Gershwin: Porgy and Bess [Original 1935 Production Version]
![Gershwin: Porgy and Bess [Original 1935 Production Version]](/images/Gershwin-Porgy-and-Bess-Original-1935-Production-Version-B000H0MGTG-L.jpg)
List Price:
Our Price: $18.17
You Save: $15.81 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.99 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Conductor: John MauceriOrchestra: Nashville Symphony & Chorus
Performer: Alvy Powell
Performer: Marquita Lister
Performer: Robert Mack
Performer: Nicole Cabell
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Act 1. Scene 1. Introduction
- Act 1. Scene 1. Summertime
- Act 1. Scene 1. Seems like these bones don't give me nothin' but boxcars tonight
- Act 1. Scene 1. Summertime
- Act 1. Scene 1. What, that chile ain't asleep yet?... A woman is a sometime thing (Lissen to yo' da
- Act 1. Scene 1. Honey man! Honey man! Here come de honey man
- Act 1. Scene 1. They pass by singin' (No, no, brudder, Porgy ain't sof on no woman)
- Act 1. Scene 1. Here comes Big Boy!
- Act 1. Scene 1. Crown cock-eyed drunk... Oh, little stars
- Act 1. Scene 1. Oh, stop them! Don't let them fight!
- Act 1. Scene 1. Wake up an' hit it out. You ain't got no time to lose
- Act 1. Scene 2. Gone, gone, gone (Where is brudder Robbins?)... Overflow
- Act 1. Scene 2. Um! A saucer-buryin' setup, I see
- Act 1. Scene 2. My man's gone now
- Act 1. Scene 2. How de saucer stan' now, my sister?
- Act 1. Scene 2. Leavin' for the Promise' Lan' (Oh, the train is at the station)
- Act 2. Scene 1. It take a long pull to get there (Oh, I'm a-goin' out to the Blackfish banks)
- Act 2. Scene 1. Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin'
- Act 2. Scene 1. Mornin' lawyer, lookin' for somebody?
- Act 2. Scene 1. Dey's a Buckra comin'
- Act 2. Scene 1. 'Lo, Bess, goin' to de picnic?
- Act 2. Scene 1. Bess, you is my woman now
- Act 2. Scene 1. Oh, I can't sit down
- Act 2. Scene 2. Allegretto barbaro / Ha da da, ha da da
- Act 2. Scene 2. It ain't necessarily so
- Act 2. Scene 2. Crown! - You know very well dis Crown
- Act 2. Scene 2. Oh... What you want wid Bess?
- Act 2. Scene 3. Honey, dat's all de breakfast I got time for
- Act 2. Scene 3. Well, if it ain' ole Peter!
- Act 2. Scene 3. Oh, Doctor Jesus
- Act 2. Scene 3. Oh dey's so fresh an fine... I'm talkin' about devil crabs
- Act 2. Scene 3. Porgy, Porgy, dat you there, ain' it?
- Act 2. Scene 3. I loves you, Porgy
- Act 2. Scene 3. Why you been out on that wharf so long, Clara?
- Act 2. Scene 3. Storm
- Act 2. Scene 4. Oh, de Lawd shake de Heavens
- Act 2. Scene 4. One of dese mornin's... Oh, dere's somebody knockin' at de do'
- Act 2. Scene 4. You is a nice parcel of Christians
- Act 2. Scene 4. Jake's boat in de river, upside down!
- Act 3. Scene 1. Clara, Clara, don't you be downhearted
- Act 3. Scene 1. Ha ha ha
- Act 3. Scene 1. Summertime
- Act 3. Scene 2. Introduction / Wait for us at the corner, Al
- Act 3. Scene 2. Listen: There's a boat dat's leavin' soon for New York
- Act 3. Scene 3. Occupational humoresque / Good mornin'
- Act 3. Scene 3. It's Porgy comin' home
- Act 3. Scene 3. Oh, Bess, oh where's my Bess
- Act 3. Scene 3. Where Bess gone?... Oh Lawd, I'm on my way
Music reviews of Gershwin: Porgy and Bess [Original 1935 Production Version]
Music Review: This is a tough call.
Rating: 3 Stars
OK. Here's the deal, at least as I see it.
We have an embarrassment of riches here: Depending on your definition of the word "complete", there are now as many as four complete recordings of George Gershwin's astounding masterpiece, "Porgy and Bess", for us to choose from, or, for that matter, to pick and choose from.
Why "as many as"? Well, because the eminent conductor/musicologist in charge of this newest recording took the scholarly position of wanting to present a "Porgy and Bess" which adhere's to Gershwin's final intentions. Admirable, of course, but a treacherous road to take, full of pot holes and worse.
I'm not going to get into which of the four complete recordings (Lorin Maazel's beautifully recorded and performed `70s version on Decca has just been reissued) is best, because it is simply an unanswerable question. Each version has its' definite pluses and minuses. But laudable though this newest version may be, I am forced to conclude it has the largest number of minuses. So many and so serious, in fact, that I fear it does not survive them.
First and foremost are the cuts. They are substantial and noticeable. Featured characters fade into insignificance. But principal characters lose music as well. The problem is, after all these years, we are finally getting to know "Porgy and Bess." We are becoming emotionally attached, as we would to any piece of music we happen to like, to certain elements of the score that others might find unimportant, or, worse yet, unauthentic. When we hear this new recording, for all its' merits, and there are many, we find something missing. Literally, unfortunately. Although the trims help move the action along at a brisker clip, I'm not convinced this is always a desired result. And that's even taking into account that Gershwin the performer, was not known to twaddlle. Have you heard any of his recordings? Another problem here are the singers. Now any stage production would be proud to have put together this cast. But we're not in the theater here. We're listening on our CD players, our iPods, our phones, for God sake. Vocal weaknesses become more and more noticeable upon the repeated hearings the stage performance isn't exposed to.
