Spoleto Festival USA has announced a new partnership with the Johnson C. Smith University Concert Choir for a landmark production of the opera Porgy and Bess in 2016. The opera by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin will be performed in the Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall in the newly renovated Gaillard Center. It will be the first Spoleto Festival USA production of the famed opera known for songs including “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Loves You, Porgy.”
The 1935 opera is based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward and takes place in the author’s home city of Charleston, providing a rare opportunity to see this work performed in the city of its birth. Accentuating the opera’s strong association with Charleston, the new production will be visually designed by artist Jonathan Green, whose vibrant depictions and knowledge of the region’s Gullah culture is celebrated worldwide.
Full production details and the complete 2016 program will be announced on January 3, 2016.
The 2016 Festival takes place May 27 – June 12. Tickets will go on sale in January.
