Existing comment:
Program for Porgy and Bess, National Theatre, Washington, D.C., 1936.
Porgy and Bess Programs
Following the closing of the initial New York run, Porgy and Bess made a short national tour, ending at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. In 1942 the score was refashioned as a musical (with spoken dialogue in place of most of the opera's recitative) and it enjoyed a successful nine-month run in New York. International recognition, however, followed ten years later with a fully operatic production (with most of the recitative restored) in the 1950s when a production financed by the U. S. Department of State toured Europe. The Music Division's collections include both the comparatively basic program from the 1936 tour and the more elaborate one from the 1942 Broadway production. |