Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"I Got Plenty of Nuttin" - Todd Duncan, baritone
From the Opera, "Porgy and Bess"
Music by George Gershwin, Lyrics by Du Bose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Orchestra directed by Alexander Smallens
Recorded May 15, 1940
Todd Duncan was born in Danville, Kentucky in 1903, died February 28, 1998. He obtained his musical training at Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.A. in music followed by an M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College. Duncan was George Gershwin's personal choice as the first performer of the role of "Porgy" in Porgy and Bess in 1935 and played the role more than 1,800 times.
Eva A. Jessye (1895-1992) choral director, performer, musical director for a number of Broadway productions of "Porgy and Bess" in the 30's - 50's. She was the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor. In the 1920s she created her own choral group, the Original Dixie Jubilee Singers which was eventually renamed the Eva Jessye Choir. In 1935 Jessye was selected by George Gershwin to be choral director for the original production of his 1935 folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess."
The Story of "Porgy and Bess" had its beginning in real life, for Porgy was a real person, a cripple who roamed the streets of Charleston, South Carolina for many years and whose life was always a mystery to the city's inhabitants. DuBose Heyward, a native of Charleston, had seen this strange figure from childhood, and his imagination was stirred. The result was a novel called "Porgy", which he wrote in 1925, and which was done with such simple, direct style that it immediately claimed the attention of literary critics, and won for Mr. Heyward a high place in American letters. It happened that the authors wife, Dorothy Heyward, was a playright. She saw in the novel a play. The two set out to dramatize the book, finished it and submitted it to the Theatre Guild, and it was accepted almost immediately. In 1927, the play "Porgy" was staged by Rouban Mamoulian, a young Armenian who taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY. The play ran a year in New York, then toured the country and finally wound up in London.
George Gershwin read the book and believed "Porgy" was the basis for a truly American opera. He asked Heyward whether he would be willing to collaborate in such a venture. The success of the play only proved to Gershwin that he was right in his selection of dramatic material for an opera featuring "Porgy." Finally, in 1933, Gershwin and Heyward decided the time had come to get down to real work. George's brother, Ira, was asked to join into the picture to collaborate with Heyward in the writing of the lyrics. In two years, Gershwin completed the 700 page score and the orchestration of the entire opera, mostly done in New York. He did manage to get to Charleston for two months, where he absorbed the atmosphere of the story and the strange rhythms of the people with whom he was dealing. Much of the time was spent on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, where there was a large African American colony which he could observe. The casting of the opera required almost a year.
The libretto of "Porgy and Bess" tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street-beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin' Life, her drug dealer. The opera plot generally follows the stage play.
Gershwin chose as his choral director Eva Jessye, who also directed her own renowned choir. The world premiere performance took place at the Colonial Theatre in Boston on September 30, 1935—the try-out for a work intended initially for Broadway where the opening took place at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on October 10, 1935. During rehearsals and in Boston, Gershwin made many cuts and refinements to shorten the running time and tighten the dramatic action. The run on Broadway lasted 124 performances. The production and direction were entrusted to Rouben Mamoulian, who had previously directed the Broadway productions of Heyward's play "Porgy." The music director was Alexander Smallens. The leading roles were played by Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. The influential vaudeville artist John W. Bubbles created the role of Sportin' Life; the role of Serena was created by Ruby Elzy.
"I Got Plenty of Nuttin" - Todd Duncan, baritone
From the Opera, "Porgy and Bess"
Music by George Gershwin, Lyrics by Du Bose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Orchestra directed by Alexander Smallens
Recorded May 15, 1940
Todd Duncan was born in Danville, Kentucky in 1903, died February 28, 1998. He obtained his musical training at Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.A. in music followed by an M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College. Duncan was George Gershwin's personal choice as the first performer of the role of "Porgy" in Porgy and Bess in 1935 and played the role more than 1,800 times.
Eva A. Jessye (1895-1992) choral director, performer, musical director for a number of Broadway productions of "Porgy and Bess" in the 30's - 50's. She was the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor. In the 1920s she created her own choral group, the Original Dixie Jubilee Singers which was eventually renamed the Eva Jessye Choir. In 1935 Jessye was selected by George Gershwin to be choral director for the original production of his 1935 folk-opera, "Porgy and Bess."
The Story of "Porgy and Bess" had its beginning in real life, for Porgy was a real person, a cripple who roamed the streets of Charleston, South Carolina for many years and whose life was always a mystery to the city's inhabitants. DuBose Heyward, a native of Charleston, had seen this strange figure from childhood, and his imagination was stirred. The result was a novel called "Porgy", which he wrote in 1925, and which was done with such simple, direct style that it immediately claimed the attention of literary critics, and won for Mr. Heyward a high place in American letters. It happened that the authors wife, Dorothy Heyward, was a playright. She saw in the novel a play. The two set out to dramatize the book, finished it and submitted it to the Theatre Guild, and it was accepted almost immediately. In 1927, the play "Porgy" was staged by Rouban Mamoulian, a young Armenian who taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY. The play ran a year in New York, then toured the country and finally wound up in London.
George Gershwin read the book and believed "Porgy" was the basis for a truly American opera. He asked Heyward whether he would be willing to collaborate in such a venture. The success of the play only proved to Gershwin that he was right in his selection of dramatic material for an opera featuring "Porgy." Finally, in 1933, Gershwin and Heyward decided the time had come to get down to real work. George's brother, Ira, was asked to join into the picture to collaborate with Heyward in the writing of the lyrics. In two years, Gershwin completed the 700 page score and the orchestration of the entire opera, mostly done in New York. He did manage to get to Charleston for two months, where he absorbed the atmosphere of the story and the strange rhythms of the people with whom he was dealing. Much of the time was spent on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, where there was a large African American colony which he could observe. The casting of the opera required almost a year.
The libretto of "Porgy and Bess" tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street-beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin' Life, her drug dealer. The opera plot generally follows the stage play.
Gershwin chose as his choral director Eva Jessye, who also directed her own renowned choir. The world premiere performance took place at the Colonial Theatre in Boston on September 30, 1935—the try-out for a work intended initially for Broadway where the opening took place at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on October 10, 1935. During rehearsals and in Boston, Gershwin made many cuts and refinements to shorten the running time and tighten the dramatic action. The run on Broadway lasted 124 performances. The production and direction were entrusted to Rouben Mamoulian, who had previously directed the Broadway productions of Heyward's play "Porgy." The music director was Alexander Smallens. The leading roles were played by Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. The influential vaudeville artist John W. Bubbles created the role of Sportin' Life; the role of Serena was created by Ruby Elzy.
