This 1951 recording of George Gershwin's opera '' Porgy and Bess'' was the first "complete" recording of the work from beginning to end, not a series of selections of popular songs from the work. (The recording did not include most of the music written by Gershwin which had been customarily cut from productions in the United States, however. As opposed to the complete three-hour opera, the album was two hours and nine minutes.) The recording came about as a result of Lehman Engel and Goddard Lieberson's desire to record albums of Broadway shows whose scores had never been put on disc. Among the musicals the team had recorded (or would record) were ''

Oh, Kay! ''Oh, Kay!'' is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play ''La Présidente'' by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber. The plot revolves around the adventur ...

'', '' Babes in Arms'', '' Girl Crazy'', and '' Pal Joey''. Although there had been an album of ''Porgy and Bess'' since 1940, there had never been a 3-LP version. The 1951 album set contained more than two-thirds of the opera, for the first time ever in the history of recording. The album was recorded between April 5 and April 13, 1951. The album was originally released on 3 twelve-inch 33 rpm

LPs LPS may refer to: Science and medicine * Lipopolysaccharide (Endotoxin) * Levator palpebrae superioris muscle Schools * Leighton Park School in Reading, England * Lexington Public Schools, a school district in Massachusetts, USA * Lincoln P ...

. Columbia Masterworks assigned the album the catalog number OSL 162. The recording was later remastered by

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

and re-released on CD. Several members of the original Broadway cast of ''Porgy and Bess'' appeared on the album.

Cast

* Lawrence Winters, baritone (Porgy) * Camilla Williams, soprano (Bess) *

Warren Coleman Warren Coleman (24 August 1900 – 13 January 1968 in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard) was an American operatic baritone. He created the roles of Crown in George Gershwin's '' Porgy and Bess'' and the role of John Kumalo in Kurt Weill's '' ...

, baritone (Crown) * Avon Long, tenor (Sportin' Life) *

Inez Matthews Inez is a feminine given name. It is the English spelling of the Spanish and Portuguese name Inés/Inês/Inez, the forms of the given name " Agnes". The name is pronounced as , , or . Agnes is a woman's given name, which derives from the Greek w ...

, soprano (Serena) *Harrison Cattenhead, tenor (Peter) *Hubert Dilworth, baritone (Undertaker) *Helen Dowdy, mezzo-soprano(Maria/Lily/Strawberry Woman) *George Fisher, baritone (Jim) *William A. Glover, tenor (Mingo) * Eddie Matthews, baritone (Jake) *Sadie McGill, mezzo-soprano (Annie) *June McMechen, soprano (Clara) *Irving Washington, tenor (Robbins) *Ray Yeats, tenor (Nelson/Crab Man) * J. Rosamond Johnson (Frazier) *Robert Carroll (Mr. Archdale) *George Matthews (Detective) *Peter Van Zant (Police Officer/Coroner) *J. Rosamond Johnson Chorus *

Pickup orchestra A pickup group is a group of professional musicians, which may be session musicians who are hired to play for a limited time period—ranging from a single concert or sound recording session to several weeks of shows—before disbanding. Pickup gr ...

* Lehman Engel, conductor

References

External links

Track listing and synopsis
from Naxos' reissue

1950s classical albums Columbia Records albums Albums conducted by Lehman Engel 1951 album {{opera-stub