X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X

Jason Victor Serinus

Seattle Opera, USA Anthony Davis and the Davis family’s 1985 opera X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X opened its six-performance run in Seattle Opera’s McCaw Hall on 24 February. The first opera by a Black composer to reach Seattle Opera’s stage, it arrived in Robert O’Hara’s new, enlightening futurist production after debuts by the production’s other three co-commissioners: Detroit Opera, Omaha Opera and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. It’s easy to imagine why X was dismissed and quickly faded from view after its 1986 premiere at New York City Opera. Thulani Davis’ libretto, to a story by Christopher Davis, is raw and explicitly unapologetic (as well it should be) in its unflinching condemnation of American racism and brutality. Malcolm is surrounded at every public appearance by White reporters (Allison…

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Opera Now (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2024

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