Composer(s): Gershwin, George
Label: Naxos Historical
Series: Great Opera Recordings
Genre: Opera
Period: 20th Century
Catalogue No: 8.110287-88
Barcode: 0636943128725
Distribution Note(s):
Not available in the United States due to possible copyright restrictions
Release Date: 07/2004

GERSHWIN: Porgy and Bess (Winters, Williams, Long) (1951)

At its first performance Porgy and Bess was called ‘a folk opera’, and since then a debate has been raging whether Gershwin’s masterpiece is a music comedy or an opera. The present recording, made in 1951 with a specially chosen tem that was not specifically attached to a production of the show, is a canny compromise, combining the energy of musical comedy with the vocal richness of opera. There are trims and edits throughout, which considerably reduce the running time, but the important thing is that the piece, as an entity, is presented with its artistic integrity intact. The fillers feature two operatic stars in one of the earliest ‘cross-over’ recordings.

Tracklist

Disc 1
Gershwin, George
Gershwin, Ira - Lyricist
Heyward, DuBose - Lyricist
1 Act I Scene 1: Introduction 01:02
2 Act I Scene 1: Summertime 02:30
3 Act I Scene 1: Seems like these bones 03:40
4 Act I Scene 1: What, that chile ain't asleep yet?... (A woman is a sometime thing) 02:16
5 Act I Scene 1: Here comes de honey man 04:38
6 Act I Scene 1: Here comes Big Boy! 04:19
7 Act I Scene 1: Oh, little stars 02:38
8 Act I Scene 1: Wake up an' hit it out 03:32
9 Act I Scene 2: Where is brudder Robbins?... (Gone, gone, gone) 02:56
10 Act I Scene 2: Come on, sister, come on, brother... (Overflow) 02:29
11 Act I Scene 2: Um! a saucer-buried setup, I see 03:15
12 Act I Scene 2: My man's gone now 03:30
13 Act I Scene 2: How the saucer stan' now, my sister? 01:50
14 Act I Scene 2: Oh, the train is at the station 01:40
15 Act II Scene 1: Oh, I'm a-goin' out to the Blackfish banks 03:02
16 Act II Scene 1: Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' 02:43
17 Act II Scene 1: Mornin', Lawyer, lookin' for somebody? 04:07
18 Act II Scene 1: Dey's a Buckra comin'! 03:06
19 Act II Scene 1: Buzzard, keep on flyin'over 02:44
20 Act II Scene 1: 'Lo, Bess. Goin' to the picnic 02:38
21 Act II Scene 1: Bess, you is my woman now 04:52
22 Act II Scene 1: Oh, I can't sit down! 04:02
23 Act II Scene 2: Ha-da-da, ha-da-da 01:18
24 Act II Scene 2: It ain't necessarily so 02:43
25 Act II Scene 2: Hey there! Holt yo' holt 02:42
26 Act II Scene 2: Oh, what you want wid Bess? 03:13
Disc 2
1 Act II Scene 3: Honey, dat's all de breakfast I got time for 04:10
2 Act II Scene 3: Oh, Doctor Jesus 01:29
3 Act II Scene 3: Oh dey's so fresh an' fine 02:16
4 Act II Scene 3: Now de time, oh Gawd, now de time 02:53
5 Act II Scene 3: I loves you, Porgy 02:15
6 Act II Scene 3: Why you been out on that wharf so long, Clara? 01:20
7 Act II Scene 4: Oh, de Lawd shake de Heavens... (Summertime) 03:04
8 Act II Scene 4: Oh, dere's somebody knockin' at de do' 01:31
9 Act II Scene 4: You is a nice parcel of Christians 02:34
10 Act II Scene 4: A red-headed woman makes a choochoo jump its track 02:33
11 Act III Scene 1: Clara, Clara, don't you be downhearted 03:47
12 Act III Scene 1: You low-lived skunk 01:32
13 Act III Scene 1: Summertime 01:21
14 Act III Scene 1: Bess, this is Crown 01:42
15 Act III Scene 2: Wait for us at the corner, Al 03:32
16 Act III Scene 2: Oh, Gawd! They goin' make him look on Crown's face! 01:25
17 Act III Scene 2: There's a boat that's leavin' soon for New York 03:34
18 Act III Scene 3: Good mornin', sistuh! Good mornin', brudder! 01:42
19 Act III Scene 3: It's Porgy comin' home 04:09
20 Act III Scene 3: Oh, Bess, oh, where's my Bess 01:37
21 Act III Scene 3: Bess is gone 01:37
22 Act III Scene 3: Oh, Lawd, I'm on my way 01:34
23 Summertime 03:05
24 A woman is a sometime thing 03:33
25 My man's gone now 04:09
26 Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' 02:52
27 Bess, you is my woman now 05:04
28 Ha-da-da, ha-da-da... It ain't necessarily so 04:05
29 Oh, Bess, oh, where's my Bess 02:18
30 Oh, Lawd, I'm on my way 01:21

Total Playing Time: 02:35:29