Summertime Analysis

The piece that I picked is “Summertime” from the George and Ira Gershwin’s opera

Porgy and Bess performed by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong.The opera is derived from the novel

Porgy and Bess which later became a play and featured an entire cast of African-American actors

and actresses. The piece was one of the first forms of propaganda of the African-American

narrative. The opera depicts African-Americans in the south in a very negative light.Porgy and

Bess was a double-edged sword for many people of color.There was immense pride in having the

first all African-American cast in any major production. The downside is that it described a

downtrodden, and drug-laden society of deviants.The opera was exported to many countries and
I would eventually use this

song for most of my auditions for a few musicals on Broadway. What was once a source of

sadness became my redemption after dropping out of the University of Chicago to become an

actor.

Presently when I listen to Summertime on my commute to school, it offers support in

another seminal moment in my life.I usually play it to remind me of harder times and using it as

inspiration to move forward.The sweet lullaby offers me a soothing effect and creates a sense of

calm before I enter campus. As the meaning of the piece transformed, the orchestra became the

main players especially the tenor of Ella’s mezzo-soprano voice counterposed against the

baritone of Louis Armstrong.The song that features two of the greatest jazz artist voices of our

time is so powerful that it leaves the composition open to interpretation once the masses

consumed it.I consider myself a part of the public that has taken ownership of this song for their

purpose.What was once a song from an opera that described a narrow perception of the urban

narrative, transformed over a period of years to a personal anthem for strength and