Porgyand BessSM - New Orleans Opera

New Orleans
Opera Association
Robert Lyall, General &
Artistic Director
1010 Common Street • Suite 1820
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 529-2278 • FAX 529-7668
1-800-881-4459
www.neworleansopera.org
The Plácido Domingo Stage
at The Mahalia Jackson Theater
for the Performing Arts
e Gershwins®
Porgyand
Bess
Student Preview Performances
and Student Study Guides
Sponsored by
SM
Joe W. and
Dorothy Dorsett
Brown Foundation
by George Gershwin, DuBose and
Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin
PERFORMANCE
 STUDENT
WEDNESDAY 13, 2010 • 7:00 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010  8:00 PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010  2:30 PM
 In English with English supertitles
Mahalia Jackson eater for the Performing Arts
This Student Study Guide is
Published by the New Orleans
Opera Association.
Carol Rausch, Education Director
Edited & Compiled by John Fink
Designed by Arlene D. Brayard
Mozart's
Bizet's
Verdi's
the Magic Flute
the Pearl Fishers
Il Trovatore
January 28 & 30, 2011
April 1 & 3, 2011
Student Performance
November 17, 2010 • 7:00 PM
Student Performance
January 26, 2011 • 7:00 PM
Student Performance
March 30, 2011 • 7:00 PM
November 19 & 21, 2010
New Orleans
Opera Association
Administrative Staff
504-529-2278
General and Artistic Manager - Ext. 224
Robert Lyall
Chorus Master, Music Administration &
Education Director – Ext. 222
Carol Rausch
Director of Production – Ext. 231
Lee Marc Molnar
Director of Marketing & Public Relations – Ext. 225
Janet Wilson
Business Manager – Ext. 227
Gina Klein
Box Office Manager – Ext. 226
John M. Fink
Asst. Box Office Manager – Ext 221
Devin Ernest - 221
Development – Ext. 232
Jenny Windstrup
Technical Director – 504-833-0110
G. Alan Rusnak
Opera Guild Volunteer – Ext. 225
Dr. Carolyn Clawson
www.neworleansopera.org
Detail of periactoid designed YA/YA Artist
new orleans opera association
present
e Gershwins®
Porgyand Bess
THE CAST

Special thanks to New Orleans artist Tim Trapolin for creating and donating the 2010-2011 season illustrations in honor
of Robert Lyall and Edward F. Martin.
e Gershwins®
Porgyand Bess
SM
Music by George Gershwin
Based on the story by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward
PORGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alvy Powell
BESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lisa Daltirus
CROWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cedric Cannon
SPORTIN’ LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chauncey Packer
CLARA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dara Rahming
JAKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Redding
SERENA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hope Briggs
MARIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwendolyn Brown
MINGO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eldric Bashful
ROBBINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terrance Brown
PETER (the Honeyman) . . . . . . . . . . . . Aubry Bryan
JIM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loren Battieste
Undertaker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Timothy McNair
ANNIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aria Mason
NELSON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
CRAB MAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
LILY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Givonna Joseph
STRAWBERRY WOMAN. . . . . . Valerie Jones Francis
SCIPIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
DETECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
POLICEMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
CORONER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBA
Libretto by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
First Performance:
Boston, Colonial Theater, September, 1935
New York City Premiere:
Alvin Theater, October, 1935
Performed in English
with projected English
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tazewell Thompson
Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Lyall
Chorus Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carol Rausch
Director of Production . . . . . . . . . . Lee Marc Molnar
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Krause
Assistant Stage Manager I. . . . . . . . . . Sean Corcoran
Assistant Stage Manager II . . . . . . . . . . Lindsay Byrne
Scenic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G. Alan Rusnak
Lighting Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Hase
Asst. Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neil Ingles
Fight Choreographer. . . . . . . . . . . . Shad Willingham
Costume Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Lang
Costumes by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AT Jones
Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Uhlman
Supertitles Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Rota
Wigs/ Makeup . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don and Linda Guillot
Accompanist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janna Ernst
SM
The Synopsis of
Porgyand Bess
SM
back and begins knocking on doors seeking
shelter. All but Porgy’s remain closed to her, and
she enters his room, leaving the court empty
except for Serena, who has collapsed over her
husband’s body.
Scene 2 - Serena’s Room,
the following night
The action takes place in Charleston,
South Carolina, in the 1930’s.
