Bess, You Is My Woman-Porgy and Bess by Todd Duncan, Anne Brown

Part Three. We have looked at love duets in opera and operetta. For our third song, we chose something that started as an aria in an opera and then wound up as a song in a Broadway show. In September 1925, a novel by DuBose Heyward was published, describing a moral tale about a place called Catfish Row in South Carolina. The novel had taken its inspiration from a cripple, named Samuel Smalls, who got around in a goat cart in the Charleston area. The novel was an instant success.

In 1926, George Gershwin contacted Heyward directly to suggest that they collaborate on an opera based on the novel. However, Gershwin felt he needed to take more time than usual to develop the score, and it was not until December 1933 that the Gershwin brothers made their first trip to Charleston to get to know the area and its people. George Gershwin would return south for an extended stay on Folly Island, with visits to neighboring James Island and then to Hendersonville, before returning to New York.
Casting started in early 1935, and Porgy and Bess opened at the Alvin Theatre in October 1935.

I have never had the opportunity to see a live performance of Porgy and Bess, but I did see the movie in 1959; and I instinctively knew that Robbins should not play dice with Crown; I wept with Serena; I was sure that Porgy could defend himself against Crown; I was devastated when Bess weakened and left with Sportin’ Life; and I prayed that Porgy could make it all the way to Harlem to rescue Bess. I have never experienced quite the same involvement with a cast nor experienced the range of emotions that went through me that summer in 1959.

One final note: I chose to share with you the 1940 Decca recording, featuring members of the original cast, including Todd Duncan as Porgy and Anne Brown as Bess. In terms of pure musical quality, it may not be as good as the later recording by Leontyne Price and William Warfield, which you can find at https://youtu.be/2hDtUNSrhqI. However, the Decca recording has one redeeming value that I could not ignore. Duncan and Brown are excellent singers, but what swayed me is that their version managed to touch my soul. Every time I hear them, I start rooting for them all over again, even though my brain tells me otherwise. And after all, shouldn’t a love duet be about love?