{"id":9074,"date":"2024-11-22T16:29:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T22:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=9074"},"modified":"2024-11-22T16:29:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T22:29:11","slug":"porgy-and-bess-is-it-worth-it-to-perform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2024\/11\/22\/porgy-and-bess-is-it-worth-it-to-perform\/","title":{"rendered":"Porgy and Bess: Is It Worth It to Perform?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Porgy and Bess: Is It Worth It to Perform?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Sr2AnmNH2b0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 1925, an opera portraying love, tragedy, and conmen was published. Needless to say, it was a major success in opera performance as it has been celebrated as \u201cone of the most celebrated American operas,\u201d running for only 124 performances, it has made lasting impact on American music for it\u2019s iconic music such as\u00a0 \u201cSummertime\u201d, and for it\u2019s complex storyline. Although, the complex storyline based on a real man in the 1920s, Samuel Smalls, Can often be seen as a negative depiction of African-American culter and experiences. Although, black-owned newspapers and news outlets at the time raved heavily for the representation and storytelling depicted on the Broadway Stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9077\" src=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1-300x79.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"79\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1-300x79.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1-150x40.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1-500x132.jpg 500w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-1.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an analysis of \u201cPorgy Bess\u201d done by Lawrence Starr, Starr argues that \u201cPorgy and Bess\u201d it is difficult to say that the intention of creating the musical was supposed to be a means of mocking and critcizim of the African American community, rather a means of telling a story based off of the novel \u201cPorgy\u201d by DuBose Heyward. Starr states in his article that this is important considering that there were never any outward statements about the oper being solely about \u201cthe Black People\u201d but more an opera of \u201cBlack People\u201d. This argument was further emphasized through Starr\u2019s study of Bizet\u2019s \u201cCarmen\u201d in which Bizet had very opinionated views on the \u201cgypsies\u201d in the musical\u201d (pg. 26) Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that one of the most infamous American Operas is about African American characters complicated love stories, gambling, cheating, killing, and disability. This can also become complicated considering that the story and the the opera were both written through the lens of a white man, which can, raise questions and flags of appropriation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although, at the time of it\u2019s release and for some time after it\u2019s debut on Broadway, Black owned press seemed to take a liking toward the opera and what it had done for black artists in the cast With the cast being an entirely black cast, this gave opportunities to black artists in which there would have not been an opportunity otherwise. In an article done by the Chicago Defender in 1942, Ethyl B. Wise focused on the children that were able to become involved within the musical as well as the amount of fun opportunities for the children within the musical. Wise states in the article, \u201cDon\u2019t you think it is grand that the actors including the children are all your people.\u201d Although, this means we also need to take into consideration, (which Wise states in the article) that the children that are in the musical are also being exposed to a very mature\u00a0 storyline, which raised concerns while the parents were on the road with their children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although that the musical has been analyzed in both through negative connotations such as the the appropriation and black culture and the undermining nature of their life, the opera also offered plentiful opportunities for African-American performers in a time whic African-American performers were not seen in the limelight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Work Cited<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">WISE, ETHYL B. &#8220;Let&#8217;s Go Backstage with Eight Little Stars in &#8216;Porgy and Bess&#8217;: BILLIKENS HOLD SPOTLIGHT IN &#8216;PORGY AND BESS&#8217;.&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967),<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Dec 05, 1942. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/historical-newspapers\/lets-go-backstage-with-eight-little-stars-porgy\/docview\/492701821\/se-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/historical-newspapers\/lets-go-backstage-with-eight-little-stars-porgy\/docview\/492701821\/se-2<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Noonan, Marie Ellen. 2002. &#8220;\u201cPorgy and Bess\u201d and the American Racial Imaginary, 1925\u20131985.&#8221; Order No. 3048850, New York University. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/dissertations-theses\/porgy-bess-american-racial-imaginary-1925-1985\/docview\/305540446\/se-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/dissertations-theses\/porgy-bess-american-racial-imaginary-1925-1985\/docview\/305540446\/se-2<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Starr, Lawrence. \u201cToward a Reevaluation of Gershwin\u2019s Porgy and Bess.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American Music<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2, no. 2 (1984): 25\u201337. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3051656\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3051656<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9076\" src=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-300x79.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"79\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-300x79.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-150x40.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM-500x132.jpg 500w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-22-at-4.25.23\u202fPM.jpg 508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Porgy and Bess: Is It Worth It to Perform? In 1925, an opera portraying love, tragedy, and conmen was published. Needless to say, it was a major success in opera performance as it has been celebrated as \u201cone of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2024\/11\/22\/porgy-and-bess-is-it-worth-it-to-perform\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4393,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1563],"tags":[364,418,387,405],"class_list":["post-9074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall-24-mus-345b","tag-george-gershwin","tag-performers","tag-porgy-and-bess","tag-summertime"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jEhR-2mm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9079,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9074\/revisions\/9079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}