Malcolm, Who Have You Been?: Musicalizing the Relationship between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad in X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X

Abstract

The striking and affecting 1986 opera, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, composed by Anthony Davis, uses clever theatrical devices in concert with Malcolm X's own doctrines to realize its objectives. The opera draws upon events as they were posited by the memoirs of Malcolm X, coauthored by Pulitzer Prize–winner Alex Haley, as well as additional historical sources. Composed by Anthony Davis, with a book by his brother, actor-director Christopher Davis, and a libretto by his cousin, poet Thulani Davis, X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X premiered professionally in 1986 at the New York City Opera. The work inaugurated a new genre: the opera based on a contemporary political subject. Davis's score is composed of an effortless blending of swing, bebop, gospel, hip-hop, traditional West Africans rhythms, classical Western music, and improvised sections. The piece is successful at examining from several innovative angles the seminal association between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad and inevitability of the relationship's thoroughly vituperative end.

Keywords:

• Anthony Davis
• Christopher Davis
• Elijah Muhammad
• Malcolm X
• Opera
• The Life and Times of Malcolm X
• Thulani Davis

Notes

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