London Coliseum
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Set in a tenement neighbourhood in the 1930s, the community is united by their race, their social status, and, very prominently in this production, their religion. In times of suffering, the community is comforted by their belief that Jesus will come and look after his children. When the huge ensemble all sing together in their prayers it is really moving.
The opera starts inside Catfish Row with the men shooting crap (gambling with dice) and the women looking on. When Porgy, a beggar and a cripple, comes in he is received with delight by the whole community. When a drunk, psychopathic Crown and his girlfriend Bess enter, only one person is happy to see them - the dope seller Sportin' Life. After a disagreement arises between Crown and Robbins over a game, they have a fight which results in the murder of Robbins. Crown has to flee and so Bess has to find someone to stay with. No one in the community is willing to take her in except Porgy. He falls completely in love with her, but their relationship is challenged as Bess struggles to stay away from her old life of drugs and alcohol.
I have to say that I couldn't quite understand why everyone detested Bess, and I couldn't see the inner turmoil that Bess was experiencing when being tempted to take 'happy dust' again and leave her loyal Porgy. While Nicole Cabell undoubtedly had a beautiful voice, she did not have the seductive, powerful air that I felt Bess should have had, and her struggle to resist Crown and the drugs did not seem to have high enough stakes. She did, however, portray Bess' vulnerability, which is perhaps what she was aiming for.
Her co-lead, Eric Greene as Porgy, was wonderful. His deep voice was spine-tingling as it soared through the auditorium, and his acting was perfect. His good will and kindness, and his unwavering love for Bess was beautiful and it was so heart-wrenching when he came home from a week in prison with a smile on his face and a gift for Bess, but she had left him. I felt so sorry for him when, in all his innocence and naivety, he went off to the 'Promised Land' (which is in fact New York) to find Bess. An absolutely brilliant performance.
Nmon Ford as the psychopathic, controlling Crown is terrifying and gives a powerful performance, commanding the stage whenever he is on it. Tichina Vaughn as Maria, dear friend to Serena (Robbins's wife) and owner of the cook-shop also gives a spirited performance, particularly in the moment when she chases an unwelcome Sportin' Life from her shop. Latonia Moore as Serena is also fantastic, offering a very moving performance when she tries to gather enough money in the saucer to pay for her husband's burial. In fact, the whole cast was brilliant each delivered excellent individual performances. They also worked exceedingly well as an ensemble and their performance was mighty - when they all sang together it was very striking and uplifting.
The set was magnificent whilst being relatively simple. It consisted of a skeletal structure which created the outline of the houses that made up the tenement neighbourhood Catfish Row. It all rotated and separated in order to show different sides of the estate. It was quite clever in that its large and looming presence created a completely different atmosphere depending on the energy that filled the stage. When lit with bright lights and filled with the noise and energy of dozens of people it seemed a friendly, inclusive building. But when left empty it seemed lonely and oppressive. The stage and lighting design played a large part in creating the atmosphere of the opera.
The music is undeniably a work of genius by the Gershwin brothers and this terrific production presented by the ENO certainly does it justice and more! Get yourself down to the Coliseum ASAP, there are only a small number of performances left!