Not everything is negative here. Maestro Mauceri's conducting is, as always, first rate. He obviously knows this score forward and backward, and probably upside down as well. The recorded sound is excellent. The orchestra, somewhat thinned down when compared to the other recordings, performs transparently and with a wonderful sense of spirit. They should be proud of their work. And, due to the cuts and the somewhat brisker performance in general, the whole thing has been squeezed onto two CDs rather than three. Economics are always important, no less so in these.....uh......"troubled" times.
My preferred "Porgy"? I'm afraid the answer is "no". Worth a listen or two? Oh, yes. Please do. Absolutely.
So, what about the other three? Well, I think they should be reviewed on their own, not here. It must be said I have a personal involvement with the Maazel recording that may influence my objectivity., I love it a great deal and find it to be invariably moving. However, and giving credit to all, especially Maestro Maazel, for wonderful work, I think some might find it just a tad too serious. Maazel tends to slightly de-emphasize the tin-pan alley heritage from which this score comes. But it will always hold pride of place as the first "complete" recording. And the sound, always a knockout, is even better in this CD release. That leaves Glyndebourne and Houston. And that's where it leaves me, too. I find both recordings to be outstanding. And I find it impossible to pick between them.
So, pick and choose? Sorry, I can't do it. I have to have both of them. And, well, of course the Maazel, for my own reasons. And now that I think about it, there were some things in the Mauceri version that I might want to hear again when the dust settles. Better hang onto it to. Oh, God. I'm right back where I began.
Well, that's "Porgy and Bess' for you!
Description of Gershwin: Porgy and Bess [Original 1935 Production Version]
This is the first recording of George Gershwin's classic to incorporate the composer's final revisions for the 1935 premiere. Apparently it differs from the original published score though it won't sound all that different to a layman who's heard the versions dating from the 1970s onward, which replaced spoken dialogue with the sung recitatives Gershwin wanted. Musicology aside, there are gains and losses in this new set. The gains are a tighter, more focused narrative line due to the cuts, which amount to about half-an-hour of music. But those cuts are losses too, since they include some familiar and well-loved numbers. The performance is a good one though, if not necessarily preferable to previous recordings by Maazel, DeMain, and Rattle, all of which have their own shortcomings. Alvy Powell makes for a finely honed Porgy, and while one could ask for a bigger-voiced Bess, Marquita Lister sings and acts well. Many of the smaller roles are admirable too, with Lester Lynch scoring as a menacing Crown but Nicole Cabell, the Clara, has a wide vibrato on sustained high notes marring her "Summertime," here performed in the faster tempo of the 1935 score. --Dan DavisGeneral CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in General CDs
Andrew Johnston - One VoiceRelease date: 2008-11-18; Music CD
Best price: $8.18
Price in other shops:
Ludwig Van Beethoven (composer), Various Orchestras - Complete WorksRelease date: 2009-01-20; Music CD
Best price: $71.95
Price in other shops:
Andrea Bocelli - IncantoRelease date: 2008-11-04; Music CD
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
Amore Infinito: Songs inspired by the Poetry of John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)Release date: 2009-03-10; Music CD
Best price: $9.49
Price in other shops:
Chris Botti - ItaliaRelease date: 2007-09-25; Music CD
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops:
Andrea Bocelli - The Best of Andrea Bocelli: VivereBOCELLI,ANDREA; Release date: 2007-10-30; Music CD
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
The Priests - The PriestsRelease date: 2008-11-18; Music CD
Best price: $7.74
Price in other shops:
Il Divo - The PromiseRelease date: 2008-11-18; Music CD
Best price: $4.68
Price in other shops:
Paul Potts - PassioneRelease date: 2009-05-05; Music CD
Best price: $7.83
Price in other shops:
Paul Potts - One ChanceRelease date: 2007-09-18; Music CD
Best price: $5.28
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Handel - Semele / Joshua, Summers, Croft, Wallace, EOC, CurnynRelease date: 2008-01-08; Music CD
Best price: $16.18
Price in other shops:
Leoncavallo: PagliacciRelease date: 1996-09-17; Music CD
Best price: $10.44
Price in other shops:
West Side Story (Full Screen Edition)West; Release date: 2003-10-07; DVD
Best price: $4.37
Price in other shops:
Audra McDonald, Patrick Wilson - Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Allegro" (First Complete Recording)Release date: 2009-02-03; Music CD
Best price: $10.71
Price in other shops:
Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass - Porgy and BessRelease date: 1994-12-02; Music CD
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
George Gershwin: Porgy and BessRelease date: 2008-07-08; Music CD
Best price: $20.98
Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (The New Broadway Cast)Release date: 2008-05-27; Music CD
Best price: $9.60
Price in other shops:
George Gershwin - Porgy & Bess / Trevor Nunn · Sir Simon Rattle · W. White · C. Haymon · Glyndebourne OperaRelease date: 2001-07-03; DVD
Best price: $20.28
Price in other shops:
Boyd Gaines, Laura Benanti - Gypsy - 2008 Original Broadway CastRelease date: 2008-08-26; Music CD
Best price: $11.53
Price in other shops:
George Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess"Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $44.98
Price in other shops: