My colleague George Warren offered a
review of Fresno Grand Opera's impressive "Porgy and Bess" in Sunday's paper. I saw the matinee performance and wanted to offer a few more thoughts:
- The voices: simply amazing. The principals were world-class. Alvy Powell can bore a hole into you with his voice. Marquita Lister is a terrific actress as well as singer. Mary Elizabeth Williams was positively beatific. The growly Ashley Howard Wilkinson was tremendous. Judith Skinner was a feisty crowd favorite. Dwayne Clark oozed charisma. And the list went on and on. A couple of things came to mind: "Porgy and Bess" is hard to stage because the music is so taxing and the settings so varied. But also, you need deep pockets of talent to pull it off. Even when portions of the opera seem a little dated and even stiff, the voices in this production were so strong that they carried the day.
- The staging: Very nice. I loved the way that stage director Joseph Bascetta emphasized the small-scale of human relationships in the midst of all that grand music. Hands played a big role in the production: Porgy's outstretched hand at the end of the first scene; the outstretched hands of the funeral wail; the touching embrace between the title characters when they declare their love for each other -- not a young, untroubled love, but one between two people with a lot of baggage. Again with the hands: When Skinner, as the cook-shop owner, threatened the scheming Clark with her big cutting blade, she swept it around as if she were waving a fan. Very funny and effective stuff.
- The program notes: Alas. I think they were incomplete. If ever there were an opera that demands historical context and explanation, it's "Porgy and Bess." For years, the opera fell out of favor because of its perceived stereotypes, and I think it's important for there to be a discussion of those issues. The opera is significant because the Gershwins dared write a production to be performed by basically an all-black cast. Many prominent black opera singers got their start because of the opera. For a production to focus on black life, warts and all, was a tremendously daring thing to do for the time. Even to have a song called "It Ain't Necessarily So," which raises questions about the veracity of the Bible, was cutting-edge. You don't have to defend the stereotypes portrayed in "Porgy and Bess" to enjoy it -- it's possible to view it from a historical perspective -- but it's important at least to acknowledge some of the racial issues raised. That's what I was looking for in the program, and I was disappointed I didn't find it.
Thoughts on 'Porgy and Bess'
Comments:
Bah! I forgot all about this! Glad to see it went well. You wouldn't happen to have any comments on the Evelyn Glennie concert, would you?
Posted by: Cristobal at May 6, 2008 11:38 AM
Cristobal, I didn't publish a separate blog entry on the Evelyn Glennie concert, but I did go to see it. I couldn't believe how much energy she had on stage running from one percussion instrument to another. I have a feeling that at least a portion of the Saroyan audience -- those who didn't read their programs -- didn't even realize she is profoundly deaf. I thought she was great on the bagpipes, too.
Posted by: Donald Munro at May 7, 2008 10:58 AM
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