SUMMERTIME. Porgy and Bess opening aria

 

https://eno.org/discover-opera/operas/an-introduction-to-porgy-and-bess/

An introduction to Porgy and Bess

It’s an opera by American composer George Gershwin

When Bess is abandoned by her violent lover, she turns to the kind crippled beggar, Porgy for support. Their new life of happiness together is brought to an abrupt halt upon the return of her ex, Crown and drug dealer Sportin’ Life, who attempt to draw Bess back into old habits. Gershwin’s emotionally charged stage work was the first opera to demand an all-black cast.

Cuando Bess es abandonada por su violento amante, recurre al amable mendigo lisiado, Porgy, en busca de apoyo. Su nueva vida de felicidad juntos se detiene abruptamente con el regreso de su ex, Crown y el traficante de drogas Sportin 'Life, quienes intentan hacer que Bess vuelva a sus viejos hábitos. El trabajo teatral cargado de emociones de Gershwin fue la primera ópera en exigir un elenco completamente negro.

https://eno.org/discover-opera/the-history-of-george-gershwins-summertime/

ENO = English National Opera

 

The history of George Gershwin’s Summertime

With at least 25,000 versions, Porgy and Bess’s opening aria, ‘Summertime’, is the most covered song in the world.

Written in 1934, ‘Summertime’ was one of the first compositions George Gershwin worked on for his brand-new opera Porgy and Bess. The jazz-inspired song is a lullaby for Clara to sing to her child, and it is reprised several more times throughout the opera. The versatile hit went on to be covered by thousands of artists, in every genre from disco to reggae. Unfortunately, Gershwin wouldn’t live to see his song become the world-famous one it is today.

We’ve taken a look at some of the different versions of ‘Summertime’ from the past 80 years.

1935 – Porgy and Bess

Many people think of Porgy and Bess as a musical, when in fact it was written by Gershwin (who came from a musical theatre background) to be his very first opera. Although jazz-inspired, the original version of ‘Summertime’ was to be performed by a classically trained opera singer.

The original, written in the minor key, has a slightly melancholy feel. The first ever performance of Summertime was sung by American soprano Abbie Mitchell.

In the 2018 ENO production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, ‘Summertime’ was sung by Nadine Benjamin.

 

Nadine Benjamin sings Summertime from Porgy and Bess ǀ English National Opera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91ANcPraYZY

1936 – Billie Holiday

A year after the opera’s premiere, a 21 year old jazz singer called Billie Holiday recorded a version of ‘Summertime’; the first cover of the song that would reach the US charts.

Billie was from Harlem, the home of New York’s black community, which at the time was bursting with creativity. Black artists, musicians and intellectuals such as Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Lois Mailou Jones celebrated their African American culture through their works during this golden age. This era is known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Billie Holiday - Summertime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYUqbnk7tCY

 Summertime

Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'
So hush, little baby, don't you cry

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But till that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'
So hush, little baby, don't you cry

1956 – Mahaila Jackson

Dubbed ‘The Queen of Gospel’, Mahaila Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world by singing ‘God’s music’. In 1956, however, Jackson released ‘Summertime’, one of the few times she recorded music that wasn’t religious.

A prominent activist in America’s civil rights movement, Jackson purposely meshed Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ with the African American spiritual, ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’.

Mahalia Jackson - Summertime - Live 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q4qwSzQXYo

 

1957 – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Up until the release of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s Jazz album, Porgy and Bess, ‘Summertime’ was still relatively unknown.

Fitzgerald’s cover quickly propelled the song into the limelight, not only cementing it as a jazz staple, but also as globally recognisable hit. The opera was even turned into a film two years later (featuring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge in the title roles), further propelling the song for greatness.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Summertime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIDOEsQL7lA

 

1959 – Miles Davis

Jazz has always been an expression of cultural diversity and individualism. Because of this, jazz artists have always been able to use improvisation to express themselves. The simple melody of ‘Summertime’ left much room for improvisation, and jazz instrumentalists each took turn to make the song their own.

Being one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz, Miles Davis’s instrumental version of ‘Summertime’ on his 1958 album, Porgy and Bess, is one of the best known. Recorded over just four days in the summer of 1958, Porgy and Bess is still considered as an historic jazz masterpiece.

Miles Davis started his career as a member of Charlie Parker’s bebop quintet. Parker’s instrumental version of the song is also well known.

Miles Davis - Summertime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9oc5JctHVg

 

1968 – Janis Joplin

With the genre’s origins in blues and jazz, it’s no surprise that ‘Summertime’ was covered by many Rock’n’Roll artists in the 60s.

With her bluesy vocal style, ‘Summertime’ was a natural choice for Janis Joplin and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. The album in which the track featured, Cheap Thrills, was one of the most successful albums of the 1968.

Along with Joplin’s, versions of the song by artists such as Ricky Nelson, The Zombies and even the soulful Al Green helped popularise ‘Summertime’ to a new generation of people.

Janis Joplin "Summertime" (Live -1969)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5TNqjuHiU

 

1973 – B.B. Seaton

The success of ‘Summertime’ didn’t stop in America. By the 70s, the song had travelled to Jamaica, and B.B Seaton’s reggae rendition was soon released.

As the song spread around the globe, so did a number of interpretations. From Mongo Santamaría’s Latin jazz version in the 1980s to Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo’s cover in 2012 (sang in her native tongue), ‘Summertime’ was adapted time and time again.

BB Seaton - summertime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAMm_VmOjA

 

 

BRAND     noun UK  /brænd/ US  /brænd/

(PRODUCT) a type of product made by a particular company:

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When I go to a supermarket I usually buy own (US store) brands (= the cheaper products with the shop's own name on them).

 

BURST   verb UK  /bɜːst/ US  /bɝːst/    burst | burst

to break open or apart suddenly, or to make something do this:

I hate it when balloons burst. Suddenly,the door burst open (= opened suddenly and forcefully) and police officers rushed in.

figurative humorous.- If I eat any more cake I'll burst (= I cannot eat anything else)!

 

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to give something or someone a particular name, especially describing what you think of it, him, or her:

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intentionally:

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public attention and interest:

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FEATURE    noun  UK  /ˈfiː.tʃər/ US  /ˈfiː.tʃɚ/

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