The Princeton Festival is set to host five free events so that audiences can learn more about this year’s opera, Porgy and Bess.
On June 1 at 2 p.m. there will be a musical preview of Porgy and Bess, accompanied by a cappella female barbershop harmonies by Jersey Harmony Chorus at the Grounds for Sculpture. The preview is free with admission.
On June 5 at 7:30 p.m. scenes from Porgy and Bess will be performed at Princeton Public Library, followed by a discussion with the directors.
On June 10 at 7 p.m. at West Windsor Library Professor Timothy Urban will present a lecture entitled Porgy and Bess: A Musical Kaleidoscope about the work’s history, music and creators. The program will be repeated on June 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Princeton Public Library.
On June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Princeton Public Library Marianne Grey will present a lecture entitled Illustrating Life in the American South before Porgy and Bess which will depict artists’ representations of Negro life in the South from colonial times to the 1920s and raise questions about the authenticity of the opera’s setting. The program will be repeated at Lawrence Library on June 26.
On June 16 at 7 p.m., Joseph Horowitz, author of the book Bring My Goat! will present a lecture of the same name dealing with the first stagings of the play and the opera of Porgy and the major contributions of Rouben mamoulian, a Hollywood director.
Porgy and Bess will be performed on June 22, 27 and 29 at McCarter Theater.
Grounds for Sculpture is located at 18 Fairgrounds Road, Trenton.
Princeton Public Library is located at 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton.
West Windsor Library is located at 333 North Post Road, Princeton Junction.
Lawrence Library is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville.
McCarter Theater is located at 91 University Place, Princeton.
More information is online at princetonfestival.org.
