I Love You Porgy

Francesca Zambello returns to Chicago's Lyric Opera House with her epic production of maybe the greatest of American operas. Her staging of Porgy and Bess first premiered at the Lyric six years ago, where it was lavished with praise for its grand scale. Grammy Award winning Eric Owens will be her Porgy, while internally renowned soprano Adina Aaron will be her Bess.

First performed in 1935, the Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is now seen as a particular landmark of American theatre and is often referred to as the pair's masterpiece. Aiming to create a folk opera, Ira Gershwin took his inspiration from the spiritual and folk styles emanating from South Carolina at the time, and used these to frame a story of fraught tensions, love and the search for redemption.

Including long beloved classics such as Summertime, I Got Plenty of Nothing and It Ain't Necessarily So, Porgy and Bess is rich portrait of a forgotten time, but with themes as fresh as ever.

What is Porgy and Bess About?

In the tenements of Charleston, South Carolina, Catfish Row is home to a close knit, poverty-stricken community. Among them is the disabled beggar Porgy, who makes his way by pushing wares in his goat wagon. Into his path, the troublesome Bess is cast, after being thrown aside by her abusive, alcoholic lover, Crown.

Whilst immersing herself into Catfish Row, Bess and Porgy battle her demons, and try to save her from ruin. But the demons of her past are catching up with her.

Did You Know?

Porgy and Bess was the first opera by an American composer to be included in La Scala's repertoire.