Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast September 30, 1935 (Conductor: Alexander Smallens) |
|---|---|---|
| Porgy, a disabled beggar | bass-baritone | Todd Duncan |
| Bess, Crown's girl | soprano | Anne Brown |
| Crown, a tough stevedore | baritone | Warren Coleman |
| Sportin' Life, a dope peddler | tenor | John W. Bubbles |
| Robbins, an inhabitant of Catfish Row | tenor | Henry Davis |
| Serena, Robbins' wife | soprano | Ruby Elzy |
| Jake, a fisherman | baritone | Edward Matthews |
| Clara, Jake's wife | soprano | Abbie Mitchell |
| Maria, keeper of the cook-shop | contralto | Georgette Harvey |
| Mingo | tenor | Ford L. Buck |
| Peter, the honeyman | tenor | Gus Simons |
| Lily, Peter's wife | soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| Frazier, a black "lawyer" | baritone | J. Rosamond Johnson |
| Annie | mezzo-soprano | Olive Ball |
| Strawberry woman | mezzo-soprano | Helen Dowdy |
| Jim, a cotton picker | baritone | Jack Carr |
| Undertaker | baritone | John Garth |
| Nelson | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| Crab man | tenor | Ray Yeates |
| Scipio, a small boy | boy soprano | |
| Mr. Archdale, a white lawyer | spoken | George Lessey |
| Detective | spoken | Alexander Campbell |
| Policeman | spoken | Burton McEvilly |
| Coroner | spoken | George Carleton |
| The Eva Jessye Choir, led by Eva Jessye | ||
With the exception of the small speaking roles, all of the characters are black.
Read more about this topic: Porgy And Bess
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“It was always the work that was the gyroscope in my life. I don’t know who could have lived with me. As an architect you’re absolutely devoured. A woman’s cast in a lot of roles and a man isn’t. I couldn’t be an architect and be a wife and mother.”
—Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (b. 1916)
“Productive collaborations between family and school, therefore, will demand that parents and teachers recognize the critical importance of each other’s participation in the life of the child. This mutuality of knowledge, understanding, and empathy comes not only with a recognition of the child as the central purpose for the collaboration but also with a recognition of the need to maintain roles and relationships with children that are comprehensive, dynamic, and differentiated.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)