Act I
Scene 1 - Catfish Row,
a summer evening
The wealthy used to occupy this section on
Charleston’s waterfront, but now it is a Negro
tenement. As the curtain rises the variegated
night life of the courtyard is revealed. There is
impromptu dancing and singing (Jasbo Brown
Blues) couples stroll about, and children play.
Clara sings a lullaby (Summertime) to her baby
and a group of men begin a game of craps.
Among the players are Sportin’ Life, Jake,
Mingo, Jim, and Robbins, who enters the game
despite the pleas of his wife, Serena, not to play.
Jake breaks away briefly, takes the baby from
Clara and tries to sing it to sleep with the jaunty
“A Woman Is a Sometime Thing”. Porgy, a
crippled beggar, comes through the gate in his
goat cart and joins the crap game. Crown arrives
with Bess, and the game develops in earnest.
Drunk, Crown gets into an argument with
Robbins; a fight ensues, and he kills Robbins
with a cotton hook. Crown escapes, leaving Bess
to fend for herself. Sportin’ Life tries to get her
to go with him, but she refuses, and he takes
off. Fearing the police, the residents of Catfish
Row go quickly into their rooms. Bess starts for
the gate, but, hearing a police whistle, she turns
Robbins’ body is laid out with a saucer on his
chest. Serena sits disconsolately as neighbors,
including Porgy and Bess, come in to comfort
her and to contribute money to the saucer for
the burial. The mourners sing the spiritual-like
“Gone, Gone, Gone”, and Porgy leads them in
an impassioned prayer for the Lord’s help to fill
the saucer. A detective and two policemen break
in on the sorrowing group, and the detective
warns Serena that the body must be buried the
next day. He then looks around the room,
singles out Peter and accuses him of killing
Robbins. The old man protests his innocence,
blurting out that Crown did it; the detective
moves on to Porgy but gets no information
from him, and Peter is hauled off as a “material
witness.” The wake goes on, and Serena sings
the deeply moving “My Man’s Gone Now”. A
sympathetic undertaker soon enters and agrees
to bury Robbins for what money there is in the
saucer, Serena promising to come up with the
balance. All express their appreciation, and the
act closes with Bess, accepted for the first time
by the group, leading in the singing of the
rousing “Leavin’ for the Promis’ Lan’”.
Act II
Scene 1 - Catfish Row, a month later,
in the morning
Jake and other fishermen are working on the
nets, preparing to take his boat out. Clara begs
him not to go, for it is the hurricane season, but
he insists, saying that he has to earn money for
their son’s college education. A happy Porgy
comes out of his room singing “I Got Plenty o’
Nuttin’”. Sportin’ Life saunters in and goes over
to Maria’s table; she sees he has dope with him
and scolds him for peddling “happy dust”
around her shop. And when he suggests that
they be friends, she grabs him by the throat,
takes a carving knife in her hand and lets him
know exactly what he can expect from her - and
it’s not friendship!
“Lawyer” Frazier comes to Catfish Row and
manages to sell Porgy a “divorce” for Bess even
though it turns out that she had not been
married to Crown. Another visitor is Mr.
Archdale, who is also looking for Porgy; at first
the people are suspicious of this white man, but
he wins them over and informs Porgy that since
Peter’s folks once belonged to his family he’ll
put up his bond. As Mr. Archdale turns to leave,
everyone exclaims in horror at the sight of a
buzzard flying low over the court. Porgy
explains about this bird of ill omen to Mr.
Archdale and expresses his fear of losing his
newly won happiness in “The Buzzard Song”.
Since it is the day of the lodge picnic on
Kittiwah Island, people now begin to move off
to get themselves ready. Sportin’ Life sneaks up
on Bess and offers her some “happy dust”; as
she refuses, Porgy, a powerful man even though
a cripple, grabs Sportin’ Life’s wrist, almost
breaking it, and orders him to leave Bess alone.
The frightened dope peddler takes off in a hurry
and Porgy and Bess sing their love duet, “Bess,
You Is My Woman”. A band of children enters,
followed by a crowd heading for the picnic –
“Oh, I Can’t Sit Down.” Bess wants to stay
home, but Porgy persuades her to go along and
have a good time.
