Anne Brown was the original Bess in the stage production and Dorothy Dandridge was Bess in the film version, though her singing was dubbed by the classically-trained Adele Addison. There was a cast recording released from the film, but the original cast recording of the stage version only exists in the form of the two completed acts which Gershwin himself conducted in rehearsal (and was really a "first-hearing" with full orchestra for him) in mid-July 1935 and was recorded by CBS engineers. Bits of this recording have been released here and there on several albums including one on Musicmasters called "Gershwin Performs Gershwin - Rare Recordings 1931-1935." Incidentally, this is a wonderful CD! Grab it if you ever run across it anywhere!