RIP Anne Brown, Porgy and Bess’s Last Original Cast Member

[JSngry]

Word came from Oslo, Norway that Anne Wiggins Brown, the singer who created the role of Bess in the first, 1935 production of George and Ira Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess, passed away on March 13 at the age of 96. Brown was the last surviving member of the original Porgy and Bess production, and this seems like a good opportunity to revisit some of the key participants in the first Porgy and Bess, to honor their memory and overall contribution.

Anne Brown (1912-2009), top billed as “Bess” in the original production, was a valued singing student at the Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard) even though as a teenager she couldn’t gain entry to the Catholic High School in her native Baltimore. She worked closely with George Gershwin as he composed the score and also suggested changing the title of the opera from “Porgy” to “Porgy and Bess.” Brown also appeared in the 1942 revival, but in 1948 she married Norwegian skier and author Thorleif Schjelderup and became a Norwegian citizen. Brown’s singing career ended in the mid-1950s — she had also performed in productions of Gian Carlo Menotti’s operas The Telephone and The Medium — but she continued as a teacher; among her students were soprano Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz and actress Liv Ullmann.

Full article here: http://blog.allmusic.com/2009/3/18/shes-on...-original-bess/

[Jazzmoose]

A couple (or more) years ago, the local (in Louisiana, I think) PBS station broadcast a performance of Porgy and Bess, and I sat down in great anticipation. Ten minutes in, I turned it off and put Ella on the stereo. Call me lowbrow, but I prefer my music with a little soul and passion...

Edited March 19, 2009 by Jazzmoose

[johnlitweiler]

I've loved her singing and Todd Duncan's on that old Decca Porgy & Bess album (almost original cast - no John Bubbles, unfortunately) ever since it was on 78 rpm. Very interesting obit in NY Times yesterday:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/theater/18brown.html