The First Production of “Porgy and Bess” in Boston, 1935

On September 30, 1935, the first production of George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" took place at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. It was a tryout ahead of Broadway: on October 10 of the same year the show opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York.

The libretto was written by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. Its basis was the play "Porgy" by Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, which grew out of Heyward's 1925 novel. Gershwin called the work a folk opera and explained that he had given up ready-made folklore for the sake of musical unity, and therefore wrote his own spirituals and songs.

The production featured classically trained African American singers, a bold choice for 1935. The leading roles were performed by Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, and the role of Sportin' Life was created by vaudeville performer John W. Bubbles. Alexander Smallens was the musical director, and Rouben Mamoulian handled the staging.

Gershwin insisted that in the United States only Black performers should play the leading roles. This opened the way for several opera singers, but it also caused controversy: even then it was said that the author was an outsider taking it upon himself to portray someone else's milieu. In the 1950s through the 1970s, the criticism intensified.

The song Summertime entered the jazz and popular repertoire and was recorded many times. A new interest in the opera was brought back by the Houston Grand Opera production of 1976, which restored the complete score. Today "Porgy and Bess" is one of the best-known and most frequently performed operas.

Image: Library of Congress — Porgy and Bess, 1935–1936

Translation editor: Ловушкин А.