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:
“A concern with parenting...must direct attention beyond behavior. This is because parenting is not simply a set of behaviors, but participation in an interpersonal, diffuse, affective relationship. Parenting is an eminently psychological role in a way that many other roles and activities are not.”
—Nancy Chodorow (20th century)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“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)