| Porgy and Bess | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album | ||||
| Released | 1951 | |||
| Recorded | April 1951 | |||
| Genre | Opera | |||
| Length | 129 minutes | |||
| Label | Columbia Masterworks Records | |||
| Producer | Goddard Lieberson | |||
| chronology | ||||
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This 1951 recording of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess was the first "complete" recording of the work from beginning to end, not a series of selections of popular songs from the work. (The recording did not include most of the music written by Gershwin which had been customarily cut from productions in the United States, however. As opposed to the complete three-hour opera, the album was two hours and nine minutes.)
The recording came about as a result of Lehman Engel and Goddard Lieberson's desire to record albums of Broadway shows that had never been given a full-length record album. Among the musicals the team had recorded (or would record) were Oh, Kay!, Babes in Arms, Girl Crazy, and Pal Joey. Although there had been an album of Porgy and Bess since 1940, there had never been a 3-LP version which contained more than two-thirds of the opera.
The album was recorded between April 5 and April 13, 1951.
The album was originally released on 3 twelve-inch 331⁄3 rpm LPs. Columbia Masterworks assigned the album the serial number OSL 162. The recording was later remastered by Naxos Records and re-released on CD.
Several members of the original Broadway cast of Porgy and Bess appeared on the album.