Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is a 1935 opera by George Gershwin, with a libretto by DuBose Heyward and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

Set in a Black community in Charleston, South Carolina, it tells the story of the disabled beggar Porgy and his love for Bess.

The work blends opera with jazz, blues, and spirituals, producing standards like "Summertime" and "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'." Its status has shifted over decades—initially dismissed as neither authentic opera nor authentic Black expression, now widely performed and considered part of the American operatic canon.