Scene 2 - Kittiwah Island, that evening
The picnic is about over, but some are still
dancing, and Sportin’ Life jumps into the middle
of the group and sings his worldly-wise ditty, “It
Ain’t Necessarily So.” Suddenly Serena comes
onto the scene and, seeing the dancers, puts an
end to the fun by calling them all sinners and
reminding them that the boat is leaving soon.
People begin to pick up baskets and move off in
the direction of the dock. Bess, the last to go, is
suddenly confronted by Crown, who emerges
from the woods where he has been hiding since
Robbins’ murder. He tells her to stay; she says
she is living with Porgy now. She pleads with
him to let her go, that Porgy needs her, while
he, Crown, can find a young gal –“What You
Want wid Bess?” But Crown wants only Bess,
and as the boat whistle sounds again he seizes
her and seduces her; she is once again unable to
resist.
Scene 3 - Catfish Row, a week later, just
before dawn
Jake kisses Clara good-bye, and the fishermen
leave. Bess’ voice can be heard from Porgy’s
room, and it is evident that she is delirious;
Serena, Porgy and other Row residents gather to
pray for her recovery. Peter returns and is
greeted by friends and neighbors.
It is now full daylight, and there is a lot of
activity in the court. Vendors, among them the
Strawberry Woman, the Crab Man and Peter,
the honey man, hawk their wares. Porgy waits
patiently for some sign that Bess is better; soon
she calls to him and comes out. He tells her he
knows that she was with Crown but that it
doesn’t make any difference to him. Bess says
that she has promised to return to Crown, then
confesses that although she wants to stay in
Catfish Row she fears she’ll not be strong
enough to resist when Crown comes for her –“I
Loves You, Porgy.” He promises to protect her,
and they go inside together.
The winds begin to blow; a frightened Clara
runs in and tells Maria how black the water out
by the wharf looks. The sky darkens ominously;
the hurricane bell clangs; people hurry inside,
and Clara collapses, calling her husband’s name.
Scene 4 - Serena’s Room, dawn of the
next day
The storm is still raging. Neighbors have
gathered
together to
keep each
other company
and to pray.
Lightning
blazes and
thunder
crashes. The
group sings a
spiritual-like
song; Clara,
holding her
baby close to
her and standing watch at the window, tries to
comfort him and herself with a snatch of
“Summertime”. As the claps of thunder
continue, some are convinced that Death is
knocking at the door. Just then several real and
violent knocks are heard, and despite attempts
to hold it shut, the door bursts open and Crown
appears. He makes his way over to Bess and
grabs her; Porgy rises to defend her but is
thrown back onto the floor by the big
stevedore. Serena admonishes Crown to behave
himself lest God might strike him dead.
Defiantly, Crown breaks into a song, a jazz
number, “A Red-Headed Woman.” Suddenly
Clara screams, falling back from the window.
Bess rushes over and peers out - Jake’s boat is
upside down in the river. Clara thrusts her baby
at Bess and rushes out. Bess pleads for someone
to go with Clara. No one moves. Then Crown,
looking at the frightened faces around him,
taunts the men, especially Porgy, for their
cowardice, opens the door, shouts at Bess that
he will return and plunges into the storm. The
others return to their prayers.
Act III
Scene 1 - Catfish Row, the next night
The storm is over, and the residents of the Row
are mourning the loss of Clara, Jake and Crown.
Sportin’ Life comes in and hints to Maria that
Crown has somehow survived. He saunters off,
Maria goes into her shop, and Bess comes out
briefly, singing “Summertime” to Clara’s baby.
Now the court is deserted. Suddenly Crown
comes through the gate and stealthily makes his
way to Porgy’s room. He turns his back for a
moment, and the cripple catches him with his
powerful hands. There is a long struggle, and
finally Porgy kills Crown. Triumphantly he cries
out, “Bess, you got a man now, you got Porgy.”
Scene II - Catfish Row, the next
afternoon
The police and the coroner arrive. The detective
tries to get information about Crown’s murder
from Serena and some of the other women but
to no avail. Sportin’ Life comes into the court
and watches unnoticed as the detective,
promising the coroner a witness for his inquest,
now calls for Porgy and Bess to come out. Porgy
is told that since he knew Crown, he must
identify the body. The man is terrified at the
thought of looking on his victim’s face, but Bess
encourages him to go along, suggesting that he
just pretend to look at the body. Porgy still
resists, and finally the police drag him out.
