The aria expresses a cheerful acceptance of poverty as freedom from worldly cares. Porgy says he has the most important things in life, " 'Cause de things dat I prize, / Like de stars in de skies / All are free". Most of all, he's "got my gal, got my Lord, got my song".
Porgy sings the aria in act 2 after he and Bess have been living together, expressing his new happiness.[2] Like several other arias in the opera, it is implied that it is being performed by the singer to the other characters, in this case as a banjo song. As elsewhere in the opera, other characters join in to create communal engagement with song. In the view of Joseph Horowitz, Gershwin made "a banjo song with choral interjections, a community moment".[3]
There is a short reprise of the song at the end of the act, as Porgy sings cheerfully to himself after Bess has left on her fateful trip to Kittiwah Island.
The principal musical phrase also appears later in the score as a leitmotif signifying Porgy's joyful feelings, most extensively when Porgy returns after being released from prison. At the very end, a fragment of the principal phrase appears at the beginning of the final aria, "Oh Lawd, I'm on my way", to signal Porgy's renewed optimism and potential happiness as he sets out to find Bess.[3]
Creationedit
The aria originated from Gershwin's suggestion that a light moment was needed at that point in the second act. Unusually, he sketched the tune before the lyrics were written, playing a rough version on the piano at a meeting with the opera's lyricists, his brother Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. Ira came up with the title "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' ". Heyward then asked Ira if he could draft out the aria, as he had never written words to an existing tune before.[4] A 'dummy' lyric was created by Ira and Heywood's wife Dorothy—with nonsense words to help him remember the required rhythm for the tune.[5] Heywood sent his rough draft to Ira, which Ira thought "had many useable lines", but was "awkward when sung". Ira polished it into a more singable form, while George perfected the music.[4] Ira considered the lyrics to be a "50–50 collaborative effort".[5]
The original orchestration introduced a banjo, which was used for "lightly sounding the vamp-like chords against the tuneful and exhuberant melody of the soloist".[2] It has been noted that both the tune and the lyrics bear a significant resemblance to the Gershwin brothers' earlier hit "I Got Rhythm".[5]
The official spelling of the title is not used in many of the cover versions. It is varied in numerous different ways, including "Oh, I Got Plenty o' Nuttin" (Monica Zetterlund, 1959), "I Got Plenty of Nothin' " (Diahann Carroll, 1959), and the fully standard English "I've Got Plenty of Nothing" (Julia Migenes, 1989).
plenty, nuttin, bass, baritone, aria, sung, character, porgy, from, george, gershwin, 1935, folk, opera, porgy, bess, 1934, lyrics, dubose, heyward, author, novel, porgy, which, opera, based, gershwin, most, famous, arias, from, opera, along, with, summertime,. I Got Plenty o Nuttin is a bass baritone 1 aria sung by the character Porgy from George Gershwin s 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess 1934 The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based and Ira Gershwin It is one of the most famous arias from the opera along with Summertime It Ain t Necessarily So and Bess You Is My Woman Now and it has been recorded by hundreds of singers and music groups The aria expresses a cheerful acceptance of poverty as freedom from worldly cares Porgy says he has the most important things in life Cause de things dat I prize Like de stars in de skies All are free Most of all he s got my gal got my Lord got my song Contents 1 Porgy and Bess 2 Creation 3 Versions 4 References 5 External linksPorgy and Bess editPorgy sings the aria in act 2 after he and Bess have been living together expressing his new happiness 2 Like several other arias in the opera it is implied that it is being performed by the singer to the other characters in this case as a banjo song As elsewhere in the opera other characters join in to create communal engagement with song In the view of Joseph Horowitz Gershwin made a banjo song with choral interjections a community moment 3 There is a short reprise of the song at the end of the act as Porgy sings cheerfully to himself after Bess has left on her fateful trip to Kittiwah Island The principal musical phrase also appears later in the score as a leitmotif signifying Porgy s joyful feelings most extensively when Porgy returns after being released from prison At the very end a fragment of the principal phrase appears at the beginning of the final aria Oh Lawd I m on my way to signal Porgy s renewed optimism and potential happiness as he sets out to find Bess 3 Creation editThe aria originated from Gershwin s suggestion that a light moment was needed at that point in the second act Unusually he sketched the tune before the lyrics were written playing a rough version on the piano at a meeting with the opera s lyricists his brother Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward Ira came up with the title I Got Plenty o Nuttin Heyward then asked Ira if he could draft out the aria as he had never written words to an existing tune before 4 A dummy lyric was created by Ira and Heywood s wife Dorothy with nonsense words to help him remember the required rhythm for the tune 5 Heywood sent his rough draft to Ira which Ira thought had many useable lines but was awkward when sung Ira polished it into a more singable form while George perfected the music 4 Ira considered the lyrics to be a 50 50 collaborative effort 5 The original orchestration introduced a banjo which was used for lightly sounding the vamp like chords against the tuneful and exhuberant melody of the soloist 2 It has been noted that both the tune and the lyrics bear a significant resemblance to the Gershwin brothers earlier hit I Got Rhythm 5 Versions editThe song has been covered by many musicians since its performance by Todd Duncan at the opera s premiere in 1935 Some of the most notable performers included Bing Crosby recorded March 29 1936 6 Aaron Bridgers 1950 Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong 1957 Frank Sinatra 1957 Pearl Bailey 1959 Carol Kidd 1994 Robert McFerrin sang the role of Porgy played by Sidney Poitier in the 1959 film The official spelling of the title is not used in many of the cover versions It is varied in numerous different ways including Oh I Got Plenty o Nuttin Monica Zetterlund 1959 I Got Plenty of Nothin Diahann Carroll 1959 and the fully standard English I ve Got Plenty of Nothing Julia Migenes 1989 References edit Porgy and Bess performance details American Guild of Musical Artists Retrieved 24 September 2023 a b Patrick M Liebergen I Got Plenty of Nuttin Singer s Library of Arias Alfred Music 2008 pp 22ff ISBN 978 0 7390 5142 9 a b Horowitz Joseph On My Way The Untold Story of Rouben Mamoulian George Gershwin and Porgy and Bess W W Norton amp Company 2013 pp 6 7 130 ISBN 978 0 393 24059 7 a b James M Hutchisson Dubose Heyward University Press of Mississippi 2000 pp 149 50 ISBN 978 1 57806 250 8 a b c Furia Philip Ira Gershwin The Art of the Lyricist Oxford University Press 1997 p 110 ISBN 978 0 393 24059 7 A Bing Crosby Discography bingmagazine co uk International Club Crosby Retrieved July 22 2017 External links edit I Got Plenty o Nuttin video on YouTube Willard White from Porgy and Bess Glyndebourne album 1989 Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title I Got Plenty o 27 Nuttin 27 amp oldid 1176798168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
