The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess


Porgy and Bess, first studio cast recording directly based on the original 1935 production of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. This studio recording originated as several semi-staged performances which took place on February 24 and 25, 2006 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, with Alvy Powell as Porgy, Marquita Lister as Bess, Nicole Cabell as Clara and Robert Mack as Sportin' Life. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra was conducted by John Mauceri. The recording incorporates changes Gershwin made to his original score after its first publication, which were not discovered until 1987.

Track listing

Disc 1

  1. "Introduction"
  2. "Summertime"
  3. "Seems Like Those Bones Don't Give Me Nothin' But Boxcars Tonight"
  4. "Summertime"
  5. "What, That Chile Ain't Asleep Yet?...A Woman Is A Sometime Thing "
  6. "Honey Man! Honey Man! Here Come De Honey Man"
  7. "They Pass By Singin' "
  8. "Here Comes Big Boy!"
  9. "Crown Cock-Eyed Drunk...Oh, Little Stars"
  10. "Oh, Stop Them! Don't Let Them Fight!"
  11. "Wake Up An' Hit It Out. You Ain't Got No Time To Lose"
  12. "Gone, Gone, Gone...Overflow"
  13. "Um! A Saucer-Buryin' Setup, I See"
  14. "My Man's Gone Now"
  15. "How De Saucer Stan' Now, My Sister?"
  16. "Leavin' For The Promise' Lan' "
  17. "It Take A Long Pull To Get There "
  18. "Oh, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'"
  19. "Mornin', Lawyer, Lookin' For Somebody?"
  20. "Dey's A Buckra Comin'"
  21. "'Lo, Bess, Goin' To De Picnic?"
  22. "Bess, You Is My Woman Now"
  23. "Oh, I Can't Sit Down"

    Disc 2

  24. "Allegretto Barbaro Ha Da Da, Ha Da Da"
  25. "It Ain't Necessarily So"
  26. "Crown! - You Know Very Well Dis Crown"
  27. "Oh...What You Want Wid Bess?"
  28. "Honey, Dat's All De Breakfast I Got Time For"
  29. "Well, If It Ain' Ole Peter!"
  30. "Oh, Doctor Jesus"
  31. "Oh Dey's So Fresh An' Fine...I'm Talkin' About Devil Crabs"
  32. "Porgy, Porgy, Dat You There Ain't It?"
  33. "I Loves You, Porgy"
  34. "Why You Been Out On That Wharf So Long, Clara?"
  35. "Storm"
  36. "Oh, De Lawd Shake De Heavens"
  37. "One Of Dese Mornin's...Oh, Dere's Soebody Knockin' At De Do'"
  38. "You Is A Nice Parcel Of Christmas"
  39. "A Red-Headed Woman"
  40. "Jake's Boat In De River, Upside Down!"
  41. "Clara, Clara, Don't You Be Downhearted"
  42. "Ha Ha Ha"
  43. "Summertime"
  44. "Introduction/Wait For Us At The Corner, Al"
  45. "Listen: There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York"
  46. "Occupational Humoresque/Good Mornin'"
  47. "It's Porgy Comin' Home"
  48. "Oh, Bess, Oh Where's My Bess"
  49. "Where Bess Gone?...Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way"

    Cast of the 2006 version