I have seen and listened to many versions of Porgy and Bess the first being "selections" on a Decca LP with Todd Duncan (Porgy) and Anne Brown (Bess). I have heard and seen full casts of the opera in person (Metropolitan Opera/Houston Grand Opera/Seattle Opera) as well as seen video presentations (San Francisco Opera/Glyndeborn (Trevor Nunn) versions as well as the film version directed by Otto Preminger. I've seen some very bad performances (Metropolitan Opera) and seen some excellent ones (San Francisco Opera and Trevor Nunn's) and think the Preminger version is actually pretty good. The film takes the music and treats it basically as they do when Porgy and Bess is presented as a stage musical in that there is dialog instead of arias between major numbers. What I don't know and have not been able to determine from reading Wikipedia and IMDb is who does all the singing. I assume Pearl Bailey sings and Sammy Davis, jr. sings, but I find it hard to believe that Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge actually sing since the singing is really too operatic for them. I've not heard of Sidney Poitier or Dorothy Dandridge singing in other film so I have questions about who is actually singing and wonder if they are not why the actual singers have not been credited for their work.
Review of Porgy and Bess
