Pretty much everybody has heard the classic hits I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ and It Ain’t Necessarily So, and, perhaps most famous of all: Summertime. What most people don't realize, however, is that these great songs are not simply old jazz standards. They started life as the most popular parts of one of the most famous American operas: Porgy and Bess®.
Dating from 1935, this work created by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, presents the lives of the inhabitants of an African-American community in Charleston, South Carolina, in all of its splendor – its joyfulness and reverence, the hard work and, sometimes, its violence – through the love story of a crippled beggar and a drug-addicted woman.
The English surtitles use the text from the original work, which is written mostly in the Gullah dialect.
“The worldwide copyrights in the music of George and Ira Gershwin® for this presentation are licensed by the Gershwin Family.”
“PORGY AND BESS® is presented by arrangement with TAMS-WITMARK MUSIC LIBRARY, INC. 560 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022”
“GERSHWIN® is a registered trademark and service mark of Gershwin Enterprises. PORGY AND BESS®is a registered trademark and service mark of Porgy and Bess Enterprises.”
Disclaimer of the copyright owners: “The manner in which this production of Porgy and Bess is being produced is unauthorized and is contrary to the requirements for the presentation of the work.”
General cast
Conductor: István Dénes
Porgy: Marcell Bakonyi
Bess: Lilla Horti
Sporting Life: Szemenyei János
Crown: Károly Szemerédy
Jake: Máté Fülep
Clara: Beatrix Fodor
Robbins: Gergely Ujvári
Serena: Gabriella Fodor
Maria: Andrea Meláth
Mingo: Tivadar Kiss
Peter: Ferenc Kristofori
Frazier / Undertaker: Lajos Geiger
Crab Man / Nelson: János Szerekován
Detective: Artúr Kálid
Mr. Archdale / Coroner: Dániel Viktor Nagy
Policeman: dr. Marcelo Cake-Baly
Scipio: Dominik Jobbágy / Barnabás Pál
Dancers: Gábor Szigeti / István Kohári / Ricardo Vila M. / Levente Bajári / Ildikó Boros / Zsófia Gyarmati / Sára Weisz / Bianka Rotter / Miklós Dávid Kerényi