aria) sounds in a variety of vocal and instrumental interpretations. The opera's musical themes became very popular after being performed by jazz performers - Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson and Joe Henderson

Summertime

And the livin" is easy

Fish are jumpin"

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

One of these mornings

You"re going to rise up singing

Then you"ll spread your wings

And you"ll take to the sky

But till that morning

There's a "nothing can harm you

With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime

And the livin" is easy

Fish are jumpin"

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma"s good lookin"

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

With a libretto (in English) by DuBose Hayward and Ira Gershwin, based on the play Porgy by DuBose and Dorothy Hayward.

Characters:

Porgy, the legless beggar (bass-baritone)
Crown, loader (baritone)
Bess, his girlfriend (soprano)
Jack the Fisherman (baritone)
Clara, his wife (soprano)
Robbins, Catfish Resident (tenor)
Sirina, his wife (soprano)
Sporting Life, drug dealer (tenor)
Peter, the honey seller (tenor)
funeral supply business owner (baritone)

Time period: 1920s.
Location: Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
First performance: Boston, September 30, 1935.

The play "Porgy" by DuBose and Dorothy Hayward was quite a success. But when DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin turned it into an opera libretto, and Ira's brother, George, wrote the music, it was a bombshell. The general opinion of critics was: “Here is finally the first real and completely American opera.” This was in 1935. From the very beginning of its triumphant march through the opera stages of America - first in Boston, then on Broadway - it has invariably remained in the modern opera repertoire.

It reached Europe in 1945; the opera was then staged in Switzerland and Denmark by troupes mainly consisting of European actors. But it became truly popular in Europe only after it was shown by an American black troupe on a European tour. This was in the 1952/53 season. Not a single American opera created either before or after Porgy and Bess, not even the enormous success of the operas of Gian Carlo Menotti, apparently shook such a strong position of Porgy and Bess in the musical life of the Western world. And even in the East, at least in Russia, it was greeted with enthusiasm.

ACT I

Scene 1 is a large yard in the fishing village of Catfish Row (Charleston, Carolina). Once upon a time aristocrats lived here, but now it is inhabited by blacks. The atmosphere of a hot southern summer night is conveyed by a wonderful lullaby, "Summertime", sung by a young wife and mother, Clara. Her husband Jack expresses the prevailing attitude of men towards the opposite sex in these parts in the cheerful song "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing." In one corner of the yard there is a game of dice, in the other they are dancing. A legless beggar, Porgy, rides in on a goat-drawn cart. Everyone here loves him. The men greet him with shouts of welcome and at the same time ironic remarks about the fact that he is “breathing unevenly” towards Crown’s girlfriend Bess. In the bitter and soul-stirring recitative “When God makes cripple, He mean him to be lonely” (“Creating a cripple, God gave him loneliness”), Porgy sings about the hopelessness of his life, while claiming that he is not interested in women . The dice players get excited, especially when Crown, a local bully who is already tipsy, enters the game. Soon, under the influence of the “happiness powder” (drug) that Sporting Life supplied him with, he becomes very aggressive. A fight breaks out, Crown kills one of the players and immediately runs away, leaving his girlfriend Bess. One of the guys, the same Sporting Life, drug dealer, tries - unsuccessfully - to take Bess with him to New York. Bess rushes about in search of shelter, but all the inhabitants of Catfish Row slam their doors in front of her.

Not like Porgy. He always loved Bess, but did not dare to approach her - after all, he was crippled. But now she is in a hopeless situation. He calls her to him.

Scene 2 takes place in Sirina's room, where they are mourning Robbins, her husband, who was killed by Crown. Sirina's neighbors now gathered to sing over the body of her husband, according to the Negro custom, and collect the required amount of money for the funeral. A soul-tearing funeral song sounds. Porgy enters, Bess with him. He, too, wants to do his part at Robbins' funeral, and, being a natural leader, he takes a major part in prayers and consolations. Sirina herself sings a deeply moving funeral song (tragic lament) "My Man"s Gone Now." Two white detectives appear and warn that the body must be buried no later than tomorrow, otherwise it will be handed over medical students. When they leave, they take with them old Peter, completely innocent, but on whom suspicion has fallen. A rather handsome-looking owner of a funeral supplies bureau enters, also, like the detectives, white. They were never able to raise the required amount for the funeral , but he agrees to believe Sirina's promise to pay later. The friends gathered here also give their assurances that they will collect the missing amount, and the action ends when Bess starts a more exciting song - the ecstatic, with a rapidly accelerating rhythm "Oh, the train is at the station" ("Oh, the train is waiting at the station... It's leaving for the promised land").

