Database Search Results

Your search criteria were: Database searched-aria Composer-George Gershwin Range Function-not used Voice Part-All Language-All "Opera once was an important social instrument—especially in Italy. With Rossini and Verdi people were listening to opera together and having the same catharsis with the same story, the same moral dilemmas. They were holding hands in the darkness. That has gone. Now perhaps they are holding hands watching television." -Luciano Berio View All Quotes

Summertime
      from Act I, Scene 1 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Clara, married to Jake
• Voice Part : soprano   Fach : lyric soprano
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : F#/Gb4 to B6. Tessitura : F#/Gb4 to F#/Gb5
• Synopsis : As she nurses her baby, Clara sings a lullaby.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : Libretto entered by JennyR529@aol.com. Italian translation by Ugo Berardi.
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

Listen to yo' daddy warn you (A woman is a sometime thing)
      from Act I, Scene 1 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Jake, a fisherman
• Voice Part : baritone   Fach : dramatic baritone
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : D3 to F4. Tessitura : D3 to D4
• Synopsis : After Clara is unable to get her baby to sleep, her husband Jake decides to help by singing the baby his own "lullaby". His song warns his child facetiously that a woman may appear loyal but she can turn on you at any time.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : Italian translation by Ugo Berardi.
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

My man's gone now
      from Act I, Scene 2 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Serena, married to Robbins
• Voice Part : soprano   Fach : spinto
• Setting : Serena's room in Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : E4 to B6. Tessitura : E4 to E5
• Synopsis : After her husband Robbins is killed by Crown after an crap game argument, Serena wails her lament at his wake. She laments that she will never be able to hear his footsteps again and that she is alone with her sorrow.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : Libretto entered by JennyR529@aol.com. Italian translation by Ugo Berardi.
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

Oh, I'm a goin' out (It take a long pull to get there)
      from Act II, Scene 1 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Jake, a fisherman
• Voice Part : baritone   Fach : dramatic baritone
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : E3 to G4. Tessitura : E3 to E4
• Synopsis : As he sits with the other fishermen repairing fishnets, Jake sings a rowing song.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

I got plenty o' nuttin'
      from Act II, Scene 1 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Porgy, a cripple
• Voice Part : bass-baritone   Fach : lyric bass|dramatic baritone
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : B3 to D4. Tessitura : C#/Db3 to B4
• Synopsis : Porgy sings happily that although he has no worldly possessions, he'll never lose everything he really needs because it's all free.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : Italian translation by Ugo Berardi.
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

Buzzard keep on flyin'
      from Act II, Scene 1 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Porgy, a cripple
• Voice Part : bass-baritone   Fach : lyric bass|dramatic baritone
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : A#/Bb3 to E4. Tessitura : E3 to D4
• Synopsis : After a buzzard flys over Catfish Row, Porgy tells it to keep on going and not bring its bad luck to his life which seems perfect at the moment.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

It ain't necessarily so
      from Act II, Scene 2 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Sportin' Life, a seller of "happy dust" aka dope
• Voice Part : tenor   Fach : buffo tenor
• Setting : Kittiwah Island, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : D3 to G4. Tessitura : D3 to D4
• Synopsis : At a picnic, Sportin' Life happily sermonizes to the picnickers, telling them (complete with Biblical examples) that even though things seem one way, they may turn out just the opposite.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : Italian translation by Ugo Berardi.
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

What you want wid Bess?
      from Act II, Scene 2 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Bess, Crown's girl
• Voice Part : soprano   Fach : spinto
• Setting : Kittiwah Island, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : D#/Eb4 to G#/Ab5. Tessitura : F#/Gb4 to F#/Gb5
• Synopsis : Crown, who is wanted for the murder of Robbins, meets Bess after everyone else has left the picnic of Kittiwah Island. He appears confident that he will win her back from Porgy. Bess retorts, asking him why he keeps on going after her.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

A red-headed woman
      from Act II, Scene 4 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Crown, a tough stevedore
• Voice Part : baritone
• Setting : Serena's room in Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : D3 to F4. Tessitura : F3 to D4
• Synopsis : During a fierce storm, Crown laughs at the rest of the inhabitants of Catfish Row in their lack of good mood. He says that they should instead sing through the storm and starts up a song about the "virtues" of a red-headed woman.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

There's a boat dat's leavin' soon for New York
      from Act III, Scene 2 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Sportin' Life, a seller of "happy dust" aka dope
• Voice Part : tenor   Fach : buffo tenor
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : D3 to A#/Bb5. Tessitura : F3 to F4
• Synopsis : After Bess's love, Porgy, is taken into custody for contempt of court, Sportin' Life tries to convince her to come with him to New York, with 'happy dust' as her reward.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.

Bess, o where's my Bess?
      from Act III, Scene 3 of the English opera, Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
      Libretto : DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

• Role : Porgy, a cripple
• Voice Part : bass-baritone   Fach : lyric bass|dramatic baritone
• Setting : Catfish Row (a tenement), the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina, the 'recent past'
• Range : B3 to F4. Tessitura : E3 to E4
• Synopsis : Porgy returns from being jailed for contempt of court to find that his girl, Bess, is gone. As Maria and Serena tell him that she has gone with Sportin' Life to New York, Porgy continues to lament her departure.
• Sound file : none
• Translation and/or Aria Text : none
• Recordings : Complete Opera  Excerpts from Opera
• Where to Find It : Score of opera is in print but unknown what edition or where you can find it. Ask the guy at Classical Vocal Reprints, 1-800-298-7474.