11. Porgy and Bess. Mixed heritage, muddled legacy. George Gershwin (1898–1937) described Porgy and Bess as a folk opera, meaning that he composed music intended to sound like Black folk tunes, within the context of a traditional opera. Opera or not, Porgy and Bess opened in a Broadway theater in 1935 and ran for 124 performances. Since then, it has been presented in both contexts. So it is an opera or a musical? Both, probably.

Porgy began as a novel by DuBose Heyward published in 1925. The next year, he and his wife Dorothy made it into a successful Broadway play. Gershwin had approached Heyward about a collaboration earlier, but it was not until 1934 that they began work. The publishers currently require that the show be advertised as "The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess," implying a collaboration between George and his brother Ira similar to their Broadway hits, but most of the lyrics were actually written by Heyward. Ira's contributions tend to be the Broadway-style numbers that rely on wit rather than plot development; the resultant clash of styles is one of the reasons why Porgy is so difficult to pigeonhole. rb.

 
There is a brief synopsis in the handout. Other resources will be posted immediately after class.