The Great American Opera

Return to the golden era of show business with the Lyric Opera's stunning production of depression-era classic Porgy and Bess, directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by David Charles Abell. Written in 1935 by iconic Tin Pan Alley duo George and Ira Gershwin, the Great American Opera is packed to the rafters with celebrated standards including perennial classic' Summertime', 'It Ain't Necessarily So' and 'Bess, You Is My Woman Now'.

What is the story?

Infused with Americana, folk and spiritual music, the story follows the doomed lovers Porgy and Bess, African American inhabitants of Louisiana slum street Catfish Row. When the fiery Bess' possessive gangster lover Crown kills a man in a fight he instigated and goes on the run, she is left to fend for herself. Because of her connection with crime, the residents of Catfish Row turn away from her, but crippled beggar Porgy offers her shelter and an unlikely romance blossoms between them.