ACT II

Scene 1. Catfish Row yard a month later. Despite the current September storm, fisherman Jack is going to go to sea. He repairs nets and sings the perky song “It Takes a Long Pull to Get There” (“Be friends, guys!”). As for Porgy, he lives with Bess and is completely happy. None of the neighbors recognize the previously gloomy and gloomy disabled person in the good-natured, merry fellow. He sings about his happiness in the banjo-accompanied song "I Got Plenty o" Nutting." He even buys false documents about Bess's divorce from Crown from the lawyer Frazier who came here for a dollar and a half. Actually, a divorce costs one dollar, but since Bess and Crown were never married, Frasier demands a higher fee for his illegal services, and a white lawyer, Mr. Archdale, who comes here, reprimands his colleague for selling fictitious divorces. He also brings good news of Peter being released from custody. As Archdale leaves, Porgy spots a buzzard flying in the sky. Porgy sings "Buzzard Song", originally removed from the score by Gershwin himself to make the opera shorter, but then restored "Porgy sings that this bird is a harbinger of imminent disaster. The bright orchestral accompaniment in it conveys the growing general feeling of approaching disaster that Porgy and the others are gripped by. Soon the crowd disperses in fear. Sporting-Life makes another attempt to persuade Bess to leave with him, but Porgy, very strong despite being a cripple, manages to drive Sporting-Life away. Left alone, Porgy and Bess sing their love duet "Bess, You Is My Woman Now."

A military band appears, accompanied by a crowd preparing to go on a picnic to Kittiwa Island. At first, Bess wants to stay with Porgy, but he manages to convince her to go have fun, and she goes to the island without him.

Scene 2. Picnic on Kittiwa Island. Sporting Life sings its well-known song "It Ain't Necessarily So". This is followed by a short dramatic scene between Crown and Bess. Crown - still on the run from the police - emerges from the bushes. He is caught Bess is alone, and despite her explanation that she now belongs to Porgy, he grabs her and forcibly drags her into the forest.

Scene 3. A week passes. Life in Catfish Row goes on as usual. Jack and the other fishermen are preparing to go out to sea. As for Bess, she has been in a fever for a week now since her meeting with Crown on Kittiwa Island. Her neighbor Sirina, Porgy and the others take care of her and eventually "Doctor Jesus" helps her. Somehow Porgy finds out that she was with Crown and tells her so. But he forgives her, and she admits that she promised to return to Crown. She wants to stay with Porgy, "but is afraid of her own weakness if Crown comes again. Porgy promises to protect her from Crown.

Scene 4 takes place in Sirina's room. A terrible hurricane has broken out, and all the superstitious neighbors are praying, because many of them are sure that the day of the Last Judgment has come. Suddenly there is a sharp knock on the door. This is Crown. He mocks the crippled Porgy and shocks everyone by claiming that God is his friend. But when Clara sees through the window that her husband Jack's boat has been washed upside down by a terrible wave, only Crown is ready to rush to the rescue. Leaving the baby in Bess's arms, Clara rushes into the raging storm.

ACT III

Scene 1. All three short scenes of this action take place in Catfish Row. The storm has subsided. At the beginning of the scene, women in the square mourn the fishermen who died at sea. Sporting Life appears. He hints that Crown did not die with the fishermen, but somehow escaped, that he is still alive and will return for Bess, and that if a woman has two husbands, then this means that she does not have a husband at all. Offstage, when the square is empty, Bess can be heard singing a lullaby to the little orphan.

Crown appears; he makes his way to the door of Porgy's house, behind which he hears Bess's voice. Just as he crawls under the window, Porgy's strong hand grabs him by the throat. Porgy stabs him to death with a knife. Crown is dead. Porgy exclaims joyfully to Bess: “Now you have a husband. You have Porgy!”

Scene 2. A few hours later, a detective arrives to find Crown's killer, and after some questioning, he takes Porgy away to identify the body. Sporting Life has a new chance to take possession of Bess. Having decided to get rid of both his rivals, Porgy and Crown, he again begins to convince Bess, promising to lead her into a big life. At the same time, he sings the song “There's a Boat That"s Leavin" Soon for New York" - a jazz description of the joys of Harlem. He also seduces the girl with drugs - "powder of happiness", as he calls him, and Bess, who has lost her head with grief, although she answers him sharply, clearly shows weakness and begins to give in.

