BaL 27.04.19 - Gershwin: Porgy and Bess

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Edward Seckerson listens to and compares recordings of Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess.
Porgy and Bess is an opera by George Gershwin. First performed in 1935 it featured a cast of classically trained African-American singers. After a slow start, the work has gradually gained popularity, and it is now one of the more frequently performed operas.
The story tells of Porgy, a disabled black street-beggar and his attempts to rescue Bess from Crown, her violent lover, and Sportin’ Life, her drug dealer. Some of the numbers in the opera, such as “Summertime”, have become popular, frequently recorded songs. In recent times the trend has been toward productions more faithful to Gershwin’s original intentions.


Available versions:-

Donnie Ray Albert, Clamma Dale, Wilma Shakesnider, Carol Brice, Andrew Smith, Alexander B. Smalls, Betty Lane, Larry Marshall, Houston Grand Opera, John DeMain

Eric Owens, Laquita Mitchell, Chauncey Packer, Lester Lynch, Angel Blue, Karen Slack, Alteouise deVaughn, Eric Greene, Michael Bragg, San Francisco Opera, John DeMain (DVD/Blu-ray)

Lawrence Winters, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, Avon Long, Warren Coleman, J. Rosamond Johnson Chorus, Lehman Engel

Bibiana Nwobilo, Michael Forest, Rodney Clarke, Angela Renée Simpson, Previn Moore, Roberta Alexander, Jonathan Lemalu, Isabelle Kabatu, Gregg Baker, David McShane, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Willard White, Leona Mitchell, McHenry Boatwright, Florence Quivar, Barbara Hendricks, Barbara Conrad, Arthur Thompson, François Clemmons, Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, Lorin Maazel

Paul Bracy, Justin Lee Miller, Talmage M. Watts, Nicole Cabell, Lester Lynch, Barron Coleman, Tamica Harris, Uzee Brown Jnr., Bart Lefan, Monique McDonald, Richard Daniel, Jeremiah Cooper, Tiffany Nicole Wharton, Leonard Rowe, Leonard Warren, Chauncey Packer, Marquita Lister, Robert Mack, Calvin Lee, Linda Thompson Williams, Alvy Powell, Linda Thompson Williams, Nashville Symphony, Nashville Symphony Chorus, John Mauceri

Willard White, Cynthia Haymon, Gregg Baker, Harolyn Blackwell, Cynthia Clarey, Marietta Simpson, Damon Evans, Bruce Hubbard, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle

Willard White, Cynthia Haymon, Gregg Baker, Harolyn Blackwell, Cynthia Clarey, Marietta Simpson, Damon Evans, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon Rattle (DVD)

Leontyne Price, William Warfield, Cab Calloway, John McCurry, Eva Jessye Choir, Rias-Unterhaltungsorchester, Alexander Smallens

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'm going to stick my neck out of the gloomy silence and put in a good word for the Maazel.

[richardfinegold]

I'm going to stick my neck out of the gloomy silence and put in a good word for the Maazel.

I heard some of the Rattle a few weeks back on the radio and was underwhelmed. It seems to be trying to hard the voices were less than idiomatic.
My favorite is the Houston Grand Opera. I heard the same production in Detroit about a year after the recording, same cast, and it was overwhelming. I also like the disc with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald; her and Leontyne Price singing Summertime are highlights in my vocal library

[richardfinegold]

I am listening to the Price recording on Qobuz. Great stuff. This has to be the Great American Opera

[verismissimo]

I saw P and B at Glyndebourne in 1988. It was stunning - the outstanding cast led by Willard White and Cynthia Haymon, conducted by Simon Rattle.

Nevertheless the sight of the very moneyed (and white) audience rising to their feet, baying and rattling their jewellery, did strike me as somewhat ironic.

[Mal]

I heard some of the Rattle a few weeks back on the radio and was underwhelmed...

I picked up the highlights disk, under the "HMV classics", banner many moons ago, at a bargain price, which comes with a good synopsis. I quite liked it, but haven't listened to it for a long time; must give it a spin before the BAL, especially with the weather we're having. "Summertime" indeed, until Wednesday anyway...

[Mal]

Harolyn Blackwell

Harolyn? I though that might be a typo, but checking it seems correct!

[BBMmk2]

I seem to remember some good reviews about this recording.

[Mal]

Penguin gave Rattle (DVD & CD) rosettes. EMI took the entire Glyndebourne cast to Shepperton studios and produced it for video using Tevor Nunn (head of Royal Shakespeare Company) and Yves Bagnere as producers.

Lebrecht made it one his "milestones of the recorded century". Rattle fought with Glyndebourne to put on this 'red in tooth and claw' piece. Lebrect says, "Stuffed shirts dissolved into helpless tears and the Glyndebourne chorus sounded like gospel. Rattle pinned the rhythms just right between opera and honky tonk, and there wasn't a weak link in the cast. Harolyn Backwell's Summertime was pitched so sweet and high it was practicaly out of her skin."

