On March 29, 1932, in a letter to DuBose Heyward—author of the 1925 novel Porgy and Bess, with his wife, Dorothy, of a subsequent stage adaptation—George Gershwin wrote, “My dear Mr. Heyward: I am about to go abroad in a little over a week, and in thinking of ideas for new compositions, I came back to one that I had several years ago—namely, Porgy—and the thought of setting it to music. I should like very much to talk with you before I leave for Europe.”

Apparently, Heyward responded kindly to the praise, for in a follow-up letter less than two months later, Gershwin again wrote to say, “I was very glad to have your letter telling me that the operatic rights to Porgy are free and clear.” Over the course of 1932, the men’s correspondence intensified as they worked out the legal logistics, and their collaboration continued with a retreat to Heyward’s weekend home on Folly Island, on the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, where much of the local Gullah culture inspired the book and Gershwin’s eventual opera. Work continued, albeit slowly, through 1934, with Gershwin writing to Heyward in early March, “I am working as much as I can on our opus, and I am finding it very interesting. I am skipping around—writing a bit here and a bit there. It doesn’t go too fast, but that doesn’t worry me as I think it is all going to work out very well."

In the end, Porgy and Bess worked out very well indeed, considering that it has become an indelible piece of American musical history in the 90 years since its premiere, and given its seemingly endless parade of timeless tunes, from “It Ain’t Necessarily So” to “I Loves You, Porgy” to “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” to “My Man’s Gone Now” to, of course, “Summertime,” which holds the record for most covered popular song of all time, with more than 25,000 renditions from such diverse artists as Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, R.E.M., the Doors, and Fantasia. (Gershwin, sadly, would never know of the perennial power of his lone operatic work. The initial Broadway run was not a commercial success, and the composer lost money on the project. Less than two years later, he was dead from a brain tumor at age 38.)

But the creation of Porgy and Bess was fraught, and staging it today remains so. The original creative team—Gershwin, his brother, Ira, who wrote many of the lyrics, and the Heywards—was entirely white, and the African American story they chose to tell, one of drug addiction, promiscuity, and murder, was viewed by many to traffic in stereotypes that were outdated and offensive even in the ’30s. And then there was the libretto, which, though rich and dramatic, was written to evoke a Southern Black dialect that can be cringe-inducing. Gershwin’s insistence that all productions of his opera feature principal casts and choruses of exclusively Black artists created a wealth of opportunities for African American opera singers who otherwise weren’t regularly cast, but many of them had to be convinced that the characters in Porgy were worthy of their artistry. The Met’s current production premiered in 2019 to great fanfare, but following the subsequent 2020 summer of Black Lives Matter protests, the contradictions inherent in the piece are more evident than ever. Even as we acknowledge the challenges it presents, however, the Met forces, under the baton of Kwamé Ryan, in his company debut, will be giving it their all in this month’s run of performances (through January 24, 2026), and seeking to show that the opera remains a masterpiece.

Director James Robinson, who worked with set designer Michael Yeargan, costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Donald Holder, and choreographer Camille A. Brown when the production was new, believes Porgy exists within the grand opera tradition and, to that end, he created a production he describes as cinematic in its sweep. “Porgy and Bess is a huge show,” Robinson says. “It has an epic scale, so it requires a production that is just as epic. We have a set that moves and changes, and we get to see it from all different angles, which is really exciting. It is a very grand, beautiful, colorful but austere production. It definitely evokes a seaside community in Charleston, South Carolina. And every individual in that community of Catfish Row, every member of the chorus, has a story.”

That 60-member chorus is essential to the story of Porgy, judging the lead characters, commenting on the action, and driving the story. And that story, of course, centers on the disabled beggar Porgy, who tries to rescue the beautiful but troubled Bess from the abusive men—Crown and Sportin’ Life—who provide her with drugs and take advantage of her sexually.

"The inhabitants of Catfish Row are integral to everything that’s going on with every other character,” Robinson continues. “You get to know how this community functions. It’s a very religious community— they’re bound by their faith.” Where some observers view Catfish Row as a “slum,” Robinson sees a rich, interconnected working-class community in which everyone is doing his or her best to get by. To capture this milieu, Gershwin tapped into his love for spirituals and jazz, elements of which are heard throughout Porgy and Bess. The opera had its long-awaited Met premiere in 1985—50 years after it was first staged—with Grace Bumbry and Simon Estes in the title roles. This season, the cast is led by bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Porgy and soprano Brittany Renee as Bess, with soprano Latonia Moore, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, and tenor Frederick Ballentine reprising their roles as Serena, Maria, and Sportin’ Life, respectively. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green—Jake when the production was new—steps into the role of Crown, and debuting soprano Vuvu Mpofu delivers the indelible strains of “Summertime” as Clara.

On this occasion of the 90th anniversary of the work, it’s a fascinating bit of history that the Met was involved in early discussions with Gershwin about the piece having its world premiere at the old Met on 39th Street. Then–Met Chairman Otto Kahn was a fan of Gershwin’s, in particular of his genre-straddling style, and he initially contracted the composer to write a new opera based on the popular Yiddish play The Dybbuk, but rights issues scuttled the project. When the idea of Porgy arose, Kahn showed interest, but it was apparently agreed by all parties that presenting the premiere with an all-Black cast in the midst of the Met’s repertory season would be too complicated and costly. Not only did Porgy not premiere at the Met in the 1930s, no African American principal artist would appear with the company in any production until 1955, when General Manager Rudolf Bing hired Marian Anderson and Robert McFerrin.

Fortunately, those days are largely behind us, with a robust roster of Black artists appearing on the Met stage this season, including such Met stalwarts as Lawrence Brownlee, Janai Brugger, Leah Hawkins, Soloman Howard, Michael Sumuel, and, of course, soprano Angel Blue, who sang Bess when the production was new in 2019. At the time, she summed up the appeal of the opera, an appeal that transcends race, politics, and current events: “I think the reason Porgy and Bess has managed to stay in people’s hearts for all these years is because it really resonates. The characters could be from any background, any language. The story itself is truly universal."

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Photos: Gershwins' Porgy and Bess at The Metropolitan Opera

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