The central event of Act 2, Scene One might be called “Porgy’s Liberation.” After Jake’s song with chorus, “It Take a Long Pull to Get There,” in which he prepares to head out to the Blackfish Banks “No matter what de wedder say,” Porgy appears at his window to sing “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin'”—it always seems unprepared, but it’s a superb, heartlifting song. There’s a brief exchange between Sportin’ Life and Maria, followed by her odd experiment “I Hates yo’ Struttin’ Style.” Then comes the scene with Frazier, the Lawyer, selling his fraudulent divorce, and the aforementioned one with Archdale, leading directly into The Buzzard Song, wherein Porgy sings that “Two is strong where one is feeble,” banishes the scavenger, and declares that “Porgy’s young again.” The chorus seconds him. There’s a brief exchange in which Sportin’ Life tries to lure Bess with happy dust and Porgy chases him, and then the true heart of Porgy, “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” which on one level is simply Bess telling Porgy that if he can’t go to the picnic on Kittiwah she won’t go either, and on another two aching souls finding salvation in each other, in music of the utmost tenderness, intimacy, and, in Bess’s downward arcs of “I is,” ecstasy. Then comes the little picnic parade and the not-so-little chorus “Oh, I Can’t Sit Down;” the short dialogue in which Porgy tells Bess to go along to the picnic; and Porgy’s brief reprise of “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin.”

It’s a scene with great stuff in it. If performed uncut, it is also long—31 minutes on the Maazel/Cleveland Orchestra recording, which is all-inclusive. So Archdale and the Buzzard Song often go, as at the Met. The Buzzard Song was omitted from the original production, partly because of length of show and partly because of length of role, which was felt to be too much for Duncan or anyone else to carry eight times a week. That’s understandable. And it’s hard to perform it if the Archdale scene is cut, because that’s what cues the song: Archdale is on the point of leaving when the sudden shadow terrifies everyone. Archdale asks, “What is it, what’s the matter?”, and Porgy answers “Boss, dat bird mean trouble,” etc. Of course, one can simply elide Archdale and do the song anyway, but then it seems even more unprepared than “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’, and adds to the impression of a succession of sequences that don’t really progress organically, one generating the next. But the Buzzard Song belongs in the scene. Though I wish its accompaniment were less tinny, it’s a strong one, and marks a crucial step in the evolution of the opera’s central character. The logical cut in Act 2, Scene 1 is “I Hates Yo’ Struttin’ Style.” We don’t need the standing of Maria, a secondary character, as co-enforcer (with Serena) of decency—that’s already established—and the “song” (Sprechstimme? Mélodrame? Proto-rap?) is not, in my opinion, a success.

Kittiwah Island is next. Chorus, “I Ain’t Got No Shame;” Sportin’ Life: “It Ain’t Necessarily So;” Serena: “Shame On All You Sinners;” and the Bess/Crown confrontation/coupling. Then (still Act 2), back at Catfish Row. Reprise of “It Take a Long Pull;” Bess’s delirium; the fragrant street vendors’ interlude; Bess’s recovery, with Porgy’s vow to protect her and “I Loves You, Porgy;” and the hurricane bell. We’ve arrived at Act 2, Scene 4, some 65 minutes into the act, and the Storm Scene in Serena’s room. This opens with six overlapping solos for designated choral voice types, each addressed  to God in personalized fashion (“Oh, Doctor Jesus;” “Oh, Lawd above;” “Oh, Heav’nly Father;” “Professor Jesus;” “Oh, Captain Jesus;” “Oh, Father what die on Calbery”), and a mass ensemble of prayer for deliverance, concern for Jake and, between Porgy and Bess, even for Crown, presumably out there on Kittiwah with the wind and waves sweeping the island. And I confess that by this time, if not before, the relentless communal piety is getting me down and I’m feeling a sneaky, irreverent comradeship with Sportin’ Life, as well as my guilty impatience with the opera. Enough core, already.