Porgy and Bess

Love shines a light into the blues.

By George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin

In English with Projected English Titles

Original WNO Production with Sets from The Glimmerglass Festival

It’s “summertime, and the livin’ is easy” in Catfish Row, a working-class fishing town in South Carolina. When a murder shakes the community and tempts the strongheaded Bess to return to her drug-filled past, Porgy, a crippled beggar, becomes her unlikely refuge. As a hurricane descends and Bess’s brutish old flame returns, she’ll find herself torn between Porgy’s steadfast love and the dark demons that tug her elsewhere.

Francesca Zambello’s adaptation of Gershwin’s beloved “folk opera” returns after playing to critical acclaim across renowned opera stages. Often considered the first great American opera, Porgy and Bess soars with original music melding jazz, gospel, and folk styles, from the gentle duet “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” to the instantly recognizable “Summertime” lullaby. Themes of community resilience, acceptance, and redemption weave through this poignant story, ultimately asking if even the most unwavering of loves can conquer the force of personal addiction.