This time, however, we get to meet him as the title character of an opera. This work Anthony Davis composed in the 1980s is now making its debut at the Met, starring baritone Will Liverman, who at the same theatre recently brought tremendous success to Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a wonderful contemporary African-American opera with a similarly sensitive theme.
This first opera by Davis, who has since won a Pulitzer Prize for music among other awards in the course of his career, received its official world premiere in 1986 at the New York City Opera, right next door to the Met. Yet X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X would still take 37 years to make it to the other side of Lincoln Center. However, both the subject and Davis's music, rich in jazz, blues and gospel sounds - and newly revised for this occasion - promises an exciting experience, just as Robert O'Hara's directing is certain to be electrifying, presenting the narrative of Malcolm X's journey through his operatic life as a universal one, a story spanning space and time, on the stage and on the screens of the global broadcast. Conducting the new production will be Kazem Abdullah, who is well known both at the Met and within the American concert and opera words, as well as in Europe. Will Liverman's Malcolm will be joined by a cast of uniformly exceptionally talented African-American singers in the performance.
The ‘Metropolitan Opera Live in HD' transmissions have been made possible through the cooperation of our partner, liveincinema.eu s.r.o.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
Conductor: Kazem Abdullah
Performers:
Louise/Betty: ..........................................Leah Hawkins
Ella: ........................................................Raehann Bryce-Davis
Elijah/Street: ...........................................Victor Ryan Robertson
Malcolm: .................................................Will Liverman
Reginald: ................................................Michael Sumuel
Featuring:
The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Creators:
Libretto: Thulani Davis
Set design: Clint Ramos
Costumes: Dede Ayite
Lighting: Alex Jainchill
Projections: Yee Eun Nam
Choreographer: Rickey Tripp
Director: Robert O'Hara