Review: Porgy and Bess, Metropolitan Opera
Gershwin’s all-American opera, Porgy and Bess, was performed first in Boston on September 30, 1935. At the time, internationally acclaimed American composer Bernstein was a young student at Harvard. Touched by the show, he said at a television interview, ‘I don’t know what the hell happened to me… He [Gershwin] just touched something… I love him so much.’
After a 2-year hiatus, Porgy and Bess returned to the New York Metropolitan Opera with David Robertson and its director, James Robinson. It would be my second viewing of this production after seeing the original in 2019 at the English National Opera (ENO). It was a collaborative production brought together by the Met and the Dutch National Opera.
At this winter’s 2021 season, the choice of the cast couldn’t have been better. Eric Owens sang as Porgy and Angel Blue as Bess. An ardent ensemble of performers, including Alfred Walker (Crown), Frederich Ballentine (Sportin’ Life), and Janai Brugger (Clara), added touches of grace to some of the most heart-wrenching scenes.
Compared to the first time I saw the performance in London, it appeared as if more residents lived in Catfish Row: the African-American neighborhood in 1920’s Charleston. It is the setting of our tense and politically-charged opera.
