Direct from New York

Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X. A potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life.

Davis’s timely and thought-provoking masterpiece X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is widely considered a “forgotten opera,” having not been staged for 36 years—following its world premiere at New York City Opera in 1986—until Detroit Opera’s 2022 production.

Baritone Will Liverman stars as Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score.

Captured live in New York and screen at BMEC as part of our Live Performance on Screen program.