For more than ninety years, The Gershwins®’ Porgy and Bess and its songs, such as “Summertime,” have resonated deeply with audiences. This celebrated American opera tells the fictional story of a Black community in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1920s.

The beloved opera has also raised questions about who creates art, how people are represented, and what impact it leaves behind.

Before you see Porgy and Bess at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, join Lyric Opera of Kansas City to discuss these topics and enjoy a live performance.

Panelists include the production’s conductor Michael Ellis Ingram, chief conductor of the Staatsoperette Dresden, and Howard Pollack, professor of music at the University of Houston and author of an award-winning biography of George Gershwin. Paul Laird, professor emeritus of musicology at The University of Kansas and a noted musical theater scholar will moderate and join the conversation.