Porgy and Bess at Lyric Opera

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...The God-fearing residents of Catfish Row (forever harassed by the white police) sing some of the opera's most glorious music. Eric Greene brings a golden heat and great vocal allure to the role of fisherman Jake, with the clarion-voiced Laquita Mitchell as his adoring wife. Jonita Lattimore, as the faith healer Serena, all but stops the show with her gorgeous rendering of "Oh, Doctor Jesus." And when Porgy sets out for "the promised land," you believe he'll get there."

Examiner - Highly Recommended

"...Stage director Francesca Zambello creates stage pictures that burn in the memory, from the teeming streetscape of Catfish Row to isolated pockets of Kittawah Island. Arguably among her most evocative accomplishment comes with the hurricane that hits in the second act. As the cast cowers shoulder-to-shoulder in Clara’s apartment, a fearsome battering of lightning and thunder compete with feverish prayers for the storm to subside. It’s a scene of Biblical fearsomeness, and it captures the deeply rooted spirituality of “Porgy and Bess” as well as its rip-roaring melodrama."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...For this production ( from Washington National Opera ) , director Francesca Zambello and designers use a 1950 setting, an arbitrary and essentially meaningless choice. The scenic design of corrugated metal doors rising four stories suggests an industrial tenement rather than a crumbling Southern waterfront, thereby stealing local color and salt-air atmosphere. Zambello's fluid and passionate staging otherwise is admirable."

EpochTimes - Highly Recommended

"...A rare treat has come to audiences of Chicago- The Lyric Opera of Chicago brings to life, on its stage "Porgy and Bess" the true American Opera written by George Gershwin,Dubose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin. This classic was first presented in 1935 in Boston and until November 18th, has never been presented at the Lyric Opera- Now it has! And what a performance it was- the long awaited performance had the audience alive in anticipation of something special, and it was delivered to them."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...This show features a cast of world class singers completely at home with their characters. Morenike Dadayomi’s Bess and Gordon Hawkins’ Porgy produce an electrifying spark that ignites the house."