Summary
Set in the fictional tenement neighborhood of Catfish Row in 1920s Charleston, this opera centers on Porgy, a disabled beggar who offers sanctuary to Bess, a woman trying to escape her abusive lover.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM Dec 7, 2025, 3:00 PM
The score here is just gorgeous, but I think the real highlight for me is just the deep sense of empathy that the leads are able to cultivate—Bess (Brittany Renee) juggling needs of desire and safe harbor, which she can’t seem to find in the same place, Porgy (Alfred Walker) going to desperate lengths to try to prevent her from slipping through his fingers. When the motif from “Summertime” returns in minor key. Frederick Ballantine’s fabulously-named drug dealer, Sportin’ Life, gloating and dancing with just an unbelievable amount of swagger.
Certainly the most I’ve enjoyed a night at the opera so far—probably helps that this is the first one I’ve seen in English! Coming from seeing a lot of Broadway and off-Broadway, I’m always really struck by the scale of these shows. The opera house is big. The stage is big. There are a ton of people on stage with the biggest voices you’ve ever heard. It’s cool. I wanna go more.
(I got a Toblerone at intermission and had a couple triangles and left it in my bag, where I rediscovered it with surprise and delight over and over in the following few days.)