Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera with music by George Gershwin and libretto by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name that he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy. All three works deal with African American life in the fictitious Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in the early 1930s.

Characters

• Porgy, a cripple (bass-baritone)
• Bess, Crown's girl (soprano)
• Crown, a tough stevedore (baritone)
• Serena, Robbin's wife (soprano)
• Clara, Jake's wife (soprano)
• Maria, keeper of the cook-shop (contralto)
• Jake, a fisherman
• Sportin' Life, a dope peddler (tenor)
• Mingo (tenor)
• Robbins, an inhabitant of Catfish Row (tenor)
• Peter, the honeyman (tenor)
• Frazier, a negro 'lawyer' (baritone)
• Annie, (mezzo-soprano)
• Lily, Peter's wife, strawberry woman (mezzo-soprano)
• Jim, a cotton picker (baritone)
• Undertaker (baritone)
• Nelson (tenor)
• Crab man (tenor)
• Mr. Archdale, a figure of authority (spoken)
• Detective (spoken)
• Policeman (spoken)
• Coroner (spoken)
• Scipio, a small boy (spoken)

With the exception of the small speaking roles, all of the characters are black.

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