Scene 3. A week later, Porgy returns - the police were unable to prove his guilt in the murder. He looks everywhere for Bess. Finally he learns that she has gone to New York with Sporting Life. Porgy doesn't know anything about New York - he only knows that it's far north. The cripple cannot come to terms with the thought of losing Bess. He climbs into his goat-drawn wheelchair and sets off for the distant, fabulous New York. He is sure that he will find his beloved Bess - after all, love leads him. The opera ends with the chorus "Lord, I'm going to the Heavenly Country." It sounds in the spirit of courageous, faith-filled spirituals.

Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maikapara)

"Porgy and Bess" is the composer's highest creative achievement. Gershwin rightfully called his opera a “folk drama,” because the people are the main character of the work. That is why the role of choirs in it is so great. Expressive choruses are given at the key, culminating moments of the action - in the scene of the funeral of the deceased, in the picture of the storm, in the finale. Choral cues are also woven into solo numbers - Clara's lullaby, Sporting Life's song. The people actively participate in all events. He laughs, grieves, suffers, rejoices.

The composer gives the individual characteristics of the characters with remarkable skill. Porgy’s spiritual purity, his whole and selfless feeling for Bess, and his inexhaustible optimism are captivating. This bright image concentrates the best features of the spiritual image of the Negro people. Porgy is opposed by Sporting Life - a deceitful, treacherous businessman overwhelmed by base feelings. The female characters of the opera are charming - Bess, Clara, whose musical characteristics are distinguished by soft lyricism and poetry.

The musical language of the opera is flexible, rich and varied. The main role in revealing stage images is played by vocal parts - expressive, based on a bright song melody. Songfulness is a distinctive feature of the style of “Porgy and Bess.” Gershwin’s generous melodic gift was revealed here in all its charm and richness: the melodies of the opera, original, flowing easily, “from the soul,” captivate the listener and linger in memory. The numbers of the work breathe more inspired lyrics - Clara's tender lullaby and the deeply emotional duet of Porgy and Bess. Porgy’s humorous song “The Poor Man’s Wealth” exudes cheerful enthusiasm.

In Porgy and Bess the composer does not quote Negro melodies, but all the music of the opera grew from folk origins. Gershwin managed to implement in it the melodic-harmonic and rhythmic features of Negro folklore, elements of Negro national genres - blues, spirituals. Gershwin also used expressive means of jazz - mainly in the part of Sgurting Life.

Gershwin's musical drama has become part of the history of the American people. Together with the undying heroes of Mark Twain, Jack London and O'Henry, the always smiling, cheerful Porgy and his gentle friend Bess enter the lives of more and more lovers of true art.

M. Sabinina, G. Tsypin

One of the best American operas. Her wonderful melodies - Clara's famous lullaby “Summertime” (1 d.), the Sporting Life song “It ain"t necessarili so” (2 d.), etc. - are extremely popular.

Discography: CD - Decca. Dir. Maazel, Porgy (White), Bess (Mitchell), Sporting Life (Clemmons), Crown (Boatwright), Clara (Hendrix), Jake (Thompson).

Message quote D. Gershwin opera “Porgy and Bess” (1993) video

The cult composition “Summertime” is perhaps known to every jazz fan thanks to the excellent performance of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
This is Clara's lullaby from the first act of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. The performance is entirely based on jazz compositions, there are blues intonations, black hymns and psalms, and spirituals. In addition, it presents a sea of improvisation, what could we do without it, because we are talking not just about a classical opera, but about a jazz one. That is why it differs from the samples we are used to.