Now Sportin’ Life moves in and tells Bess that
Porgy will undoubtedly be put in jail and hints
that it could be for a year or two or - and he
makes a movement indicating a hanging. He
offers Bess some “happy dust”; she spurns it, but
he almost forces it into her hand, and now the
distraught girl yields, clapping her hand to her
face. Then Sportin’ Life paints a glamorous
picture of life in New York for the two of them
–“There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New
York.” She listens. He thrusts another packet of
dope at her, but she refuses it and runs inside.
He tosses it into the room and slowly starts off.
Suddenly the door of Porgy’s room flies open,
and Bess comes out, totally high. She and
Sportin’ Life, arm in arm, swagger out through
the gate.
Scene 3 - Catfish Row, a week later
It’s a lovely morning; children play, and friends
and neighbors greet each other warmly as they
go about their business. The clang of a patrol
wagon is heard, and soon Porgy comes into the
court. He is in high spirits and has brought
presents for Bess and his friends. People stand
around him sad, silent and embarrassed, but he
doesn’t notice as he gives Lily a new hat and
Scipio a new mouth organ and unwraps a dress
for Bess. Becoming aware that people are
leaving, he tries to draw them back with a story.
Then he turns back to the table and unwraps a
dress for the baby and calls to Bess. More
people move off, and when Porgy catches
Mingo sneaking out, he exclaims that this is not
much of a welcome for a man who has just
been in jail for contempt of court. Then he sees
Serena with Clara’s baby; his suspicions are
aroused, and he becomes more and more
distraught as he crawls over to his room, opens
the door, calls again for Bess - and realizes she is
not there. Only Serena and Maria are left in the
court, and Porgy, now frantic, asks over and
over, “Where’s Bess?” To Maria’s comment that
the girl wasn’t fit for him, Porgy replies that he’s
not asking for her opinion, he just wants to
know where his Bess is, and he sings the
poignant “Oh, Bess, Oh, Where’s My Bess?”
Serena and Maria join him, the one condemning
Bess, the other trying to explain her leaving. At
first Porgy thinks Bess is dead, but Serena tells
him, no, she’s worse than dead, she’s sold
herself to the devil and has gone far away.
Alive! Porgy is ecstatic, and learning that Bess
has gone to New York, he asks where that is.
He’s told it’s a thousand miles away. He calls for
his goat and cart. His friends try to dissuade
him, but he is determined. “I got to be wid Bess.
Gawd help me to fin’ her.” Mingo brings the
goat and cart in; Porgy is helped in, and
everyone joins him in “Oh, Lawd, I’m on My
Way” as he leaves Catfish Row.
The Composer George
GERSHWIN
1898 — 1937
George Gershwin
was born in Brooklyn in
1898 as Jacob Gershvin
to Russian- Jewish
immigrant parents in a
poor community on
Manhattan’s Lower
East Side. George’s life
changed forever when
the family purchased
an upright piano for
their eldest son Ira. George left street sports
behind and quickly mastered the instrument.
By 1912 (at age 14) George became the pupil of
Charles Hambitzer, who introduced him to
classical composers such as Chopin, Liszt and
Debussy. Later, George briefly studied music
theory, harmony, counterpoint and
orchestration. Equally important is the fact that
George grew up near Harlem and its infamous
nightclubs, where he first heard jazz. Gershwin
also took piano lessons from black jazz and
ragtime musicians, and they left their
permanent mark on his career just as strongly as
his classical training.
In 1914, George left school to become a pianist
and song-plugger (playing other people’s songs
for clients) at a Tin Pan Alley publisher. He soon
started writing and publishing his own songs.
He was very gifted and able to easily improvise
songs at the keyboard. His first published song
was “When you wan’t ‘em, you can’t get ‘em,
when you got’em, you don’t want’ em” (1916,
by Murray Roth).
After contributing to other Broadway shows,
Gershwin wrote his own musical, La La Lucille
(1919). His first big success was the song
“Swanee” (lyrics by Irving Caesar, 1919). Al
Jolson’s recording of this song sold hundreds of
thousands of copies and spurred sales of the
sheet music. Gershwin also wrote “serious”
music, including Lullaby (1919), a brief
movement for strings, and a one-act all-black
jazz opera Blue Monday Blues (1922). In 1924,
Paul Whiteman commissioned and performed
(with Gershwin as a soloist) the famous
Rhapsody in Blue, a work that bridged the way
between Tin Pan Alley and serious music.
