See past race, color in Porgy and Bess opera | Opinion

This Friday may call for a rare manicure, and certainly, getting dressed to the nines. After all, I’m going to see my first-ever opera, “Porgy and Bess” at Seattle Opera. The show received rave reviews from esteemed critics and news outlets, including my grandma, who enthusiastically reported back that the three-hour, $15 stand (Seattle Opera’s equivalent of the cheap seats … the cheap stand?) was worth it.

By Gabrielle Nomura • August 9, 2011 3:27 pm

This Friday may call for a rare manicure, and certainly, getting dressed to the nines. After all, I’m going to see my first-ever opera, “Porgy and Bess” at Seattle Opera.

The show received rave reviews from esteemed critics and news outlets, including my grandma, who enthusiastically reported back that the three-hour, $15 stand (Seattle Opera’s equivalent of the cheap seats … the cheap stand?) was worth it.

Just watching the little video clip, trailer-thing on Seattle Opera’s website gave me shivers – the dramatic dancing, emotional singing and period costumes – like an epic musical with more bravado.

You may recognize tunes from this production, Gershwin’s portrait of life and love on Catfish Row, the home of a black community in the 1920s Deep South: “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy/Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high…”

How many times, and on how many voices, have we heard this beloved “Porgy and Bess” original? Everyone from Billie Holiday to Morcheeba has done a cover. Other well-known songs include “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin,’” “I Loves You, Porgy,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

Mister P. and Miss B. have affected the musical world in other ways too, like opening a stage door for black opera singers. Seattle Opera performer, Michael Redding, who plays the bad guy, Crown, is one of them.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to chat with Redding for Bellevue Reporter’s “Diverse|City” blog. Who knew that it was easier for black artists to find work in Europe, where Don Giovanni needs to have a specific sound and a physique, but not a specific skin color?

But, what I really learned, is that despite it’s links to jazz music, a cast almost exclusively made up of people of color, and a setting in the Deep South, Porgy and Bess actually has little to do with the African-American experience.

“Two souls unfold that could be of any color,” Redding told me over the phone. “It’s not about diversity or prejudice. It’s a love story.”

I can’t wait for Friday night.