Characters
Porgy - (baritone) disabled beggar
Bess - (soprano) Crown's young girl
Crown (baritone) stevedore at the port
Jack (baritone) fisherman
Clara (soprano) Jack's wife
Sporting Life (tenor) drug dealer
Robbins (tenor) resident of Catfish Row
Sirina (soprano) wife of Robbins
Peter (tenor) honey seller
Lily (soprano) Peter's wife

Time period: 1920s.
Location: Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
First performance: Boston, September 30, 1935.
The play "Porgy" by DuBose and Dorothy Hayward was quite a success. But when DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin turned it into an opera libretto, and Ira's brother, George, wrote the music, it was a bombshell. The general opinion of critics was: “Here is finally the first real and completely American opera.” This was in 1935. From the very beginning of its triumphant march through the opera stages of America - first in Boston, then on Broadway - it has invariably remained in the modern opera repertoire.
It reached Europe in 1945; the opera was then staged in Switzerland and Denmark by troupes mainly consisting of European actors. But it became truly popular in Europe only after it was shown by an American black troupe on a European tour. This was in the 1952/53 season. Not a single American opera created either before or after Porgy and Bess, not even the enormous success of the operas of Gian Carlo Menotti, apparently shook such a strong position of Porgy and Bess in the musical life of the Western world. And even in the East, at least in Russia, it was greeted with enthusiasm.
ACT I
Scene 1 is a large yard in the fishing village of Catfish Row (Charleston, Carolina). Once upon a time aristocrats lived here, but now it is inhabited by blacks. The atmosphere of a hot southern summer night is conveyed by a wonderful lullaby, "Summertime", sung by a young wife and mother, Clara. Her husband Jack expresses the prevailing attitude of men towards the opposite sex in these parts in the cheerful song "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing." In one corner of the yard there is a game of dice, in the other they are dancing. A legless beggar, Porgy, rides in on a goat-drawn cart. Everyone here loves him. The men greet him with shouts of welcome and at the same time ironic remarks about the fact that he is “breathing unevenly” towards Crown’s girlfriend Bess. In the bitter and soul-stirring recitative “When God makes cripple, He mean him to be lonely” (“Creating a cripple, God gave him loneliness”), Porgy sings about the hopelessness of his life, while claiming that he is not interested in women . The dice players get excited, especially when Crown, a local bully who is already tipsy, enters the game. Soon, under the influence of the “happiness powder” (drug) that Sporting Life supplied him with, he becomes very aggressive. A fight breaks out, Crown kills one of the players and immediately runs away, leaving his girlfriend Bess. One of the guys, the same Sporting Life, drug dealer, tries - unsuccessfully - to take Bess with him to New York. Bess rushes about in search of shelter, but all the inhabitants of Catfish Row slam their doors in front of her.
Not like Porgy. He always loved Bess, but did not dare to approach her - after all, he was crippled. But now she is in a hopeless situation. He calls her to him.
Scene 2 takes place in Sirina's room, where they are mourning Robbins, her husband, who was killed by Crown. Sirina's neighbors now gathered to sing over the body of her husband, according to the Negro custom, and collect the required amount of money for the funeral. A soul-tearing funeral song sounds. Porgy enters, Bess with him. He, too, wants to do his part at Robbins' funeral, and, being a natural leader, he takes a major part in prayers and consolations. Sirina herself sings a deeply moving funeral song (tragic lament) "My Man"s Gone Now." Two white detectives appear and warn that the body must be buried no later than tomorrow, otherwise it will be handed over medical students. When they leave, they take with them old Peter, completely innocent, but on whom suspicion has fallen. A rather handsome-looking owner of a funeral supplies bureau enters, also, like the detectives, white. They were never able to raise the required amount for the funeral , but he agrees to believe Sirina's promise to pay later. The friends gathered here also give their assurances that they will collect the missing amount, and the action ends when Bess starts a more exciting song - the ecstatic, with a rapidly accelerating rhythm "Oh, the train is at the station" ("Oh, the train is waiting at the station... It's leaving for the promised land").
ACT II
Scene 1: Catfish Row Courtyard a month later. Despite the current September storm, fisherman Jack is going to go to sea. He repairs nets and sings the perky song “It Takes a Long Pull to Get There” (“Be friends, guys!”). As for Porgy, he lives with Bess and is completely happy. None of the neighbors recognize the previously gloomy and gloomy disabled person in the good-natured, merry fellow. He sings about his happiness in the banjo-accompanied song "I Got Plenty o" Nutting." He even buys false documents about Bess's divorce from Crown from the lawyer Frazier who came here for a dollar and a half. Actually, a divorce costs one dollar, but since Bess and Crown were never married, Frasier demands a higher fee for his illegal services, and a white lawyer, Mr. Archdale, who comes here, reprimands his colleague for selling fictitious divorces. He also brings good news of Peter being released from custody. As Archdale leaves, Porgy spots a buzzard flying in the sky. Porgy sings "Buzzard Song", originally removed from the score by Gershwin himself to make the opera shorter, but then restored "Porgy sings that this bird is a harbinger of imminent disaster. The bright orchestral accompaniment in it conveys the growing general feeling of approaching disaster that Porgy and the others are gripped by. Soon the crowd disperses in fear. Sporting-Life makes another attempt to persuade Bess to leave with him, but Porgy, very strong despite being a cripple, manages to drive Sporting-Life away. Left alone, Porgy and Bess sing their love duet "Bess, You Is My Woman Now."