Note Lebrecht says the recording was made in Abbey Road not Shepperton, and my CD notes say "Recorded in No.1 studio, Abbey Road, London, February, 1988", without a mention of Trevor Nunn (Producer: David R Murray). So maybe the video was made at Shepperton and the CD made at Abbey road? Anyone know?

The American reviewer in Third Ear complains that Rattle's recording is the only one available, when there used to be several. Then he pick it as the only top choice as a full recording :) He does say it "does have its dry spells" and suggest that those (like me) who are not completists might make do with a highlights disc... for which he recommends (of course) Rattle...

It also won a grammy, and is the Rough Guide and BBC Music Magazine choice. So it's the unreserved top choice in every guide I have, and all with the highest honour they have to give in each case. If BAL don't mention it, I'll be fuming!

[Keraulophone]

If BAL don't mention it [Rattle’s recording], I'll be fuming!

Wasn’t it recommended on a previous BAL not long after it was issued (IIRC)?

For what it’s worth, it seems to have been included in the BBC Music magazine’s 50 greatest recordings of all time (January 2012), as well as in 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die... that’s alright then, as I bought it on first release.

[Pianoman]

CD recorded Abbey Road 1988 as you say, DVD rec. Shepperton November 1992.
Worth seeing the film but the lip-syncing is the worst I’ve come across on an opera dvd, so be warned...

[Mal]

I heard some of the Rattle a few weeks back on the radio and was underwhelmed. It seems to be trying to hard the voices were less than idiomatic.
My favorite is the Houston Grand Opera. I heard the same production in Detroit about a year after the recording, same cast, and it was overwhelming. I also like the disc with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald; her and Leontyne Price singing Summertime are highlights in my vocal library

I've just listened to the first act highlights on CD, through my headphones, and I'm whelmed. What do you mean by "less than idiomatic"? Untrue to opera, jazz or spiritual? It certainly sounds operatic to me, but I agree with Lebrecht that "Summertime" sounds really sweet - like a spiritual, along with hitting the high notes. The orchestra sound superb and I think Rattle is conducting very well, he can sometimes be a bit fussy but here he's sufficiently jazzed up, but not too jazzed up. It's very well recorded. Spot on!

[Mal]

CD recorded Abbey Road 1988 as you say, DVD rec. Shepperton November 1992.
Worth seeing the film but the lip-syncing is the worst I’ve come across on an opera dvd, so be warned...

Are you sure about 1992? Lebrecht points out the CD was recorded two years after the Glyndebourne performance, suggesting that they had left it a bit too long to fully recapture the spontaneity of the event. Leaving filming for six years seems very much too long! But as I started this I'll do the googling to check :)...

... Amazon says of the DVD:

"This production was adapted for the screen by Trevor Nunn and Yves Baigneres. It was directed by Trevor Nunn and is based on the highly successful staging of the original Glyndebourne Festival Opera production in 1986-87, which was remounted at Covent Garden in the autumn of 1992 with most of the original cast. Immediately after that performance the production was moved to the giant stage at Shepperton Studios, with much expanded sets and lighting. It was then recorded using EMI's original award-winning soundtrack."

Could that explain the bad lip syncing? Could it be that no (serious) attempt at syncing was made, just the original soundtrack was imposed on the new film so (of course) the lips would be well out of synch? Can you lip synch an opera with any success? Why would you? You'd have expected Shepperton to have good recording facilities why didn't they just record it there, without syncing? Or why not just record it in Covent Garden? Then we'd have two recordings to compare. Anyway, I'm not buying the DVD to get just the same recording I have on CD (with bad acting...)

Third ear do point out one flaw with Rattle's recording that I also noticed - unclear diction. Like 3E I can't say if it's the singers or "resonant engineering" at fault. Maybe that's why Penguin "only" give three stars and not four? So I can't always make out the words, but that's not unusual with any opera recording, in my experience. Being able to make out 80% of the words, with the good synopsis, make it reasonably easy to follow the plot. Plus the orchestral sound and singing tone are superb, so still deserving that rosette IMHO.

[verismissimo]

...

Note Lebrecht says the recording was made in Abbey Road not Shepperton, and my CD notes say "Recorded in No.1 studio, Abbey Road, London, February, 1988", without a mention of Trevor Nunn (Producer: David R Murray). So maybe the video was made at Shepperton and the CD made at Abbey road? Anyone know?

My LP set from 1989 is also clear that Abbey Road 1 was the recording venue.

[richardfinegold]

I've just listened to the first act highlights on CD, through my headphones, and I'm whelmed. What do you mean by "less than idiomatic"? Untrue to opera, jazz or spiritual? It certainly sounds operatic to me, but I agree with Lebrecht that "Summertime" sounds really sweet - like a spiritual, along with hitting the high notes. The orchestra sound superb and I think Rattle is conducting very well, he can sometimes be a bit fussy but here he's sufficiently jazzed up, but not too jazzed up. It's very well recorded. Spot on!

I was listening to Act II so can’t comment on Summertime. The Sportin Life struck me as a bit undercharacterized, the Boat Leavin For New York seemed to be heading for a jaunt across the Channel...it just didn’t compete with the classic Houston Grand Opera recording