There is a debate currently raging in the arts world. At issue:
the adaptation of the cultural landmark opera “Porgy and Bess.”
The opera about life as an African-American on fictitious
“Catfish Row” in Charleston, South Carolina was first performed
in 1935 with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose
Heyward and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. “Porgy and Bess” is
considered by many to be America’s greatest opera. But the
current director of the revival thinks she can improve the work
by adding new scenes, inventing biographical details, and most
radically, changing the ending to reflect a more hopeful
outcome. The title has also been changed to “The Gershwins’
Porgy and Bess.” These changes have drawn fire from critics who
say the monumental work has withstood the test of time and that
the changes have distorted the original intent of the authors.
The debates over adaptation are not for theater only. For
centuries, the Church has debated how to adapt its liturgy so
that it can best speak to the current culture