A military band appears, accompanied by a crowd preparing to go on a picnic to Kittiwa Island. At first, Bess wants to stay with Porgy, but he manages to convince her to go have fun, and she goes to the island without him.
Scene 2. Picnic on Kittiwa Island. Sporting Life sings its well-known song "It Ain't Necessarily So". This is followed by a short dramatic scene between Crown and Bess. Crown - still on the run from the police - emerges from the bushes. He is caught Bess is alone, and despite her explanation that she now belongs to Porgy, he grabs her and forcibly drags her into the forest.
Scene 3. A week passes. Life in Catfish Row goes on as usual. Jack and the other fishermen are preparing to go out to sea. As for Bess, she has been in a fever for a week now since her meeting with Crown on Kittiwa Island. Her neighbor Sirina, Porgy and the others take care of her and eventually "Doctor Jesus" helps her. Somehow Porgy finds out that she was with Crown and tells her so. But he forgives her, and she admits that she promised to return to Crown. She wants to stay with Porgy, "but is afraid of her own weakness if Crown comes again. Porgy promises to protect her from Crown.
Scene 4 takes place in Sirina's room. A terrible hurricane has broken out, and all the superstitious neighbors are praying, because many of them are sure that the day of the Last Judgment has come. Suddenly there is a sharp knock on the door. This is Crown. He mocks the crippled Porgy and shocks everyone by claiming that God is his friend. But when Clara sees through the window that her husband Jack's boat has been washed upside down by a terrible wave, only Crown is ready to rush to the rescue. Leaving the baby in Bess's arms, Clara rushes into the raging storm.
ACT III
Scene 1. All three short scenes of this action take place in Catfish Row. The storm has subsided. At the beginning of the scene, women in the square mourn the fishermen who died at sea. Sporting Life appears. He hints that Crown did not die with the fishermen, but somehow escaped, that he is still alive and will return for Bess, and that if a woman has two husbands, then this means that she does not have a husband at all. Offstage, when the square is empty, Bess can be heard singing a lullaby to the little orphan.
Crown appears; he makes his way to the door of Porgy's house, behind which he hears Bess's voice. Just as he crawls under the window, Porgy's strong hand grabs him by the throat. Porgy stabs him to death with a knife. Crown is dead. Porgy exclaims joyfully to Bess: “Now you have a husband. You have Porgy!”
Scene 2: A few hours later, a detective arrives to find Crown's killer, and after some questioning, he takes Porgy away to identify the body. Sporting Life has a new chance to take possession of Bess. Having decided to get rid of both his rivals, Porgy and Crown, he again begins to convince Bess, promising to lead her into a big life. At the same time, he sings the song “There's a Boat That"s Leavin" Soon for New York" - a jazz description of the joys of Harlem. He also seduces the girl with drugs - "powder of happiness", as he calls him, and Bess, who has lost her head with grief, although she answers him sharply, clearly shows weakness and begins to give in.
Scene 3. A week later, Porgy returns - the police have failed to prove his guilt in the murder. He looks everywhere for Bess. Finally he learns that she has gone to New York with Sporting Life. Porgy doesn't know anything about New York - he only knows that it's far north. The cripple cannot come to terms with the thought of losing Bess. He climbs into his goat-drawn wheelchair and sets off for the distant, fabulous New York. He is sure that he will find his beloved Bess - after all, love leads him. The opera ends with the chorus "Lord, I'm going to the Heavenly Country." It sounds in the spirit of courageous, faith-filled spirituals.
Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maikapara)
"Porgy and Bess" is the composer's highest creative achievement. Gershwin rightfully called his opera a “folk drama,” because the people are the main character of the work. That is why the role of choirs in it is so great. Expressive choruses are given at the key, culminating moments of the action - in the scene of the funeral of the deceased, in the picture of the storm, in the finale. Choral cues are also woven into solo numbers - Clara's lullaby, Sporting Life's song. The people actively participate in all events. He laughs, grieves, suffers, rejoices.
The composer gives the individual characteristics of the characters with remarkable skill. Porgy’s spiritual purity, his whole and selfless feeling for Bess, and his inexhaustible optimism are captivating. This bright image concentrates the best features of the spiritual image of the Negro people. Porgy is opposed by Sporting Life - a deceitful, treacherous businessman overwhelmed by base feelings. The female characters of the opera are charming - Bess, Clara, whose musical characteristics are distinguished by soft lyricism and poetry.
The musical language of the opera is flexible, rich and varied. The main role in revealing stage images is played by vocal parts - expressive, based on a bright song melody. Songfulness is a distinctive feature of the style of “Porgy and Bess.” Gershwin’s generous melodic gift was revealed here in all its charm and richness: the melodies of the opera, original, flowing easily, “from the soul,” captivate the listener and linger in memory. The numbers of the work breathe more inspired lyrics - Clara's tender lullaby and the deeply emotional duet of Porgy and Bess. Porgy’s humorous song “The Poor Man’s Wealth” exudes cheerful enthusiasm.
In Porgy and Bess the composer does not quote Negro melodies, but all the music of the opera grew from folk origins. Gershwin managed to implement in it the melodic-harmonic and rhythmic features of Negro folklore, elements of Negro national genres - blues, spirituals. Gershwin also used expressive means of jazz - mainly in the part of Sgurting Life.
Gershwin's musical drama has become part of the history of the American people. Together with the undying heroes of Mark Twain, Jack London and O'Henry, the always smiling, cheerful Porgy and his gentle friend Bess enter the lives of more and more lovers of true art.
M. Sabinina, G. Tsypin