As Gershwin’s reputation for being a serious
composer grew, he received more commissions,
and he began to create more classically inspired
pieces, such as Concerto in F (1925) and An
American in Paris (1928).
From 1924 on George wrote nearly all his vocal
music to lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The
Gershwin brothers were among Broadway’s
most successful teams; such stars as Fred and
Adele Astaire, Gertrude Lawrence, Red Nichols,
Ethel Merman and Ginger Rogers performed
their works. In 1932, George and Ira won the
Pulitzer Prize in drama for Of Thee I Sing. It was
the first musical to ever win in that category.
Eventually Gershwin moved on to large-scale
orchestral pieces and the opera Porgy and Bess.
Gershwin wanted to base his opera on the novel
Porgy, so he contacted the author, Edwin
Dubose Heyward, a Charleston, South Carolina
native. Heyward was busy adapting his version
of Porgy for the stage, and George was busy
with other projects, but finally in 1933,
Gershwin and Heyward renewed their
correspondence and started work on the opera.
In 1934, Gershwin moved to Folly
Island, one of the barrier islands
near Charleston, to sample the
local flavor of the city and to
study the musical expression of
the Gullahs. George, his
brother Ira, and DuBose
Heyward worked closely
together in an effort to
bring the richness of the
African-American culture of
Charleston into the operatic version of Porgy.
Songs from the opera such as “Summertime”,
“It ain’t necessarily so” and “I got Plenty
o’nuttin’” were influenced by the vocal style
and speech of the Charleston residents. In
1934, Gershwin began casting singers for the
production. Both Heyward and Gershwin
agreed that Porgy and Bess would be a serious
work, produced with an all-black cast. At the
time, African-American singers had not yet
appeared on the operatic stage, and the black
face minstrel show was in its heyday. Critical
reaction from both blacks and whites was
mixed; some praised the work as the prototype
of a folk-opera genre, and the first truly
American opera. Others thought that Porgy and
Bess was just a string of hit songs that
stereotyped African-Americans. The show
opened on Broadway in 1935 and was
performed 124 times. However, Porgy and Bess
was not recognized as a true success until
several years after the composer’s death.
Gershwin’s life-style changed dramatically as
his fame increased. Despite his humble
background in the rough streets of New
York, he began to travel in elite social circles
and even to date Hollywood movie stars.
George had a large income, even during the
depression of the 1930’s. An avid collector
of modern art, he purchased works by the
finest modern visual artists of the day such
as Picasso and Chagall. Gershwin also
painted very well himself, and a show of his
paintings was mounted after his death in
New York.
George Gershwin lived a long life in a short
time. In 1937, he began to experience
dizziness. The diagnosis was a brain tumor,
and Gershwin died during the surgery to
remove it. While Gershwin has had little
direct influence on other composers, his
music and compassion have gained an
international audience who regard his works
as the embodiment of musical Americana.
IRA GERSHWIN
1896-1983
Ira was born Israel Gershvin
in the Lower East Side of
Manhattan in1896. While
George was displaying
musical talent, Ira was
focused on the literary arts.
When Ira turned sixteen he
enrolled in the English
program at New York’s City
College. Ira soon dropped out to pursue a career
in writing; he had a magazine article published
in 1917 and got a job writing vaudeville
reviews.
While Ira was finding himself and deciding on a
final career choice, his younger brother George
was already developing his reputation in the
musical world. In 1918 Ira decided to try his
hand at writing lyrics. George helped Ira at first,
but Ira refused to ride on his brother’s name
and went by a penname (Arthur Francis) on the
early songs he wrote, such as “The Real
American Folk Song”, and “Waiting For The Sun
To Come Out” (his first published song). His first
big Broadway hit was in 1921 with “Two Little
Girls in Blue.”
Ira often worked with other composers, but the
majority of his work was with George. The
brothers worked together on big shows such as
Lady Be Good for Fred and Adele Astaire, which
featured the songs “The Man I Love”, “Lady Be
Good” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” Other hit
shows of the 1920’s that the brothers worked
on together were Tip Toes (1925), Oh, Kay
(1926), Funny Face (1927), and Strike Up the
Band! (1930). In 1932, Ira was the first
songwriter awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama
(with George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind)
for Of Thee I Sing. Ira was also nominated three
times for the Academy Awards in the category
of “Best Music and Song” in 1938, 1945 and
1955.
