X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X opened February 24 at Seattle Opera. This monumental work presents events from the life of the charismatic prophet of Black empowerment, from his father’s death at the hands of white terrorists and his mother’s descent into insanity, to the moment of his assassination. At one point, Malcolm comes to the front of the stage to address the audience directly, and the house lights go up to reveal us all, as Malcolm and the chorus sing, “You want the truth, but you don’t want to know.” This opera delivers the truth relentlessly, and does not allow us to turn away from it.
The superb cast includes Kenneth Kellogg as Malcolm X (Seattle last saw him as The Father in Blue), Leah Hawkins as both his mother, Louise, and his wife, Betty Shabbazz; Joshua Stewart (seen in Seattle as Charlie Parker in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird and The Son in Blue) as Elijah Muhammed and the criminal Street; and actor, dancer, and singer Rex Walker as the young Malcolm. They are supported by a chorus that portrays meeting goers, prisoners, crowds, and worshipping Muslims among other roles. A quartet of male dancers mimes Malcolm’s mother’s insanity, the chaos of his childhood (as they toss and manipulate the helpless child), Malcolm’s descent into crime, and the agony of victims of police violence.
The set includes a small stage within the larger set, with an ornate proscenium and a red curtain that opens to reveal a backdrop painted as an idealized landscape—recalling the larger-than-life paintings commissioned by 19th century railroad companies to lure White settlers and tourists to the American West—perhaps invoking the ‘American Dream” that has proved mostly unattainable for Black people. Several crowd scenes are staged here, looking as formal and stiff as a class photo day, in contrast to the dynamic action that occurs outside the boundaries of the little stage.
A huge hovering form that the program identifies as a spaceship evokes Afrofuturism (a vision of new worlds and societies created by and for Black people) and serves as a site for video projections that show both the environment (the flames of a burning house, the bewildering lights of nighttime Boston, the serene geometry of Muslim art) and Malcolm’s internal processes. Projections also comment visually on the action; a list of people murdered by lynching or police streams as we learn that Malcolm’s father has been killed; and restless organic shapes seem to breathe and pulse during moments of transition or conflict. The spaceship also transforms into a mosque when dozens of shining lamps descend to create sacred space.
The music moves from Stravinsky-like polyrhythms to the mellow jazz of a nightclub, to screaming saxes to accompany violent scenes, to the quiet serenity of the mosque. The orchestra includes a small jazz band that makes improvisational musical commentary on the action—nearly unique in opera.
At the end of this work, the cast took their bows dressed in identical black T-shirts emblazoned with a white X—a reminder that Malcolm X’s work still continues and needs to continue. Afterward I ran into a singing colleague, a music educator, and we shared a moment of awestruck speechlessness. She said, “This needs to be seen.”
And you need to see it. X is a historic moment in opera and in the literature of Black liberation.
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis. Performances 7:30 PM on February 25 and March 1, 3, 6, and 9. Evening performances at 7:30PM, matinees at 2PM. Tickets: https://www.seattleopera.org/tickets/tickets-and-packages/ Info: www: seattleopera.org.