Porgy and Bess (1951 album)
Encyclopedia
This 1951 recording of George Gershwin
's opera
Porgy and Bess
was the first "complete" recording of the work from beginning to end, not a series of selections of popular songs from the work. (The recording did not include most of the music written by Gershwin which had been customarily cut from productions in the United States
, however. As opposed to the complete three-hour opera, the album was two hours and nine minutes.)
The recording came about as a result of Lehman Engel
and Goddard Lieberson
's desire to record albums of Broadway shows that had never been given a full-length record album. Among the musicals the team had recorded (or would record) were Oh, Kay!
, Babes in Arms
, Girl Crazy
, and Pal Joey. Although there had been an album of Porgy and Bess since 1940, there had never been a 3-LP version which contained more than two-thirds of the opera.
The album was recorded between April 5 and April 13, 1951.
The album was originally released on 3 twelve-inch 33 rpm LPs. Columbia Masterworks assigned the album the serial number OSL 162. The recording was later remastered by Naxos Records
and re-released on CD
.
Several members of the original Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess appeared on the album.
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
was the first "complete" recording of the work from beginning to end, not a series of selections of popular songs from the work. (The recording did not include most of the music written by Gershwin which had been customarily cut from productions in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, however. As opposed to the complete three-hour opera, the album was two hours and nine minutes.)
The recording came about as a result of Lehman Engel
Lehman Engel
Lehman Engel was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film.-Work in theatre, television and films:...
and Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson
Goddard Lieberson was the president of Columbia Records from 1956 to 1971, and from 1973 to 1975. He was also a composer, and studied with George Frederick McKay, at the University of Washington, Seattle....
's desire to record albums of Broadway shows that had never been given a full-length record album. Among the musicals the team had recorded (or would record) were Oh, Kay!
Oh, Kay!
Oh, Kay! is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play La Presidente by Maurice Hanniquin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adventures of the Duke of Durham and his sister, Lady Kay, English...
, Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
, Girl Crazy
Girl Crazy
Girl Crazy is a 1930 musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in this musical production....
, and Pal Joey. Although there had been an album of Porgy and Bess since 1940, there had never been a 3-LP version which contained more than two-thirds of the opera.
The album was recorded between April 5 and April 13, 1951.
The album was originally released on 3 twelve-inch 33 rpm LPs. Columbia Masterworks assigned the album the serial number OSL 162. The recording was later remastered by Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
and re-released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
Several members of the original Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess appeared on the album.
Cast
- Lawrence WintersLawrence WintersLawrence Winters , bass-baritone, was an African American opera singer who had an active international career from the mid 1940s through the mid 1960s. He was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who...
, baritone (Porgy) - Camilla WilliamsCamilla WilliamsCamilla Ella Williams is an American operatic soprano and the first African American to receive a contract with a major American opera company.-Biography:...
, soprano (Bess) - Warren ColemanWarren ColemanWarren Coleman was an American operatic baritone. He created the roles of Crown in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and the role of John Kumalo in Weill's Lost in the Stars, in the premiere of both shows on Broadway....
, baritone (Crown) - Avon LongAvon LongAvon Long was an American Broadway actor and singer.-Life:Long was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He performed in a number of Broadway shows, including Black Rhythm , Porgy and Bess , and Beggar's Holiday...
, tenor (Sportin' Life) - Inez Matthews, soprano (Serena)
- Harrison Cattenhead, tenor (Peter)
- Hubert Dilworth, baritone (Undertaker)
- Helen Dowdy, mezzo-soprano(Maria/Lily/Strawberry Woman)
- George Fisher, baritone (Jim)
- William A. Glover, tenor (Mingo)
- Eddie Matthews, baritone (Jake)
- Sadie McGill, mezzo-soprano (Annie)
- June McMechen, soprano (Clara)
- Irving Washington, tenor (Robbins)
- Ray Yeats, tenor (Nelson/Crab Man)
- J. Rosamond JohnsonJ. Rosamond JohnsonJohn Rosamond Johnson , most often referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson, was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson is most notable as the composer of Lift Every Voice and Sing which has come to be known in the United States as the "Black National Anthem"...
(Frazier) - Robert Carroll (Mr. Archdale)
- George Matthews (Detective)
- Peter Van Zant (Police Officer/Coroner)
- J. Rosamond Johnson Chorus
- Pickup orchestra
- Lehman EngelLehman EngelLehman Engel was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film.-Work in theatre, television and films:...
, conductor
External links
- Track listing and synopsis from Naxos' reissue
- "75 years Porgy and Bess"