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:
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—Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (b. 1916)
“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)