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Is It Time For A Yiddish ‘Porgy And Bess?’

JL;DR SUMMARY J. Hoberman explores the intriguing idea of reimagining George Gershwin's classic opera "Porgy and Bess" in a Yiddish setting, highlighting the cultural intersections between Gershwin's Jewish and African-American influences. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish MusicYiddishIsaac BabelCultural AppropriationKlezmerJewish InfluenceOperaGeorge GershwinPorgy And BessAfrican American Culture

Places mentioned

Brooklyn, New York, United States
"Born in Brooklyn to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Gershwin characterized by the critic-historian Alex Ross as the ultimate phenomenon in early-twentieth-century American music in whom all the discordant tendencies of the era achieved sweet harmony was a trained musician who swerved into popu"
New York, United States
"Now its back in a new production at the Met, along with all the baggage the classic folk opera has toted since its premiere 84 years ago."
Lombardy, Italy
"Then it was discovered that the rights to the play had already been obtained by an Italian composer, Lodovico Rocca, who premiered his opera at La Scala in March 1934."
Argentina
"In the late 1990s, both the Argentine clarinetist Giora Feidman and the Minnesota Klezmer Band put out albums reinterpreted Gershwin as a klezmer, including three of the afore mentions songs plus Theres a Boat Dats Leavin Soon for New York."

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Retrieved 2025-05-27 05:32:35 UTC
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