Composer - George Gershwin

Company - English National Opera

Director - James Robinson

Conductor - James Gaffigan

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra

Themba Mvula - Soloist, Member of the Ensemble

Everyone knows the hits from the opera and 1959 film Porgy and Bess, which include ‘Summertime’, ‘I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’’, ‘Bess, You Is My Woman Now’ and ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’. 

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess is a unique opera and a popular favourite in which George Gershwin mixed jazz with the western opera tradition and Afro-American and Russian Jewish music.

Special discounts are availalable for those of 16 and younger!

SOCIAL DRAMA

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess stirred widespread controversy when it was first staged in 1935, playing into negative clichés surrounding poor black people living on the fringes of society. In fact, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, even though the story is set among Afro-Americans, is mainly a social drama.

Gershwin’s infectious music in Porgy and Bess makes it equally beloved by younger audiences. Kids aged 16 and under receive a discount on tickets to this production.