NJ State Opera Tickets

The opera was wonderful. The sound could have been a little better. The ending was phemnonmenal!!!

Porgy and Bess was a wonderful production and the theatre staff certainly added to the experience. They were delightful-each was warm, helpful and all seemed to be sincerely proud to be working at this historic theatre. I attended with my 85 yr. old mother who had fond memories of attendng opera performances when she was a child with my grandmother when the theatre was known as the Mosque Theatre.

This is a first-rate grand opera production. This is an all-star cast with outstanding direction, and the musical direction under Maestro Tramm was just impeccable and enthralling. You should go see this!

The performance of Porgy and Bess last night was entertaining. The voices were great. Mr. Baker (Porgy) was wonderful but it was too bad he used crutches and not a goat cart. Why did the lawyer mention the cart if the director deleted it? Mr. Baker had trouble making sure he favored one and only one leg. Once past the first Summertime Ms. Mitchell (Bess) sang beautifully. We liked Ms. Brown (Serena) too. Mr. Craig (Sportin' Life) was entertaining and his dancing is terrific. Sometimes he swallowed his words. We loved the scene where he wants to make friends. I don't recall seeing it done before. He and the cafe owner did it well. Mr. Lynch is a wonderful bass but we could not make out his words. We had no problem with other singers. Perhaps he overdid his coloratura. The ending was the innovation. Usually Porgy is shown leaving to go to New York in his goat cart. It is a tragic ending as the audience knows he will never make it. Gershwin captures the despair and harm of drugs and poverty throughout the opera. The usual ending underscores it. The traditional ending is what makes this a classic story and the music makes it the greatest American Opera. Why did the director need to give us a feel-good ending undermining the tragedy? He could have just as easily left out the last scene and Porgy and Bess would live happily ever after in the minds of the audience. The point the director missed in his improvements was that there is no happy ending in the drug world. Sportin' Life tells us early that once Bess is addicted to "happy dust" and that she will always be addicted. How does Porgy stand on his own feet? The halogen light on him at the end gives us the false hope that all will be well. The orchestra played well, the singers sang well, the chorus acted well but the stage crew was slow to change scenes. The intermission was almost two ours into the performance. The introductory talk droned on and the seats cut off circulation to our legs. Please see it for yourself; but plan to stand during on or two scenes and get a movie from your library to understand the tragedy of poverty, gambling and drugs that is the morality tale in Gershwin's classic

Laquita MItchell has outdone herself once again with her role of Bess. Amazing acting and vocals. Porgy and the rest of the cast are very talented as well. Great set, great music! But you need to sit in the front to hear everything.... it's opera, it's not going to be amplified by microphones. Sitting in the mezzanine made it hard to hear acoustically. The theater was also very hot...maybe no AC? If I could do it over, I would bring a miracle ear, some binoculars (like the lady had in front of me) and something cool to drink. Then it would be have been perfection! But that doesn't take away from the stunning performance. It's worth going! Bravo!

People came from other states to attend this event. It was so well conducted, music was fabulous. Only complaint was that the acoustics were poor, so that the lyrics were largely unintelligible from front row mezzanine. Buy orchestra seats in this venue if you want to see/hear. Would recommend highly!

The cast was great, but I had a hard time understanding what they were saying (singing). Had I not read every act in the program, I would've been clueless. In addition to this, the show is also very long. I left after two hours, and there were still three more acts to go. Several people in my section never returned after intermission.

Bravo to all who performed, especially Maestro Jason Tramm who conceived and executed the project masterfully. For me the standout was the Crown of Lester Lynch who, for me, stole the show. His portrayal was so vivid that the audience applauded and cheered when Porgy killed him and he received good-natured boos during curtain calls. No higher praise for an operatic villain.