By Jason Swank, Akron Symphony

Due to overwhelming ticket sales, the Akron Symphony has added a second performance of its semi-staged production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on Friday, April 15, 2011. The ASO previously announced a Saturday, April 16 performance as part of its Classics Series last June upon receiving a $150,000 grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to fund the production. After months of steady ticket sales and an outpouring of community support, the result is a nearly sold-out E.J. Thomas Hall on April 16—a new milestone in the 60-year history of the organization’s Classics Series— and a “preview” performance on Friday, April 15.

“I am thrilled that the demand for tickets has been so extraordinary, and that this has occurred long in advance of the performances. But I am even more gratified that so many of the top talent in the African-American community have embraced this production with deep passion and commitment. Our cast is so powerful and talented; they will rock your world and break your hearts,” says Akron Symphony Music Director Christopher Wilkins.

The ASO’s production of Porgy and Bess will star Alvy Powell and Marquita Lister in the respective title roles. Both have become internationally recognized as two of the very best performers for the demanding leads. Mr. Powell has performed the role of Porgy more than 1,200 times, including a 2009 performance at Carnegie Hall and Public Television’s Emmy-nominated Live at Lincoln Center broadcast of the New York City Opera production. Marquita Lister is equally synonymous with the role of Bess and performed opposite Powell in the Lincoln Center broadcast. Both are also featured on the Nashville Symphony’s recording of Porgy and Bess released on the Decca label.

The balance of the cast is a blend of professionals and amateurs, with most cast locally by auditions held in Akron last year. Principal cast includes: Lester Lynch as “Crown,” Angela Renee Simpson as “Serena,”Emmanuel LeGrair as “Sportin’ Life,” Brian Keith Johnson as “Jake,” Candice Hoyes as “Clara,” Carla J. Davis as “Maria,” and Jaron LeGrair as “Mingo.” The 40-member on-stage chorus will combine with theAkron Symphony’s Gospel Choir and Leslie Parker Barnes’s YEPAW 365 (seated in the balcony of E.J. Thomas Hall) to create a combined chorus of over 200 voices, a power unlike anything heard in recent years in the opera house or in any of the touring productions. In all, the total complement of the production will feature approximately 350 performers, musicians, and stage crew.

“Porgy and Bess is a whole universe, a place to live in and marvel at over and over again. Having worked for many months to prepare a production as wonderful and complex as this, I am so happy that our 350 performers, and the scores of support staff, and our board members and patrons, and all those who adore this music, will now have a chance—with this second performance—to experience it one more time,” says Wilkins.

Tickets for both performances are on sale now from $15-$40. To order or for more information, call the Akron Symphony ticket office at 330.535.8131 or buy now online.