Porgy and Bess
also Porgy & Bess
opera · an American folk opera
Composer George Gershwin
Orchestrator George Gershwin
Librettist DuBose Heyward
Lyricist Ira Gershwin
Synopsis
Porgy, a disabled beggar in Catfish Row, takes in Bess after her volatile lover Crown kills a man and flees. The two build a fragile life together, tested by the dope peddler Sportin' Life circling with temptation and by the looming threat of Crown's eventual return.
Versions
Key facts
- Premiere
- 30 September 1935, Colonial Theatre, Boston
- Acts
- 3
- Language
- English (en)
- Setting
- Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.
What's different
The Boston tryout, given close to complete and running well over three hours. Roughly forty-five minutes were cut before New York, most of it recitative and the Act II "Buzzard Song", partly to spare Todd Duncan's voice across eight performances a week.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Porgy A disabled beggar of Catfish Row. | bass-baritone | Todd Duncan |
| Bess Crown's woman. | soprano (lyric, dramatic) | Anne Brown |
| Crown A stevedore, violent and physically overwhelming. | bass-baritone | Warren Coleman |
| Sportin' Life A dope peddler. | tenor (spieltenor) | John W. Bubbles |
| Serena Robbins's wife. | soprano (dramatic) | Ruby Elzy |
| Clara Jake's wife. | soprano (lyric) | Abbie Mitchell |
| Jake A fisherman, Clara's husband. | baritone | Edward Matthews |
| Maria Keeper of the cookshop. | contralto | Georgette Harvey |
| Robbins A resident of Catfish Row, Serena's husband. | tenor | Henry Davis |
| Lawyer Frazier A fraudulent lawyer. | baritone | J. Rosamond Johnson |
| The Detective A white policeman. | spoken role | Alexander Campbell |
| Jim A stevedore who hauls cotton. | baritone | Jack Carr |
| Annie A resident of Catfish Row. | mezzo-soprano | Olive Ball |
| Mingo A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Buck Washington |
| The Undertaker Catfish Row's undertaker. | baritone | John Garth |
| The Coroner A coroner. | spoken role | George Carleton |
| Peter The Honey Man, a street vendor, Lily's husband. | tenor | Gus Simons |
| Lily Peter's wife. | soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| The Strawberry Woman A street vendor. | mezzo-soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| Nelson A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| The Crab Man A street vendor. | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| Two Policemen Two white policemen. | 2 spoken roles | Burton McEvilly, Harold Woolf |
Key facts
- Premiere
- 10 October 1935, Alvin Theatre, New York
- Acts
- 3
- Language
- English (en)
- Setting
- Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.
What's different
The cut text, made with Gershwin's agreement and published as the 1935 vocal score, which is why it counts as an authorial revision rather than an editorial one. This is the text most twentieth-century stagings descend from.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Porgy A disabled beggar of Catfish Row. | bass-baritone | Todd Duncan |
| Bess Crown's woman. | soprano (lyric, dramatic) | Anne Brown |
| Crown A stevedore, violent and physically overwhelming. | bass-baritone | Warren Coleman |
| Sportin' Life A dope peddler. | tenor (spieltenor) | John W. Bubbles |
| Serena Robbins's wife. | soprano (dramatic) | Ruby Elzy |
| Clara Jake's wife. | soprano (lyric) | Abbie Mitchell |
| Jake A fisherman, Clara's husband. | baritone | Edward Matthews |
| Maria Keeper of the cookshop. | contralto | Georgette Harvey |
| Robbins A resident of Catfish Row, Serena's husband. | tenor | Henry Davis |
| Lawyer Frazier A fraudulent lawyer. | baritone | J. Rosamond Johnson |
| The Detective A white policeman. | spoken role | Alexander Campbell |
| Jim A stevedore who hauls cotton. | baritone | Jack Carr |
| Annie A resident of Catfish Row. | mezzo-soprano | Olive Ball |
| Mingo A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Buck Washington |
| The Undertaker Catfish Row's undertaker. | baritone | John Garth |
| The Coroner A coroner. | spoken role | George Carleton |
| Peter The Honey Man, a street vendor, Lily's husband. | tenor | Gus Simons |
| Lily Peter's wife. | soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| The Strawberry Woman A street vendor. | mezzo-soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| Nelson A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| The Crab Man A street vendor. | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| Two Policemen Two white policemen. | 2 spoken roles | Burton McEvilly, Harold Woolf |
Key facts
- Premiere
- 1 July 1976, Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston
- Acts
- 3
- Language
- English (en)
- Setting
- Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.
What's different
The Houston Grand Opera production restored the score close to complete, recitatives included, and settled the argument about what the piece is by winning it in the opera house; it transferred to Broadway later the same year. Chosen as primary because it is the text an opera-goer will now encounter.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Porgy A disabled beggar of Catfish Row. | bass-baritone | Donnie Ray Albert |
| Bess Crown's woman. | soprano (lyric, dramatic) | Clamma Dale |
| Crown A stevedore, violent and physically overwhelming. | bass-baritone | Andrew Smith |
| Sportin' Life A dope peddler. | tenor (spieltenor) | Larry Marshall |
| Serena Robbins's wife. | soprano (dramatic) | Wilma A. Shakesnider |
| Clara Jake's wife. | soprano (lyric) | Betty D. Lane |
| Jake A fisherman, Clara's husband. | baritone | Curtis Dickson |
| Maria Keeper of the cookshop. | contralto | Carol Brice |
| Robbins A resident of Catfish Row, Serena's husband. | tenor | Glover Parham |
| Lawyer Frazier A fraudulent lawyer. | baritone | Raymond Bazemore |
| The Detective A white policeman. | spoken role | Hansford Rowe |
| Jim A stevedore who hauls cotton. | baritone | Hartwell Mace |
| Annie A resident of Catfish Row. | mezzo-soprano | Shirley Baines |
| Mingo A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Bernard Thacker |
| The Undertaker Catfish Row's undertaker. | baritone | Cornel Richie |
| The Coroner A coroner. | spoken role | John B. Ross |
| Peter The Honey Man, a street vendor, Lily's husband. | tenor | Mervin Wallace |
| Lily Peter's wife. | soprano | Myra Merritt |
| The Strawberry Woman A street vendor. | mezzo-soprano | Phyllis Bash |
| Nelson A resident of Catfish Row. | tenor | Dwight Ransom |
| The Crab Man A street vendor. | tenor | Steven Alex-Cole |
| Two Policemen Two white policemen. | 2 spoken roles | William Gammon |
| Scipio A boy of Catfish Row. | treble | Alex Carrington |
| Jasbo Brown A pianist, entertaining Catfish Row. | spoken role | Ross Reimueller |
Source
- Porgy by DuBose Heyward (1925) — the 1925 novel
- Porgy by DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward (1927) — the 1927 stage adaptation by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, which supplied the dramatic structure
Written from
- Internet Broadway Database (n.d.) Porgy and Bess. (Accessed: August 2026). The 1935 Alvin Theatre production. Source for the New York 1935 cast.
- Internet Broadway Database (n.d.) Porgy and Bess. (Accessed: August 2026). Catalogued as a tour production rather than a Broadway one, but its opening night, 1 July, matches the Houston Grand Opera premiere date. Source for the Houston 1976 cast.