In the USSR it was first staged in Tallinn (1966), on the Russian stage at the Maly Opera and Ballet Theater (1972, Leningrad). The film directed by O. Preminger (1958) with the participation of the famous actor S. Poitier.
Discography: CD - Decca. Dir. Maazel, Porgy (White), Bess (Mitchell), Sporting Life (Clemmons), Crown (Boatwright), Clara (Hendrix), Jake (Thompson).

This is an opera about the extraordinary love of the disabled man Porgy and the beautiful Bess. First of all, after all, this is a song of his love.

Before meeting Bess (more precisely, before the unfortunate man had hope for happiness), Porgy was a gloomy invalid who could hardly move in a wheelchair. Bess became the sun for him - Porgy gained energy and strength, he began to smile, say nice things to people and even give small gifts just like that. And how he cared for his Bess!

The heroes were united by fate one evening - under terrible circumstances. Bess came to Porgy's poor neighborhood with her boyfriend Crowie. This loader has a bad reputation. However, they don’t like Bess here either. They came to play dice. An argument breaks out, a fight breaks out... everyone is screaming about fraud. Crowe (on drugs from the cunning trader Life) in a rage inflicts a fatal blow on the poor man and the hard worker. The criminal runs away and hides. Bess is abandoned, she knocks on houses, but no one opens for her. Life invites her to go to New York with him, but she rejects him... and then Porgy comes to her aid. His house became her home.

The wife of the murdered man is crying; poor people are giving her pennies for the funeral. Misfortunes often occur in this black neighborhood. For example, a local fisherman’s boat will crash in a storm and the family’s breadwinner will die.

After quite a long time, Porgy lets her Bess go to a church picnic so that she won’t be bored. There, poor Bess was waylaid by Crowie and forced to go with him. She had almost forgotten about him and believed in her happiness.

Bess returned to Porgy in a fever. There was a terrible hurricane outside, in which they didn’t even immediately hear that her ex was breaking into their house. Here Porgy has to stand up for his woman and kill Crowie.

The neighbors understand the situation. Nobody wants to expose a disabled person; everyone pretends that they don’t know anything. Nobody tells the police. Moreover, residents of the block even try to hide traces of the crime. Still, the officers take away poor Porgy, but just for interrogation. Bess will be very worried, she is afraid to be left alone.

The same drug dealer appears - Life. He convinces her that Porgy will be sent to prison for a long time. Life again invites the girl to fuck with him... and she agrees.

When Porgy returns home, only this unpleasant news awaits him. He gets ready and goes in a wheelchair to look for his beloved Bess.

Opera teaches you never to give up in life and not yet to give in to the flattery of deceitful people.