With the coming of November, the leaves began falling and the air started cooling, but Monday night it was "Summertime" at the Kennedy Center, as the Washington National Opera performed Gershwin's American classic, "Porgy and Bess."
Directed by Francesca Zambello, the performance featured strong lead characters, interesting set design and a story that connected with the American crowd in a way that classic opera from Verdi or Puccini could not. While many of the supporting characters in the mostly black cast were not as vocally impressive as the leads, this excellent performance of America's most famous opera was a fine ending to the WNO's fall season.
"Porgy and Bess" is a story of a group of poor black neighbors living in South Carolina in the 1950s. Racial and class divides are evident early in the opera, as there are clear problems between the blacks and whites, as well as amongst the blacks themselves. The two lead characters, Porgy (Kevin Short) and Bess (Morenike Fadayomi), have the lowest standing in the community: one is a cripple and the other a "happy dust" drug addict. When Bess's boyfriend, Crown (Lester Lynch), kills a man and flees the authorities, Porgy and Bess form a relationship out of a mutual need for acceptance and love.
Both leads shone in their parts. Short's rich bass voice echoed through the opera hall and quickly won the crowd. Meanwhile, Fadayomi was able to float across multiple octaves as she realistically played both staggering doper and reformed housewife. The duets by Short and Fadayomi were joyous to watch and were easily the highlights of the show. Although their voices carried to the far reaches of the third tier, their intimate moments made the crowd feel as if they were nestled in a quiet corner of the small and dilapidated room that Porgy and Bess called home.
Some of the other prominent characters, however, were less reliable. Crown was billed as the third major character, but unfortunately his powerful bursts of angry, operatic baritone were few and far between.
Sportin' Life (Jermaine Smith) actually had far more stage time. Smith is a talented dancer and his character produced many of the comedic moments found throughout the opera, but his voice left much to be desired and seemed more trained for musical, rather than operatic, performance. His range was not particularly impressive, and when he was away from the microphones at the front of the stage it was often difficult to hear what he was singing.
In fairness, Smith was not the only actor who occasionally struggled to fill the space with his voice. Many of the choral numbers lacked the strength that was needed to truly excite the audience, and some singers, like Peter (John LeSane), were barely audible over the orchestra (conducted by Heinz Fricke). Don Jones, however, was a bright spot as the Crab Man and his one brief solo elicited some of the wildest cheers from the crowd.
"Porgy and Bess" featured a two-tiered wooden set by Peter J. Davidson, depicting Catfish Row. The singing on the top tier broke the monotony of single-level character interaction. The only time the set didn't work was when much of the cast ventured to Kittiwah Island for a picnic. During this section, the set was simply turned around so the plywood and wooden supports holding up the back of the set was visible for all to see. This seemed amateur, especially for the Kennedy Center.
The same could not be said about Mark McCullough's lighting design. The opera swapped between soft golden oranges, harsh dark blues and shimmering metallic silvers to create an ambiance that, like the story of the opera, varied both physically and emotionally.
"Porgy and Bess" is not a typical opera, but it is an important slice of American performing art nonetheless. WNO handled this performance with their usual grace and skill and showed that operas from the United States are musically and culturally just as important as those from overseas.
