The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess

you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky.

The Gershwin's landmark piece of Great Depression era Americana is adapted to perfection by Tim Sheader, bring a contemporary edge to the bittersweet opera of Porgy and Bess and the residents of run-down Catfish Row.

First performed in 1935, the Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is now seen as particular landmark of American theatre and is often referred to as their masterpiece. Aiming to create a folk opera, Ira Gershwin took his inspiration from the spiritual and folk styles emanating from South Carolina at the time, against the backdrop of a tumultuous story of fraught tensions, love and the search for redemption.

Including long beloved classics such as 'Summertime,' 'I got Plenty of Nothing' and 'It Ain't Necessarily So', Porgy and Bess is rich portrait of a forgotten time, but with themes as fresh as ever.

What happens in Porgy and Bess?

In the tenements of Charleston, South Carolina, Catfish Row is home to a close knit community, among them the hard up, disabled beggar Porgy, who makes his way by pushing wares in his goat wagon. Into his path, the troublesome Bess is cast, after being thrown aside by her abusive, alcoholic lover, Crown.

Whilst immersing herself into Catfish Row, Bess and Porgy battle her demons, and try to save her from ruin. But the sound of her past has followed her, growing louder and louder with every passing day...

Did You Know?

Porgy and Bess was the first opera by an American composer to be included in La Scala's repertoire.