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Porgy and Bess, “an American folk opera,” opened in New York City on Oct. 10, 1935, and ran for 124 performances before closing in financial ruin.
George Gershwin, his brother Ira, and the author and co-librettist, DuBose Heyward, had crafted an intense musical drama that ultimately spawned a furious debate about authenticity, musical style and form, racial prejudice, and national identity. But the music and lyrics have survived for almost 90 years and the work’s stature is unsurpassed in the American operatic repertoire.

Explore this pivotal work from its beginnings to its revivals, in a lively evening led by Gershwin scholar and pianist Robert Wyatt.