In 1952 the US State
Department subsidized a world tour
of Porgy and Bess, which lasted
over three years. For many opera lovers
this was their first opportunity to
see this American folk opera. A lot
of the music was already well known
through recordings, not only with
operatic artists like Helen Jepson,
Lawrence Tibbett and the great Paul
Robeson but also with leading popular
singers and jazz musicians. This tour
was the foundation for the success
that Porgy and Bess has been
ever since. It was also through this
tour that the young Leontyne Price
made herself a name, even though it
was some years before she became firmly
established.
The present live
recording was made when Price was
25 and the youthful freshness of her
singing as well as the lyrical brightness
are at once apparent. The recorded
sound, the noisy background and sometimes
odd balance between orchestra and
soloists make this a valuable historical
documentation rather than a set one
buys and consumes repeatedly as a
library recording. Leontyne Price
and William Warfield recorded a highlights
disc for RCA a good decade later in
splendid sound with Skitch Henderson’s
taut and precise conducting lifting
the music to supreme heights. On that
LP Ms Price also sang Clara’s Summertime
and Serena’s My man’s gone now.
William Warfield’s reading of Porgy’s
role was even more assured than here.
McHenry Boatwright’s magnificent bass
made him an even nastier Crown and
the jazz singer John W Bubbles gave
special authenticity to Sporting Life
– he was the singer who sang the role
at the premiere. That record is enthusiastically
recommended as a complement to any
of the complete recordings.
I suppose that the
performance in Titania Palast in Berlin
also was enjoyable, if the audience
reaction is anything to go by. There
is long and powerful applause after
several of the set-pieces, most of
all the glorious reading of the duet
Bess, you is my woman now with
Warfield’s warm Porgy matching the
bright tones of Ms Price’s superb
Bess. The three women in the penultimate
scene pulling the leg of the detective
are met with repeated laughs. The
whole performance is lively, noisy
and enthusiastic. There is often tremendous
force and rhythmic drive in the many
mass-scenes. The performance is fairly
complete but there are several minor
cuts and the Buzzard song is missing
all together. On the other hand there
is more spoken dialogue in several
places, compared to Simon Rattle’s
Glyndebourne recording. I tried to
follow the performance via the booklet
to that EMI set but this was far from
easy.
I have already mentioned
Price and Warfield who are superb
throughout but there are several other
singers who make splendid contributions.
Helen Colbert sings Summertime
with glorious tone and Helen Thigpen
is touching in My man’s gone now.
Joseph James as Jake has a magnificent
black bass and sings with rhythmic
élan while John McCurry’s gruff
Crown is less of an asset. I am also
in two minds concerning Cab Calloway’s
Sporting Life. He is oily and slimy
and was probably splendid visually
too but vocally he tends to over-act.
I prefer John W Bubbles, who was just
as jazzy but more balanced.
Readers who want
a complete recording of this American
‘verismo’ opera have two splendid
sets to choose from: Lorin Maazel’s
Decca recording from the mid-1970s
and the aforementioned EMI set under
Rattle from the late 1980s. On both
sets Willard White is a deeply involved
Porgy, fresher of voice on Decca;
on EMI he is a bit strained on the
highest notes.
The inlay to this
Guild issue has well-written historical
notes and a synopsis but no libretto.
As I have already intimated the issue
is more aimed at specialist collectors
than general opera-lovers. Apart from
the technical shortcomings and the
noisy production it is definitely
highly interesting.
Göran Forsling
Unterhaltungsorchester/Alexander Smallens
