Porgy and Bess at the LA Opera

Tuesday I spent the evening with the LA Opera for their performance of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The twenty dollar student rush ticket less than twenty rows from the stage was definitely a good deal. From the opening with the classic "Summertime" to the non-Hollywood ending I was riveted to my seat. The story of Porgy, the town beggar, and Bess, the town tramp, in an old southern shanty town tells a tale of love and loss from a distinctly post-slavery African American point of view. (The program pointed out the interesting fact: the author was white and the composer was Jewish.)