Thinking About 75 Years

I hope everyone enjoyed our presentation of the 75th anniversary of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. As I sat in the audience on Friday night, I thought about the impact this story has had on multiple generations throughout its history. I wondered how the first audiences must have reacted to the story and to the music. Did the way the sheriff treated those beloved characters enrage folks, or was that just common language at that time? I wonder how many people lauded Gershwin’s incorporation of a common yet unpleasant American story into the world of opera. How many were aghast? I know from having studied vocal music in college that it took some time for Porgy and Bess to be accepted by the opera world. I’m glad they finally did, but I wish I could go back in time and listen to that first audience discuss the piece as they left the Colonial Theatre that night in Boston, 1935.

Regardless, I hope as you left Merrill Auditorium on Friday night in Portland, you thought about our presentation and how it took you to another time and place for a few hours and made you consider the power of this opera and its subject matter. I thought there were some outstanding performances from the cast and the voices were truly exceptional. I’m still humming “Summertime,” albeit for multiple reasons. It was a good experience and I know what it meant to me today in 2010, but as a fan of history I can’t help but wander my mind back to 1935 and try to picture how it would have made me feel back then. Isn’t it interesting the things art makes you imagine?

Thanks for coming and I’d love you to share your thoughts on this piece and its 75-year history.