Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Davis, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

Since February is Black History Month, for a second time I take the opportunity to broadcast Anthony Davis' opera about the (in)famous Black American revolutionary of the mid twentieth century, born Malcolm Little (1925-65). For Anthony Davis (b. 1951), a jazz pianist as well as composer, this was his fourth opera. Another one of Davis' operas, Tania (1991), dealing with heiress Patty Hearst's radical transformation, went over the air on Sunday, February 3, 2002 and again on Sunday, February 6, 2011. The world premiere recording of X, the opera, I last broadcast on Sunday, February 14, 1993. The Grammavision label issued it, with the composer conducting and starring baritone Eugene Perry in the title role.

There's a new recording of X released in 2020 through BMOP Sound. Gil Rose conducts the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera in a new staged production as part of the ongoing project, "As Told By: Race and Justice on the Opera Stage", showcasing Black composers and librettists. Bass-baritone, Davone Tines, as Malcolm heads the cast of eight vocal soloists. This new production has the composer's blessing. He comments,"...the memory of George Floyd a mere two years ago reminds us what has not changed. With this in mind we present a new vision of the opera for a new audience, a new generation who may not have a living memory of Malcolm X; yet his memory lives in us through the music..."