[78-L] Anne Brown, Gershwin's "Bess" passes at 96

[soundthink at aol.com]

I'm told by the Ira Gershwin estate that Anne was probably the last direct connection to George Gershwin still alive. Don't know who else there might be who knew him personally who is still around.

Cary Ginell


-----Original Message-----
From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 9:57 am
Subject: Re: [78-L] Anne Brown, Gershwin's "Bess" passes at 96



No Original Cast album as such, but broadcast and rehearsal excerpts have 
survived including the rehearsal disc recorded in 1935 and the highlights sung 
at the Hollywood Bowl Gershwin Memorial Concert (the latter available from 
yours truly, the former on a MusicMasters CD). Anne is on both.

dl

soundthink at aol.com wrote:
> Anne Brown, George Gershwin's original "Bess" in "Porgy and Bess," died in 
Norway recently at the age of 96. Brown was the last surviving cast member from 
the original 1935 Broadway production. I wrote about Brown in a new songbook 
edition of "Porgy" that I published with Alfred Music Publishing. She was a 
23-year-old Juilliard student when she auditioned for the show, initially just 
trying to land any part in the opera. In her audition with Gershwin, she was 
asked by the composer to sing a spiritual. In the beginning, she was wary of 
Gershwin's motives, fearing that she was being placed in a stereotypical 
"darkie" role, but when he convinced her otherwise and told her?the story, she 
was intrigued and?sang "City Called Heaven" for him. She not only was hired, she 
was selected to play the lead role of Bess. 
> 
> Obituaries for Brown will have you believe that Gershwin changed the name of 
the opera from "Porgy" (after DuBose Heyward's original 1926 novel) to "Porgy 
and Bess' to give Brown title billing, but this was not the case. Theatre Guild 
asked Gershwin to come up with a new title for the show and it was Heyward 
himself who recommended "Porgy and Bess," noting similar dual character titles 
in operas such as "Samson and Delilah," "Tristan und Isolde," and "Pelleas and 
Melisande." Gershwin, flattered to be in such stellar company, agreed to the new 
title. 
> 
> Although "Porgy and Bess" did not have an original cast recording, Decca did 
include Brown and co-star Todd Duncan ("Porgy") in the 1940 revival, which was 
issued in two parts: on a 4-disc 12" 78 rpm album and then again in the 1942 
revival by Cheryl Crawford, this time issued on 3 10" 78s.
> 
> Cary Ginell
> __
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