Abstract This article describes the perception of the guest performance of Porgy and Bess in Vienna in September 1952. While the complex history of the creation and reception of Porgy and Bess in the US has been carefully researched, the reception of the European guest performance has been largely limited to analyses of Robert Breen’s 1950s restaging of the original libretto by DuBose Heyward and George and Ira Gershwin and the embedding of Porgy and Bess in US cultural diplomacy in Germany and Austria during the Cold War, without taking into account the differences between the two countries. The author argues that the media reception of Porgy and Bess in postwar Austria cannot be understood without considering the dominant position of the US occupying power in Austria and the political orientation of the press, which is reflected in the commentaries. The spectacular media success of Porgy and Bess can be seen as a prime example of the successful media and cultural policy of the American occupying power in Austria, which not only promoted American culture but also helped to overcome racial prejudices in an extremely conservative country.
Hans Petschar (Wed,) studied this question.