COMPOSERS: Gershwin
LABELS: Decca
ALBUM TITLE: Gershwin
WORKS: Porgy and Bess
PERFORMER: Alvy Powell, Marquita Lister, Lester Lynch, Monique McDonald, Nicole Cabell, Linda Thompson Williams, Leonard Rowe, Robert Mack; Members of the Tennessee State University Band; Members of the Blair Children's Chorus; Nashville Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/
CATALOGUE NO: 475 7877
Operas frequently undergo revision
before or after their first nights, and
Broadway shows almost invariably
do: so it’s hardly surprising to
discover that George Gershwin’s
1935 ‘Broadway opera’ Porgy and Bess
has survived in an ‘original version’
differing markedly from the standard
printed text. What is unusual is that
the standard version was published
before the first night. So most of
the differences in what was actually
performed on Broadway are cuts,
some small and some swingeing,
imposed to bring a monster score
of over three hours down to a more
manageable length. But inspired
second thoughts improve the flow
of several scenes, there’s previously
overlooked music for a marching
band, and Mauceri and his colleagues
have also gleaned information from
the original band parts and prompt
book – even if the final result
still seems to owe a lot as well to
accumulated performing traditions.
Although some of the last-Act
cuts come close to obscuring the
story-line, for the most part this version is extremely effective in
removing the work’s longueurs and
heightening its theatricality. And it’s
very well served by the performance,
with Powell and Lister in the title
roles leading a strong cast, lean and
hungry orchestral playing, and a
vivid recording. If Rattle’s somewhat
plusher, and starrier, Glyndebourne
account remains the benchmark,
that’s largely because there are
passages in the standard version
one wouldn’t want to be without.
But Mauceri makes a strong case for
this fascinating alternative version
of Gershwin’s dramatically powerful
masterpiece. Anthony Burton