Gershwin: Porgy and Bess - Summertime

The same year George Gershwin published the version for two pianos of his Rhapsody in Blue, the novel Porgy, by the writer DuBose Heyward, became the bestseller of that year, 1926. Gershwin was fascinated with the work, which addressed the painful life of black people of the south in the United States, and thought about writing an opera based on it, for which he initiated contacts with the author to obtain the copyright and his permission.

But other projects distracted him and it was not until eight years later, in 1934, when he began to work intensely on the music for the libretto that Heyward and George's brother lyricist, Ira Gershwin, had written on the basis of the same name play, written in duet by Heyward and his wife. At the beginning of 1935, the opera was finished and Porgy and Bess was released in September of that year. The name of the co-star was added to the original title of the novel and the play, so as to compare, favourably, with Tristan and Isolde, to give an example.

The play tells the story of Porgy, a black beggar, and a handicapped person, to make things worse, who tries to rescue Bess, young black woman, from the clutches of a possessive and violent lover.
Originally four hours long, the work is divided into three acts. In the first one, a young mother sings a lullaby, Summertime, to her little son. (In the third act, Bess will sing it). And contrary to the common opinion, his verses are not Ira Gershwin's but Heyward's.

Countless versions have been made of the theme, a large part of them for jazz groups and performed by the most famous African-American music singers, among them, to name a few, Janis Joplin, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and many others.
The original song is offered here, in a concert version, with the American soprano Kathleen Battle, accompanied by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Unlike other singers, Kathleen sings in the tonality, very demanding, that Gershwin set out.

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