The Gershwin brothers’ last joint endeavor was
Porgy and Bess (1935), just two years before
George’s untimely death. Ira worked closely
with the author of the novel Porgy, Edwin
DuBose Heyward, to create lyrics that depicted
the culture and dialect of the African-American
residents of Charleston with compassion, not
disdain.
up school to
work full time
at a hardware
store. Later,
The Gerswins & DuBose Heyward
he got a job
working on the docks as a cotton checker for a
steamship line.
After George’s death in 1937, Ira did not work
for two years. He then emerged to work with
several composers, including Kurt Weill on Lady
in the Dark, and Harold Arlen, with whom he
created A Star is Born. Ira also established the
Gershwin Archive at the Library of Congress to
preserve manuscripts of George’s work. In 1960
he finally retired.
Heyward never gave up writing, and he used his
experiences working and living in Charleston as
inspiration for his work. He wrote several short
stories and poems based on Gullah life and the
African-American residents of Charleston. In 1921
Heyward took a trip to a writer’s colony in New
Hampshire. At the colony he met and later married
Dorothy Kuhn, an aspiring playwright, who
convinced him to give up his work in the insurance
business and dedicate all his attention to writing.
Ira Gershwin died peacefully in 1983 at the age
of 86. His last years were spent mentoring
aspiring musicians, including noted Gershwin
performer Michael Feinstein. Ira Gershwin’s star
was placed on the Hollywood walk of fame in
1998.
EDWIN DUBOSE HEYWARD
1885-1940
Edwin DuBose (often referred to as just DuBose)
Heyward came from a family that could claim a
descendant who signed the Declaration of
Independence. His family had also included one of
the richest plantation owners in South Carolina
before the Civil War. When DuBose Heyward was
born in 1885, the family fortune had been lost in
the War Between the States, and the city of
Charleston was in a post-war depression. In fact,
his family was so poor that his parents could
scarcely afford to send him to school. DuBose's
mother, Janie Screven Heyward, served as a literary
influence and source of encouragement for him. In
addition to being a writer for ads, she also wrote
poems and short stories based on the Gullah
residents of Charleston.
After his father died in a rice-mill accident, DuBose
became the man of the house, taking on chores
and odd jobs to help support his grandmother,
mother and sister. At age fourteen DuBose gave
In 1924 the novel Porgy came together as DuBose
drew upon his boyhood on the wharves of
Charleston, the hurricane of 1911, the residents of
a downtown row house called Cabbage Row (the
inspiration for CatfishRow), and the true story of a
crippled man, “Goat Cart Sammy”, whom he had
read about in the newspaper.
The novel was a success, and soon after DuBose
adapted Porgy into a successful Theater Guild play.
After producing the play, he was ready to start
work on Gershwin’s operatic version of his novel,
renamed Porgy and Bess. Dubose had an active
role in creating the libretto; and it has been
suggested by James H. Hutchisson in his book,
Dubose Heyward: A Charleston Gentleman and
Porgy and Bess, that DuBose’s contribution to Porgy
and Bess has been overlooked. Hutchisson says “in
addition to writing the libretto, Heyward composed
the lyrics to many of the opera’s arias, among them
‘Summertime’ and ‘A Woman Is a Sometime
Thing’.”
Although many people know of him only through
Porgy, Heyward was a versatile artist.
He
wrote verse, short fiction, novels, plays and
Hollywood screenplays. He was also a co-founder
of the Poetry Society of South Carolina, the first
regional poetry society in the United States, and a
vigorous promoter of Southern writing.
TIN PAN ALLEY
(1890 - 1954)
By the last decade of the nineteenth century, New York City had become a
powerful center of the music publishing industry in the United States. The
publishers, whose premises were largely concentrated on “Tin Pan Alley” (West
28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue), were quick to capitalize on
the growing popularity of vaudeville. They employed song-pluggers to
promote their recent merchandise, and from the 1920’s onward they fostered
the fashion for musical comedies on Broadway. Both George Gershwin and
Irving Berlin started their careers as humble song-pluggers before going on to
establish themselves as two of the finest popular songwriters of their era,
alongside Jerome Kern and Cole Porter. All four composers contributed
innumerable standards to the jazz repertoire.
