The Gershwins', Porgy & Bess

Episode aired Oct 6, 1993
3h 4m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

168

YOUR RATING

Cynthia Haymon and Willard White in The Gershwins', Porgy & Bess (1993)

Comedy Drama Romance Sci-Fi

The story of a disabled beggar in Charleston, S.C. who falls in love with a prostitute, this is the first filmed version of Gershwin's opera which uses Gershwin's own orchestrations and prac... Read allThe story of a disabled beggar in Charleston, S.C. who falls in love with a prostitute, this is the first filmed version of Gershwin's opera which uses Gershwin's own orchestrations and practically all of the music, with only one major cut.The story of a disabled beggar in Charleston, S.C. who falls in love with a prostitute, this is the first filmed version of Gershwin's opera which uses Gershwin's own orchestrations and practically all of the music, with only one major cut.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

168

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total

Photos7

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Bass-baritone Bruce Hubbard appeared as Jake in the Glyndebourne stage production on which this television production is based, but he died suddenly in 1991, so he was not able to appear in this version. Because the original recording of the Glyndebourne production was used, however (instead of having the cast make an all-new recording for the telecast), Hubbard's singing voice is still heard as Jake, while Gordon Hawkins plays the role onscreen and lip-synchs to Hubbard's voice.

Quotes
Clara: [singing, to her baby] Summertime, And the livin' is easy, Fish are jumpin' And de cotton is high, Oh, your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-lookin', So, hush, little baby, don't you cry.

Connections
Featured in Great Performances: Porgy and Bess: An American Voice (1998)

Soundtracks
Overture and Jasbo Brown Blues
Music by George Gershwin
Piano solo by Wayne Marshall
Wordless chant sung by chorus
Played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Simon Rattle

User reviews7

Review

Featured review

9/10

Exceptional Production of an Exceptional Work

This production is a collector's item. Stage or other productions of Porgy and Bess are rare.

I concur in the reviews above except the first, which I find a bit too demanding. The production, due to the curious solution regarding the casting, really can't be considered as "perfect," but it is truly remarkable. It is otherwise as good as a television adaptation of an opera can get. Will anyone ever attempt Scott Joplin's Treemonisha?

To answer one concern, that it is overly romantic? Well, yes, the story is indeed romantic --- the essence of the story is a romance. One could remark that the setting is "romanticized," not truly representative of the Low Country Gullah culture, but this interpretation seems too limiting and unappreciative of the contributions of Gullah culture which Heyward and the Gershwins sought to reflect. The wonderful stories of The Song of the South (which are based on Gullah stories) have been basically lost due to the virtual "blacklisting" of that production. It does thankfully seem that Porgy and Bess has avoided this obstacle.