Porgy & Bess: High Performance | Leontyne Price

Porgy & Bess: High Performance | Leontyne Price | Porgy & Bess

classical music:

American Novels, 1... The Magnificent Ob... Malcolm Martineau Brahms: Quintets; ... Porgy & Bess: High...

	Porgy & Bess: High Performance Leontyne Price RCA, 1999 average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

RCA's 1963 highlights disc brought the stars of the early-1950s revival of the work, Leontyne Price and William Warfield, together again. By this time, however, Price was well advanced on her meteoric rise to operatic stardom and Warfield was gaining renown as a recitalist. Both are glorious here and Price's shimmering "Summertime" is worth the price of the disc. A plus is the spirited Sportin' Life of John W. Bubbles, who created the role in the original 1935 production; an old-time vaudevillian, he wrings fun and irony from his all-too-short excerpts. Henderson conducts with vigor and RCA's "High Performance" sound, when heard on a good system, is remarkable. --Dan Davis

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A Glorious Porgy and Bess

This is a glorious recording of a Gershwin Masterpiece. I have no complaints. After working as a wardrobe dresser in a recent production of Porgy and Bess for the San Francisco Opera, I have recently purchased a few different recordings and this is still special...especially with Ms. Price at her peak. My only complaint is there is nowhere on the CD that indicates which singers are singing what on a given track. Along with Leontyne Price and William Warfield, there is credit given to a list of other singers. What roles are they singing? Amazon's track list, I think, is not correct as it only has Ms. Price (or Mr. Warfield) listed. I will have to do some further research...with this gorgeous music in the background!

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Porgy & Bess

Great CD! Both the singing and orchestrations were perfect! Have played it many times since receiving it.

Porgy and Bess:High Performance

This is a truly wonderful performance with every singer committed to his role. It is Price singing at her best. The chorus and orchestra are great too. This is a splendid introduction to a beautiful opera.

A Good Recording for Historical Reasons

There is little doubt that there are some fine performances on this recording, and it is worth purchasing just to hear Ms. Price's amazing take on Bess' arias. William Warfield also gives an amazing performance as Porgy. The problem is Skitch Henderson's pacing. He conducts these "highlights" as if on speed. "I Loves you Porgy" is so fast that the lyric is almost lost and it starts to sound like a cha-cha.

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