Guest Diary• BY:
Jill Krementz
Tonight: The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles. Director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants.
Excerpt from Michael Cooper in Friday’s NY Times: “The Met is asking audiences to take a new perspective even before they enter the opera house. The artist Kerry James Marshall, acclaimed for huge paintings that are fantasias of black life and history, has created an arresting “Porgy and Bess” banner that hangs outside.
It upends the traditional image of Porgy, a disabled beggar, and the woman he loves, Bess, who has suffered from abuse and addiction. Mr. Marshall’s Porgy — drawn in a muscular social realist, almost comic-book-superhero style — stands braced for action, wielding his crutch like a weapon and carrying Bess, on his shoulders.”
While waiting I met five of the seven young actors awaiting their “wrangler:” Sophia-Amira Sussewell, Chenyari Randall, Anahera Smith-McDaniel, Busiso Maldonado-Hazel, and Neo Randall.
Right: Patricia Beard and Peter who are working together on a memoir of Peter’s life.
Robertson is also music director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, and works widely as a guest conductor.
All photographs © by Jill Krementz: all rights reserved. Contact JK here.
