Porgy and Bess

Synopsis

Porgy and Bess follows the relationship between Porgy, a disabled beggar, and Bess, a woman struggling to break free from her violent past and drug addiction. Set in the African American community of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina, the opera explores themes of love, poverty, addiction, and resilience. Their fragile happiness is constantly threatened by the menacing presence of Crown, Bess’s abusive lover, and Sportin’ Life, a slick drug dealer who tempts her toward ruin. Featuring iconic songs like “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,” the opera is both a deeply personal story and a sweeping cultural portrait, hailed as one of the greatest American works in the operatic canon.