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In a 1935 New York Times article, Gershwin explained his motivation for calling Porgy and Bess a folk opera: Porgy and Bess is a folk tale. Its people naturally would sing folk music. When I first began work on the music I decided against the use of original folk material because I wanted the music to be all of one piece.
Robert Todd Duncan (February 12, 1903 – February 28, 1998) was an American baritone opera singer and actor. One of the first African-Americans to sing with a major opera company, Duncan is also noted for appearing as Porgy in the premier production of Porgy and Bess (1935).
In 1986, he won the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Council auditions and on September 27, 1989 he made his debut with the company as Jake in Porgy and Bess. [ 5 ] [ 10 ] Following his debut at the Met, Hawkins began to achieve success, making debuts with the National Symphony and at Carnegie Hall . [ 11 ]
Etta Moten Barnett (November 5, 1901 – January 2, 2004) was an American actress and contralto vocalist, who was identified with her signature role of "Bess" in Porgy and Bess. [1] She created new roles for African-American women on stage and screen.
Porgy and Bess (1956) This 1956 recording based on George Gershwin 's opera Porgy and Bess was the second "complete" recording of the opera after the 1951 version , and the first recording of the work to feature jazz singers and musicians instead of operatic singers and a classical orchestra.
Marquita Lister (born 24 April 1961) is an American operatic soprano.She has sung with major companies in the U.S. and abroad, specializing in the lirico-spinto repertoire. . Lister is considered one of the leading interpreters of Bess in Porgy and Bess, having performed the role hundreds of times in companies across the globe, and she is also renowned for her portrayals of Aida and Salome ...
Anne Brown (August 9, 1912 – March 13, 2009) [1] was an American lyric soprano for whom George Gershwin rewrote the part of "Bess" into a leading role in the original production of his opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. [2] She was also a radio and concert singer. She settled in Norway in 1948 and later became a Norwegian citizen.
Hope Clarke (born March 23, 1941) is an American actress, dancer, vocalist, choreographer, and director.Clarke, a Tony Award nominee, made history in 1995 when she became the first African-American, as well as the first African-American woman, to direct and choreograph a major staging of the classic opera, Porgy and Bess.