San Francisco Opera's PORGY AND BESS on PBS Tonight (10/17)- Page 2

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 4:04am

Horsey! " I know you can't artificially separate the two, but without that gorgeous Gershwin music on top, it's a bit of a slow, dull story.

And that's exactly why it's brilliant. You of all people know that. Why do people perform Oklahoma! anymore. Or... I don't want to sound like A8 but...

I thought it was really great. I would have liked to have seen it live, especially with the cast you describe HT, but....

Updated On: 10/18/14 at 04:04 AM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 4:17am

Eric, I think it's just more to do with my personal taste. I just find recitative so intolerably dull. I'll never be an opera buff, but man are those arias gorgeous!

[Fantod]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 4:18am

I would suggest reading the original novel Porgy or the subsequent play instead of the libretto, as I always find that opera librettos were never written to be read, whereas novels and plays were.

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 6:33pm

"I know you can't artificially separate the two, but without that gorgeous Gershwin music on top, it's a bit of a slow, dull story"

To be fair, you just described about 90% of the operatic canon, lol. The plots of a lot of operas are either extremely thin (LA BOHEME is basically three sentences of plot movement spread out over three hours) or ridiculously convoluted (coughIL TROVATOREcough). The music and the spectacle of operatic production values is what most of us are there for, not so much the story.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 6:56pm

I loved this production, especially the enormous set and Eric Owens unbelievably gorgeous voice.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 7:40pm

Mike - I think that's probably why I especially don't care for opera on film and while it often seems so glacial. When you're in a great hall with a spectacular set and costumes and you're literally feeling the vibrations of the orchestra and those otherworldly voices it can be so intoxicating. HD screens and surround sound are nice, but there's such a distance from the pleasures of the performance that the story - often a bit thin, as you say - comes to the forefront for me and then, ZZZZZzzzz. Anyway, enough about me. This was a very good production and I'm glad I got to see the even better presentation of it in LA.

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 8:45pm

HorseTears, I agree. There's just nothing like being there in the opera house and being dwarfed by those set and the spectacle. It's a complete sensory experience. I was lucky enough to see the wonderful Jonas Kaufman at the Met in CARMEN, and you could feel his voice in the bones of your skull. It was crazy.

Having nothing else to compare this performance to, I found it very satisfying. I loved the richness and depth of Eric Owens's voice and his warm presence as Porgy and Chauncey Packer as Sportin' Life. Laquita Mitchell's Bess was beautifully sung. I especially loved her little acciaccaturas (I think that's the right word) during her part in "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." My favorite moment of the night was Karen Slack's "My Man Gone Now", but I was spellbound for the whole show which, even as an opera fan, is rare for me with opera on video.

EDIT: Just realized this is the only version of P&B available on video besides the Nunn production and unauthorized editions of the Preminger film. I wonder why this opera isn't better represented on DVD. It is produced relatively often. I know it was part of Washington Opera's season at least twice in the last ten years. Updated On: 10/18/14 at 08:45 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 9:36pm

FWIW, PORGY, the play without music, ran for almost 400 performances back in the 1920s, when a year's run was a smash hit! Before that it was a successful novel AND the title character is based on an actual, historical person.

The story has prostitution, 2 murders, an orphaned baby, drug abuse and a hurricane, for Christ's sake! How is that dull?

Except that as others have noted, opera takes time to show local color and to dramatize events like the hurricane, which don't directly advance the plot. Or, as Someone points out, you just don't care for recitative.

I can't think of a musical play that has a moment any more poignant than crippled Porgy heading off on a thousand-mile journey to NYC to reclaim his Bess--and having to ask which way to walk...



Updated On: 10/18/14 at 09:36 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 9:39pm

Oh, and about last night: nobody touches Clamma Dale's Bess, but I've never heard Porgy sung so well as by Eric Owens. In my experience, the opera tends to belong to Bess, because she has more big, dramatic scenes; but last night's broadcast clearly belonged to Owens! (And Miss Mitchell was no slouch, either.)

[A Director]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 12:08am

I enjoyed the production. I'm not sure why the production was set in the early 1950s. To me, this didn't add anything to the opera and raised too many questions. I thought there were too many directorial touches that added little. What was with the man with shaving cream on his face? Why did the stage go dark just before the Buzzard aria? Was that a roller coaster in the background on the island?

Horse Tears, how much do you know about opera? In an opera, the story is told through the music. Also, in an opera time moves horizontally and vertically.

Fantod, you state, "although John Demain is not nearly as good of a conductor as Simon Rattle on the EMI recording. " How is Simon Rattle a better conductor for Porgy and Bess? For Porgy and Bess, John DeMain is the gold standard. It's been years since I watched the Simon Rattle Porgy and Bess, but at the time, I thought Rattle had nothing feeling for jazz and the production was too polite. The earthiness in the opera was missing.

Gavston - I agree. Clamma Dale is outstanding as Bess.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 9:54am

The Houston Grand Opera production was one of those perfect. transcendent experiences that I doubt will ever be matched in my lifetime. The cast was so committed to the material (racial issues and all), the music was rendered perfectly and the staging, pacing, design and overall dramatic impact were as good as I imagine they ever will be.

I actually missed the Audra/Norm production because I didn't want to see them in a production I was going to have mixed feelings about.

So tell me: I have this one on my DVR. Should I watch it?

Updated On: 10/20/14 at 09:54 AM

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 10:36am

Laquita Mitchell really stood out to me. Hers is a voice I'd like to hear again. I thought it was a fine production overall.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/20/14 at 7:50pm

"The Houston Grand Opera production was one of those perfect. transcendent experiences that I doubt will ever be matched in my lifetime. The cast was so committed to the material (racial issues and all), the music was rendered perfectly and the staging, pacing, design and overall dramatic impact were as good as I imagine they ever will be.

I actually missed the Audra/Norm production because I didn't want to see them in a production I was going to have mixed feelings about.

So tell me: I have this one on my DVR. Should I watch it?"

PJ, you described my experience of the HGO production to a tee. And I thought the recent broadcast was entirely worth my time.

But I agree with some of the complaints about the set. Like so many sets these days, it is fairly minimalist. I remember the HGO "Catfish Row" dominating that enormous theater and making me feel as if I were actually in the town. The SF production doesn't not achieve the same, IMO.

The acting and singing are excellent, however, so I got over my disappointment with the set, which, to be fair, accomplishes its purpose.