Summertime Jan Van Herp En Leopold Wijdeveld

Many people think of Porgy and Bess as a musical, when in fact it was written by Gershwin (who came from a musical theatre background) to be his very first opera. Although jazz-inspired, the original version of ‘Summertime’ was to be performed by a classically trained opera singer.

The original, written in the minor key, has a slightly melancholy feel. The first ever performance of Summertime was sung by American soprano Abbie Mitchell.

In the 2018 ENO production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, ‘Summertime’ was sung by Nadine Benjamin.