Porgy and Bess

Last week, Cape Town Opera brought their highly-polished production of Gershswin's Porgy & Bess, an opera that finds the romance and violence of high tragedy in the everyday life of Catfish Row, to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. The powerful storytelling of this particular opera resonates strongly with the nearly all-black South African cast, leading to a succession of powerful performances from its members. The South African accent repeatedly muscles its way into the production, reminding us of the serious context in which it is acted. Even in the 70s, after the de-segregation of the theatre, the company would still not employ non-whites. Michael Williams remarked that “when our cast sings Porgy & Bess, they sing from the heart because it means something to them,” a sentiment that the production enitrely proves.

Kearstin Brown puts in a particularly wonderful performance as Bess, and when she comes to the bittersweet reassurance of 'I Loves You Porgy', it hits where it hurts. Victor Ryan Robertson is excellent in his depiction of 'Sportin' Life', but the Broadway style he sings in is often not powerful enough to reach sufficiently above the sound of the orchestra, and so the jazzy creep of 'Ain't Necessarily So' ends up being slightly underwhelming.

The opera itself, like most of Gershwin's music, finds itself able to encompass the whole range of human emotions. The opening scene exemplifies this perfectly, where the stage oscillates from the beauty of the opening lullaby 'Summertime' to a light-hearted afternoon of gambling and jibes to its final, awful violence. The tension between the Bel Canto and the blues provides a dramatic backdrop for the tale, and there are a wealth of moments where all the elements fuse perfectly, and you are left gaping at the sheer originality of Gershwin's project. All in all, this was a marvellous performance of an opera that possesses all the hallmarks of greatness: it has something to say, and the eloquence to make it beautiful.