Opera--Performance

The Performing Arts Society of Acadiana (PASA) concludes its daytime performances for students with the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 8 at the Heymann Performing Arts Center.

Porgy and Bess, the distinctively American opera, closes out the daytime student series with a sweeping tale of love, loss and triumph over despair. This opera features the music of great American composers George and Ira Gershwin with a cast of 30 performers and a live orchestra. Performed in English with projected supertitles, Porgy and Bess features a memorable score that includes the well-known songs “Summertime”,” I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. 

This daytime performance for students is presented by PASA with the sponsorship support of Capital One, the Wilkinson Family Foundation and additional grant support from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Arts Council.

“Porgy and Bess" is a great great production for students to attend," says Jacqueline Lyle, PASA's executive director.  "This is a great opportunity for teachers and principals to extend their students’ learning beyond the books in their classroom.”

Porgy and Bess is probably the most famous and most successful American opera and, at times, it has been the most controversial. Based on DuBose Heyward’s novel, Porgy (and the play that was adapted from the novel), it has long been considered the crowning achievement in the stellar careers of all of the authors. To this day, the story of the crippled beggar transformed by his unexpected and improbable love for Bess, is performed all over the world by theatre and opera companies. Porgy and Bess opened in New York at the Alvin Theatre on October 10, 1935. The landmark 1953 Broadway revival toured for years as a goodwill ambassador on behalf of the U.S. State Department and in 1959 the opera was finally filmed by Samuel Goldwyn. This operatic masterpiece has spawned a string of hit songs that have become international icons of the American tradition.

“A fully staged opera is so compelling and visually stunning," says Lyle.  It engages the audience from the moment the curtain opens to long after the performance ends. This opera is set in South Carolina and sung completely in English, which makes it easy for students to follow and understand.  The story of Porgy and Bess is a classic one sure to engage and entertain teachers and their students.”

In advance of the performance, PASA provides each attending student an informative study guidecalled BackStage Pass. This guide prepares students and teachers with information and activities that will enhance the value of attending the performance and underscores the educational fundamentals that are core to curricula.

Admission for each event is $5 per student or chaperone. Teachers and principals wishing to have their students attend, or seeking more information, should contact the PASA office at (337) 237-2787 or visit the PASA website.