Relations between jazz musicians and the publishers of Tin Pan Alley were not
always cordial, however. Berlin’s hit song “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” was
disliked by ragtime composers, in spite (or because) of its popularity; and Kern
heartily detested attempts to “jazz up” his songs, commenting that “no author
would permit editions of his work in which his phraseology and punctuation
changed.” For poor jazz musicians, Tin Pan Alley often was a welcome source
of immediate income. It was by no means uncommon for musicians to compose
a song or two in a taxi en route to a party, with the manuscript ready on arrival
for an instant sale.
In an era before Elvis Presley made a song’s performance more important than
its publication, when a song’s popularity was determined not by the number of
records it sold but by the number of copies of sheet music it sold, Tin Pan Alley
was the name given to the publishing business that hired composers and
lyricists on a permanent basis to create popular songs.
The public was induced to purchase the sheet music when they saw and heard
their favorite performers incorporate the songs into their acts, first in the
theater and in vaudeville, then through recordings, later on radio, then in films,
and finally on television.
Symbolically, Tin Pan Alley died on April 12, 1954, when Bill Haley and his
Comets recorded “Rock Around the Clock” and it became the first international
rock’n’roll bestseller. The business had come full circle and was dominated by
teenagers who valued the performance more then the written music and
words.
Excerpted from
www.abbeville.com/jazz
and the books
Tin Pan Alley by Mervyn Cooke
History of Tin Pan Alley by David Jasen
Recordings of Porgy & Bess
Porgy and Bess
Price, Warfield, Bubbles, Boatwright
Skitch Henderson
Porgy and Bess
White, Haymon
Glyndebourne Opera - Rattle
Recordings Online
Links available on our Website’s Education Page
Summertime
My Man’s Gone Now
Kathleen Battle
Leontyne Price
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RULqpoJIJkI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwh0Urj9HDI
Summertime
Leontyne Price
It Ain’t Necessarily So
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUXX3Yp-LlY
Cedric Cannon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZV5kSEl-aw
Summertime
Harolyn Blackwell
I got Plenty of Nothing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOXdqrFkto
Cedric Cannon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giVGv_dnmdY
My Man’s Gone Now
Bess, You is my Woman Now
Audra MacDonald
Willard White & Cynthia Haymon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT6LDh7cO1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApZ0lqGIF74
Etiquette And Outfits
Additional Reminders
Minding your P’s & Q’s
• Please unwrap all cough drops and candies before the
curtain rises.
Every baseball fan knows what to do during the seventhinning stretch. Likewise, every opera fan knows to honor
certain longstanding traditions. Here are a few to keep in
mind:
Don’t be Late!
Unlike a movie theater, New Orleans Opera does not
allow latecomers to take their seats after the
performance has begun. (Those who miss the curtain can
still take in the show—live—on television monitors in the
lobby. Latecomers will be able to take their seats at a
suitable interval—usually intermission.) When cued to go
back into the hall at the end of intermission, please do
not delay. Contracts require us to adhere to a strict
performance time and a late entry will disturb your
fellow patrons, cast and orchestra.
Be a Quiet Audience Member!
The talents of New Orleans’ Opera singers and musicians
are presented without amplification. There is no Dolby™
Stereo in the Mahalia Jackson Theater, and some of the
most dramatic moments in opera are the quietest. Please
don’t create noisy disruptions such as talking, rustling
programs, or fiddling with candy wrappers.
Show Appreciation Appropriately!
Enthusiastic displays of appreciation are always welcome
after a well-executed aria. If you’re not exactly sure when
to react, just follow the crowd. Feel free to shout
“Bravo!”
What to Wear
Once patronized mainly by royalty, opera today is
enjoyed by people from all walks of life. In modern day
New Orleans, you’ll see opera-goers wearing everything
from ball gowns and tuxes to blue jeans and buttondowns. Feel free to dress up for a special night out, dress
down for comfort, or find your own happy medium.
When it comes to the opera, almost anything but the
most casual wear is considered appropriate.
• Please use moderation in applying perfume, cologne,
or scented lotion; many people are highly allergic to
perfumes.
• Avoid hats that might obstruct the view of the person
seated behind you. Also please leave jewelry that may
make noise (for example: bangles) at home.
• Please, no babes in arms in the theater.
• Many operas contain adult themes. Before bringing
children, it is best to make sure that the material is
appropriate for their age or maturity level. Our box
office staff can help you make this determination.
• If bringing children, instruct them in proper audience
behavior. It is also helpful to familiarize them with the
story and the score so that they know what to expect.
