Porgy & Bess
New York Production
Festival Theatre
Sat 15th July (Matinee Performance)
Season closed

I am not an opera lover, but can't get enough of 'Porgy & Bess'. I saw the New York production at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1997 and yet jumped at the chance to see it again. So - what it is about George Gershwin's score that makes 'Porgy...' enduring nearly a century after it was composed, particularly when the story is a time capsule piece often criticised for its 'Uncle Tom' depiction of African-Americans. In my opinion, the score works not only because Gershwin was the premier popular composer of his day, but because it is the perfect fusion of blues and classical sensibilities that typified Gershwin's best 'serious' compositions such as the groundbreaking Rhapsody In Blue.

The opera is set in Catfish Row, a small black fishing community in South Carolina, just after the turn of the twentieth century. Bess (Jerris Cates) is the local floozy hooked up with the village bully Crown (Stephen Finch). When Crown kills Robbins following an argument over a crap game, Crown flees leaving Bess to fend for herself in a community that despises her, the notable exception being the cripple Porgy (Richard Hobson) who is smitten with her. She moves in with him out of desperation, but then love blossoms. However, Crown returns and Bess is torn between her love for Porgy, her lust for Crown and the 'magic dust' peddled by the local ne'er do well Sportin' Life (Marlin Debique).

The New York production has been touring for years, but this company shows no signs of burnout. The performance was polished and passionate and even more enjoyable the second time around. The cast members regularly rotate in the roles and Hobson and Cates are not the company principals. However, Hobson has a magnificent bass-baritone voice and earned a standing ovation from some members of the audience. Cates too was impressive and Stephen Finch reprising his role in the 1997 production showed that he still has the physique and testosterone to convince as the brutal villain. Debique was suitably lithe and sleazy and the female members of the supporting cast in particular outshone the 1997 company.

I came out whistling the songs and hoping I don't have to wait another decade for a chance to do it all again.

Mal Byrne