Character guide
Clara
from Porgy and Bess
Clara is a young mother among the residents of Catfish Row in Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin's 1935 opera.
- Show
- Porgy and Bess
- Broadway premiere
- 1935
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- George Gershwin
Looking for a different Clara? Clara in Passion
Clara on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1959 Otto Preminger film
Clara is the young mother who sings Summertime, and Abbie Mitchell sang it at the 1935 Broadway premiere. In the 1959 film, Clara was played by Diahann Carroll, but Carroll's singing voice was dubbed by Loulie Jean Norman, so the film's Summertime is not Carroll's own voice.
Dubbing was common in the film: Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge were also dubbed, while Sammy Davis Jr., Brock Peters, and Pearl Bailey sang for themselves.
Who is Clara?
Clara represents the tender, domestic side of life in Catfish Row. As a young wife and mother, she embodies the everyday hopes and worries of the community, and her scenes early in the opera help establish the warmth and rhythm of neighborhood life before the story's central conflicts take hold.
She is not central to the main love triangle involving Bess, Porgy, and Crown, but her presence grounds the opera in the lived reality of Catfish Row, giving audiences a sense of the community's daily texture.
Clara's role in Porgy and Bess
Clara is a supporting role, though a musically significant one, since she is closely associated with some of the opera's most tender, lyrical writing. The part calls for a soprano with a warm, expressive voice capable of conveying both lullaby-like gentleness and real emotional depth.
Because her material comes early in the show, Clara often sets the tone for the opera's musical world, establishing the lyrical, folk-inflected sound that Gershwin wove throughout the score.
Why Clara resonates
Clara resonates because she offers a moment of pure tenderness in a story otherwise marked by hardship and tension. Performers and audiences alike often point to her early scenes as some of the most affecting in the opera, a reminder of the ordinary love and vulnerability that exists alongside the drama surrounding Bess and Porgy.
Clara: frequently asked questions
What show is Clara from?
Clara appears in Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin's 1935 opera.
Is Clara a lead or supporting role?
Clara is a supporting role, closely tied to some of the opera's most lyrical early music.
Who wrote the music for Porgy and Bess?
George Gershwin composed the music for the opera, which premiered in 1935.
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