• Please turn off all beepers, cell phones, and watch
alarms before entering the theater.
• No food or drink is allowed in the theater seating area,
both to preserve the condition of the theater and to
spare other patrons the noise and distraction.
• The Overture is part of the performance. Please refrain
from talking at this point.
• Please also refrain from talking, humming, singing, or
beating time to the music during the performance.
• Avoid kicking the back of the seat in front of you; this
is very annoying, even if it is done in time to the music.
Also, watch your children to prevent their doing the
same.
• We realize that traffic both in and out of the theater
can be congested following a performance; still, it is
distracting to other patrons to leave while the show is
still in progress. Thank you for your consideration. (If
you’d rather not sit in traffic, consider taking part in
the free pre-performance “Nuts and Bolts” session one
hour prior to the performance on floor M-2.)
Porgy on the Levee
Free Concert
September 25, 2010 – Porgy on the Levee
in the L9 @ The Triangle 4804 Dauphine Street
3:30 - 2nd line the Original Hurricane Brass Band
4:00 - The Original Hurricane Brass Band Concert
4:30 - Choral selections from various Church Choirs
5:30 - New Orleans Opera sings highlights from Porgy
and Bess featuring Dara Rahming, Terrance Brown,
Valerie Jones Francis, and Eldric Bashful.
For Directions visit www.neworleansopera.org
The collaboration with YA/YA (Young Aspirations/Young Artists) in 1998 was to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of the YA/YA organization, as well as the Gershwin
centennial. Composer George Gershwin was born in 1898 and, near the end of
his tragically short career, wrote one of the best known American operas, Porgy
and Bess, which at that point had never been done as a main stage production by
the New Orleans Opera. Four Crescent City singer/actors were chosen to play the
multiple roles of Porgy, Bess, Jake, Clara, Maria, Serena and Sportin' Life in the
45-minute abridged version of the work. Accompanied by piano, most of the best
known musical numbers from the show - “Summertime,” “A Woman Is A
Sometime Thing," "My Man's Gone Now," "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin,”"Bess, You Is
My Woman Now," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon
For New York," and "Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way" - were included. The performers
also offered narration to stitch the operatic scenes together, much in the tradition
of New Orleans storytelling. Opera staffers took a recording of Porgy and Bess to
YA/YA headquarters and played the music for the high school-aged artists, who
furiously began sketching their designs. After the final designs were selected, all
of them bold and colorfully representative of the YA/YA style, they were taken to
the H. Lloyd Hawkins Scenic Studio of the New Orleans Opera, whose skilled set
builders and painters helped realize the students' ideas. Four separate periactoids
(3-sided set pieces, with different scenes on each side) were constructed, which
could be used in many combinations. They represented the outside community of
Catfish Row with houses and store fronts, interior rooms for the funeral and
hurricane scenes, and of course Kittiwah Island for the picnic and Sportin' Life's
famous "sermon." The performers, in addition to singing and narrating, also
moved the set pieces in and out for a kaleidoscopic view of the opera. This
MetroPelican production toured for several years up until the time of Hurricane
Katrina.
YA/YA
(http://www.yayainc.com/)
YA/YA is an after-school arts and professional enrichment program with a
two-decade track record of setting New Orleans youth on positive, productive paths. We teach art and the business of art, but the impact of YA/YA extends far beyond the art world, into the business community, families, neighborhoods, and the health and safety of our city as a whole.
Founder Jana Napoli started the program with a vision: "Given the right tools and a fertile environment, creative young people
can do extraordinary things."
YA/YA is still rooted in the belief that every young person has the capacity and desire to do well. We use art to bring out this potential. Our tools are passion, talent, and youthful vision. Our products are artists, entrepreneurs and successful, motivated adults.
We invite you to learn more: Meet our stars, see our style, and join our effort to beautify and strengthen New Orleans — and the
world beyond — through artistic expression and exploration.
MetroPelican Opera
Hansel and Gretel
Opera A La Carte
A Celebration in Song
MetroPelican Opera in-school performances can be booked
through Young Audiences by calling (504) 523-3525.
For more information on scheduling please contact the
New Orleans Opera Director of Education at 529-2278,
ext.222 or email [email protected].
New Orleans Opera Association
Robert Lyall, General & Artistic Director
(504) 529-2278 • FAX 529-7668 • 1-800-881-4459 • www.neworleansopera.org