George Gershwin maintained that Porgy and Bess was a real opera, not a glorified Broadway musical, but until recently, few believed him. Early productions generally truncated his ample (more than three hours) score, cut down its lush orchestration and substituted spoken dialogue for the recitatives. But there has been growing interest in an authentic Porgy, beginning with the Houston Grand Opera's 1976 production and followed by an even more opulent version seen at New York's Radio City Music Hall two years ago. Last week, 50 years after its premiere, Porgy came all the way uptown to the Metropolitan Opera. At last,...
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