Gershwin / Heyward: Porgy & Bess (1935)

George & Ira Gershwin (Composer), Dubose & Dorothy Heyward (Composer), John Mauceri (Conductor), Nashville Symphony & Chorus (Orchestra), Alvy Powell (Performer), Marquita Lister (Performer), Robert Mack (Performer), Nicole Cabell (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Alvy Powell, Marquita Lister, Robert Mack, Nicole Cabell
• Orchestra: Nashville Symphony & Chorus
• Conductor: John Mauceri
• Composer: George & Ira Gershwin, Dubose & Dorothy Heyward
• Audio CD (September 12, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000H0MGTG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,233 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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 Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My Jasbo's Gone Now!, September 30, 2006

By 

Mr. Philip D. Lambert "Mr Melba" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gershwin / Heyward: Porgy & Bess (1935) (Audio CD)

Q: What do Pogy & Bess and Verdi's Don Carlos have in common?
A: Both fell victim to 'Last Train Syndrome'.
How interesting to learn that both these scores, so full of glories, so rich in human character and emotion, arrived at the rehearsal room as huge, rambling structures, only to have drastic cuts forced on them before opening night in order that audiences wouldn't miss the last trains back to the suburbs!
Gershwin, unlike Verdi, never got to revise his score following its first stages production, so we'll never know what his final thoughts may have been had he lived a normal lifespan. This new recording, the fruit of meticulous research into the original pit parts and production notes, reproduces what the first New York audiences heard in the theatre. Approximately 25 minutes of music was cut from the original, published score. The result was an admittedly more focused narrative, with a stronger through-line for all the main characters.
But, musically, the losses are hard borne. Most sadly missed are the evocative Jasbo Brown blues, the quasi-religious prelude to the crap game, I Ain't Got No Shame, Maria's tirade against Spotin' Life and...oh, what's the point of going on?
In addition, the singing {with the welcome exceptions of Crown and Mingo) is competent rather than distinguished, and Mauceri's conducting safe, rather than inspired.
I enjoyed the dramatic integrity of this set, but it will never replace John de Main and Houston Grand Opera.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Huge Disappointment, October 5, 2006

By 

William S. Oser "Snowy and Manny's Dad" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gershwin / Heyward: Porgy & Bess (1935) (Audio CD)

If I were to have only one recording of Porgy and Bess, it would definately be the Houston Grand Opera recording on RCA. It is COMPLETE and wonderfully cast and conducted. The cuts, albeit sanctioned by George Gershwin are very bothersome. While the main characters are a bit more focused, they lose depth because they are no longer an integral part of a rich tapestry of community life. Other reviewers mentioned specific cuts that they regretted. I will second that opinion, I miss what was cut as well. The casting would be fine for a performance in a regional opera house, but not the stuff of great recordings. Even though the principals in Houston's recording did not have major careers in major American Opera Houses, they all rose to levels of greatness. Simon Rattle's Glynbourne recording is cast with singers who had and have major careers and next to this recording, it shows. With all that said, I prefer John Mauceri's conducting over Rattle's which can be a bit idiosyncratic. American Popular music is not mother's milk to Sir Simon Rattle, and while he conducts decently in all the major moments, he does not make transitions as well as he might. This is Mauceri's strength, he knows how this music should go and how to make it flow because it is part of him and has been for many years. Oh what he could have done with a complete recording and a first rate cast. First choice among Porgy and Bess Recordings is definately Houston Grand on RCA, second choice for me is Lehman Engle in a 1950s mono performance for Columbia, which although badly cut is brilliantly sung and conducted. Simon Rattle is for those for whom Porgy is a singer's opera, which is not me. It is the most gloriously sung and has much to recommend it. Beyond these three recordings, the rest are major disappointments.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Mauceri Porgy And Bess, September 20, 2006

By 

W. S. Ankenbrock "justoldbill" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gershwin / Heyward: Porgy & Bess (1935) (Audio CD)

Following in the line of his recordings of STREET SCENE and REGINA, the John Mauceri recording of PORGY AND BESS, alas, underwhelms. The people involved state this as the PORGY Gershwin wanted. I would rather say that it's the PORGY Gershwin realistically settled for.

The use of subsequent changes in the libretto and lyrics for certain offensive words alone calls into question the historical accuracy of this "1935 version". One has to wonder what other unspoken compromises have been made. Further statements in the notes for this recording have a scent of self-congratulation and self-justification rather than musical scholarship, at the expense of Gershwin's full, original version. One glaring statement involves Act III's "Occupational Humoresque", stating this recording captures its first performance since 1938, ignoring the fact that the effect was heard in the 1959 film and its soundtrack album.

As for the recording itself, no one will accuse it of mimicking Maazel's "conservatory" approach. Mauceri isn't that careful. He allows his soloists a wide berth, to the point where at times they're not with the orchestra at all. At times, its just sloppy. The one good thing this abridged version does is bring into proper perspective the musical and dramatic cohesiveness and magnitude of Gershwin's full score as we have thankfully known it for the last thirty years.

In short, this recording is not recommended- a wasted opportunity for an American masterwork. For the original complete score that Gershwin composed and orchestrated, I would go with the Houston Grand Opera recording, not the Glyndebourne. And a better two-disc (slightly abridged) recording on Sony or Naxos(UK) conducted by Lehman Engel in 1951 is a personal favorite.