Evening star., 1952-08-24
News of Music:
'Porgy and Bess' Criticized
As Proper European Fare
20-Yeur-OId Vehicle Seen as Handing
Communists Propaganda Item on Platter
By Alice Eversmon

A letter to The Star. published
last Wednesday. is the first pub
lie protest against the sending
of the opera, "Porgy and
BeSs." to Europe. Minnie Con-
nor. the letter writer, states: II
question the intent of those
responsible for sending 'Porgy
and BeSs' to Europe. Is this
opera a worthy and combative
answer to Communist propa-
ganda? Does it not say in reality
and effect that a people so pitt
fully depraved and laScivious as
those portrayed in this vehicle.
deserve the castigation of a
second rate citizenship"
She doubts that many Euro
peans know that so many Negros
are as cultured and moral as
their worthy white brothers"
and asks, "Why then, should
this masterpiece of ignorance,
superstition and immortality be
shown to the people of Europe?
We deeply resent being stereo-
typed in America and equally
resent the possibility and in
herent danger of such a stigma
being placed on us abroad" .
The present production, with
its vivid, sophisticated and the
atrical atmosphere, is hardly
what Gershwin had in mind
when he wrote his great work.
Miss Connor feels that "Un-
fortunately. the classic, beau
tiful and immortal music Of
Gershwin does not hide the
bizzare story" The story, as
originally interpreted, had it's
best points accented by the per-
Sonalities of the actors and their
skill in bringing out the funda-
mental warmth and religious
strength of most of the char
acters. This is what Gershwin
sought to capture.
South CoroIino Research
Du Bose Hayward, who wrote
the play. "Porgy." and collabo-
rated with Gershwin on the
opera, tells how he and the
composer installed themselves
on Folly Island, 10 miles from
Charleston, S. c., where the
scene of the work is laid, and
for months lived as one with
the natives. Gershwin was
deeply impressed by the sim
plicity. pathoS and natural re-
ligious feeling of these people
and was so carried away by
the latter that he wrote "six
simultaneous prayers producing
a terrifying primitive invoca-
ton to God" for the hurricane
scene.
That scene was one Of the
unforgettable moments in the
original production. The new
setting, with the cast crowded
into a small third-floor room,
has nothing like the overpower-
ing effect Of the swaying men
and women, spread about the
stage in the first presentation,
as they chanted their prayer.
What most Americans see in the
story itself, and which Is 50 won
derfully reproduced in the music.
is the spontaneity, the naivite.
and the faith that has produced
the beautiful spirituals cher
ished by the white brothers" as
an unmatchable kind Of folk
lore.
European Reaction
But Miss Connor is right in
considering how Europeans
would react to the plot, espe-
cially those Of communistic
tendencies. An example Of what
that reaction might be is to be
found in the Russian attitude to-
ward BENJAMIN Britten's Peter
Crimes" produced at the Met
ropolitan Opera some four years
ago. Theaters and dramatic
societies in Germany's Russian
zone were ordered to perform
the opera to show a narrowing
but authentic picture Of the
degeneracy of life in Britain"
as portrayed by an Englishman.
One Russian critic observed
that it "unblushingly reveals
the sink of obscenity, immoral
ity, lying, hypocrisy, back
biting and tittle-tattle into
which life in Britain has fallen"
The official comment was that,
while vivid and realistic. the
opera ends in a moral cul de sac,
typical of all capitalistic coun-
tries" and "the characters are
those of everyday life in Brit
ain with all this means of social
decay"
Europeans know already Of
the great talent of our Negro
artists. They know "Porgy and
Bess" also as it has been given
in some European theaters with
q local cast. The current, swift
moving production, while clever,
is too sophisticated to picture
the characters or the drama
based on conditions existing
nearly 20 years ago. Since
then, the Negro has won, de-