Gershwin's large scale compositions may be thought of as an extension of the many hundreds of popular songs that he wrote. His strength as a composer lies in melody rather than structure or development. As a young man he studied music of Chopin, Liszt and Debussy, but in later life he only performed his own pieces in public.
Having successfully tackled the forms of the rhapsody, concerto, and overture, Gershwin began thinking of writing an opera. Gershwin chose for the basis of his opera a play he had seen, entitled "Porgy" by DuBose Heyward. The American flavour of this play, and the poignant story of the love of Bess for the crippled Porgy, was the ideal subject for a "native" American folk opera.
In oder to write "Porgy and Bess", Gershwin lived for several weeks with the Gullah Negroes on the waterfront in Charleston, South Carolina, the locale of the story.
It then took him eleven months to put his opera down on paper, and an additional nine months to orchestrate the work. The premiere of the opera took place in Boston on September 30, 1935.
That "Porgy and Bess" should have wonderful melodies, of which "Summertime" is the most famous is to be expected from a born song writer. But the opera is much more than just a collection of choice songs. It has wit, genuine poignancy, and telling dramatic effect which serves as a testament to the power and the intrinsically vital qualities of Gershwin's creative genius.
