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The cast is wonderful; not a weak voice among them. The orchestra ably supports the show. Very powerful, moving production. One that we will remember for a long time. It is a long show, so plan your baby sitting plans accordingly.
This was a fabulous production of Porgy and Bess. All players did an outstanding job in this performance Friday May 7. The soprano voices were quite thrilling. The renditions of "It Ain't Necessicarily So" and "There's a Boat Leaving for New York" and "Bess You Is My Woman NOw" were my personal favorites of ths show!
The production, performance and voice outstanding. Would love to see it again.
The opera was incredible! The voices of all the performers were beautiful, polished, and strong. They handled the difficult score with ease. The staging was fantastic--the use of movable scaffolding was a creative way to change the scenery. The shutters used to decorate reminded me of southern-style hurricane/island architecture. However, our seats were TERRIBLE! We were seated in the last row of the parterre right, and could not see the supertitles because the balcony overhang obscured our view. We stayed in our seats for the first act, as we did not want to disturb other theater patrons by moving around. We were forced to scrunch down in our seats to have even a minimal view of the screen. Fortunately, we were able to move forward for the second act. I think someone should have checked to be sure the screen was placed properly so that all seats had a view. Although the performance was wonderful, I have a sore neck this morning from straining to see the supertitles!
While the "translations/subtitles" were slightly distracting they added greatly to our understanding of the play. I've not been to many opera's so maybe this sort of thing is standard practice. The Carpenter Theatre in particular and Richmond's Center Stage in general are a destination worth the trip for any production. Whow! What a marvelous job of renovation. Gorgeous indeed.
Everyone involved in the production deserves kudos for an excellent production.
First of all the set was great.. the costumes were good.. but the major you go to the opera is for the voice, and that just was not there.... Porgy was great, and the highlight of the show... Bess was wonderful in her high register, but lost defination and pronunciation in her lower notes... Clara's first rendetion of Summertime. ended in a missed note, which made her on the reprise, not even try to hit the final note, instead settling for a lower note... she did make up for it some in the final chorus where she clearly projects over everyone... Maria is usually one of my favorite characters... and i am sure she has a wonderful voice, but she was unable to project over the orchestra and the other singers... Serena was a shinging star... what a wonderfully clear voice.. i would imagine great things from her in the future... Crown was also quite good.. he voice was deep and chilling.. pronuciation was lost a bit... Sporting Life was a major disappointment...his character is usually a favorite.. but i noticed at least twice when he missed notes... a real disappointment... all in all it was only a fair production.. not worth seeing...
This was a great experience. I was afraid I wouldn't understand the words in opera style, but the Virginia Opera puts the words up on a screen for you. It was great! I was able to follow along without a problem. The music and story were unforgettable.
I was mesmerized by the beautiful singing and the acting. I am a South Carolinian and I can relate to to the Catfish row scenery in Charleston, SC. It was surreal! I felt like I was there during the entire opera. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would like for it to return to Richmond so that I can encourage my family and friends to attend.
Porgy was just fine - he did a great job of not only singing beautifully but of staying in character with appropriate acting skills. Bess was good. But I was quite disappointed that the orchestra's volume was so loud it often drowned out the singing. I hate to say it but it sounded like an amateur production and I don't expect that in Richmond, having attended a fair number of performances--but not operas. The two minor characters of Crown and the dope pusher could have been better with more direction. They both could obviously dance but they looked spastic in their movements. The sets worked very smoothly and were very well done. The audience was extremely appreciative but overall I would just give it a C.
The cast of this performance are incredibly talented and I was moved at several points in this tragedy. The Carpenter Center is beautiful and was an appropriate venue for this Opera.
I had never seen an operatic perfomance before viewing Porgy and Bess. Though it was long, I enjoyed every moment. The singing was magnificent and the young woman who played the role of Bess actually gave me chills while she sang. I didn't even know what the story line was, but there's nothing like a story about a man's love for a woman. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a great Broadway performance. I hated the drug peddler's character, but the actor was wonderful in that part. Check it out!
The cast, voices, orchestra, set, and lighting were all exemplary. Easily on par with Broadway or Carnegie Hall.
I was so happy that Porgy & Bess was to be presented. Although the music is very well known, the opera itself is rarely produced.I bought tickets the day I heard about the show, 5 months ago. We were not disappointed. The singing, acting, symphony, sets, costumes, lighting were fabulous. I couldn't have been more pleased. It was my first time at the Carpenter Theatre and second time to hear the Virginia Opera. I can't wait to see another production.
I felt the male lead singers voices were not powerful enough. The staging and choreography were good. The first act was too long and, unfortunately, the seats in the carpenter center are not that comfortable.
Show was wonderful- Actors great but even with knowing what the words were that they were singing by the screen- we still couldn't understand most of the singing. Maybe the mics were'nt set right or the actors should have personal mics on their person. Set design was wonderfully unique.
A strong, solid cast, amazing performances, and beautiful voices. Even the staging and lighting was remarkable! I highly recommend Porgy and Bess to any fan of opera, theater, or any Gershwin enthusiast.
The scenery adaptation was fascinating. It helped with the movement of the opera and kept things flowing, allowing subtle shifting of the imagination to place one in the scene. Sound and other effects were also excellent. Singing and acting quite good - well worth seeing.
Great performance which brought out all the emotions of the story with amazing talent shown by all the artists
The opera was fantastic! The characters and the singers fulfilling the roles were awesome. The new and improved Carpenter Center was great as well.
