When Lyric Opera of Kansas City announced it would stage Porgy and Bess for the first time in its history, baritone David Morgans didn’t hesitate.
A Liberty, Missouri native now based in New York, Morgans said he “jumped” at the opportunity — not only to perform in one of the most significant American operas ever written, but to do it at home. The production has allowed him to spend time with his mother while returning to the region that shaped both his life and his voice.
Morgans plays Mingo, a key figure in the Catfish Row community and a prominent presence within the opera’s choral world. While Porgy and Bess centers on the love story between Porgy and Bess, it is also very much an ensemble piece — one that relies on the collective voice of the community to tell a fuller story of survival, faith and resilience.
From High School Stage to New York
Morgans’ path to opera began in high school. Cast in school plays and musicals, he quickly realized that singing the words came far more naturally than memorizing spoken scripts.
Once he joined choir during his senior year, it became clear that he didn’t just enjoy singing — he had real ability. Encouraged by teachers and directors, Morgans began to see music not simply as an interest, but as a potential profession.
After college, he moved straight to New York, where his career began to take shape. Living in Washington Heights was also a cultural shift. For the first time, he found himself in a neighborhood where he wasn’t the exception — where Black and brown people filled the streets, shops and apartment buildings. That sense of belonging mattered as he navigated one of the most competitive artistic industries in the country.
Making Opera Feel Accessible
Opera can feel intimidating for many audiences, especially those who didn’t grow up exposed to it. Morgans, 33, understands that hesitation — and challenges it.
This production of Porgy and Bess is sung in English, with projected supertitles to follow along. And unlike concerts or Broadway shows, opera singers perform without microphones, relying solely on trained voices to carry over a full orchestra.
That raw, unamplified sound is part of what Morgans loves about the art form. Opera, he says, is about emotion in its purest form — a human voice telling a story with no electronic filter.
And for first-time audiences, the music itself will feel familiar. Songs like “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’” have lived far beyond the opera house, woven into American music for generations.
Originally written as a full-scale opera by George Gershwin in 1935, Porgy and Bess later grew in popularity through shorter Broadway-style adaptations, leading many Americans to think of it as a musical. Today, it is widely recognized as one of the most important American operas ever composed — blending classical form with jazz, blues and spiritual influences.
A Changing Opera Landscape — With Work Still to Do
Morgans has been fortunate to build a career during a moment when more Black stories are finding space on opera stages. He has performed in several major works within this growing repertoire, including operas by Terence Blanchard, whose work has reshaped contemporary American opera.
Blanchard — widely known outside opera for his collaborations with filmmaker Spike Lee — made history as the first Black composer to have an opera staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His operas blend classical structure with jazz, blues and modern storytelling, creating work that speaks directly to Black experience in America today.
Morgans has appeared in multiple Blanchard productions, including Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion, both staged at the Met. He was also part of the Grammy Award–winning recording of Champion, marking a milestone in his career.
Still, he is clear-eyed about the industry. While Black-centered operas have created meaningful opportunities, traditional repertory roles remain harder to access. All-white casts are still common, even as productions like Hamilton and series like Bridgerton have shown audiences are open to reimagined casting.
Representation, Morgans notes, also extends beyond performers. Leadership roles — conductors, creative heads and decision-makers — do not always reflect the diversity seen onstage, even in productions rooted in Black stories.
A Production Rooted in Community
Lyric Opera’s Porgy and Bess brings together an all-star principal cast from around the country, including baritone Eric Greene as Porgy and soprano Michelle Bradley as Bess. At the same time, the production features a substantial local chorus made up of young Black opera singers from the Kansas City area.
For Morgans, that local presence is especially meaningful. One of the chorus members is someone he once knew as a camp counselor — a reminder of how the next generation is already stepping into spaces once closed to them.
He describes the production as visually stunning, with sets that shift dramatically — particularly during the storm scene — bringing Catfish Row vividly to life.
The costumes are designed by Paul Tazewell, who made history as the first African American man to win an Academy Award for costume design for Wicked.
Looking Ahead
Opera remains Morgans’ foundation, but his interests extend beyond it. He recently completed work on a film alongside Anne Hathaway and is preparing for an upcoming role in a musical. For him, versatility isn’t a departure from opera — it’s part of sustaining a career in a changing industry.
For now, though, his focus is on Kansas City — bringing a landmark American opera to local audiences, many of whom may be experiencing it live for the first time.
For a singer who left Liberty to build a career on some of the world’s biggest stages, returning home for Porgy and Bess is more than another role. It’s a full-circle moment.
If You Go
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Presented by Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Dates:
7:30 p.m., Sat., Feb. 28
7:30 p.m., Fri., March 6
2 p.m., Sun., March 8
Location:
Muriel Kauffman Theatre
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, MO
Tickets:
Available through the Lyric Opera of Kansas City box office at kcopera.org or by calling the Kauffman Center ticket office.
