X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X review — a long-dormant opera revived in Detroit

Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X lay dormant for 36 years following its New York City Opera premiere, apart from scattered concert performances. Fuelled by the success of subsequent works by Davis and the growing interest in operas on black subjects, it is now revived by a consortium of companies, with the dynamic Detroit Opera leading the way.

A collaborative effort by Davis, his cousin Thulani Davis, who wrote the libretto, and his brother Christopher, who conceived the story, X traces Malcolm’s life from his Michigan childhood and early brush with the law, to his emergence as a civil rights champion and fraught relationship with the Nation of Islam, and, finally, to his 1965 assassination. As with Davis’s 2019 opera The Central Park Five, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize, in X Davis has adroitly fused elements of classical music and modern jazz, a duality reflected in the scoring for both conventional orchestra and jazz band.

The opera teems with infectious rhythms, not least in passages sung by a 12-person vocal ensemble that repeats verbal phrases with accents differently placed. Repeated jazz patterns also enliven instrumental support for aria-like pieces from the soloists. But their vocal lines, while nicely matched to the singers, are more declamatory than melodic and have a sameness that can prove tiresome.

Another problem is that, while X treats Malcolm respectfully and gives a nuanced account of his militancy, you never really sense his legendary charisma or the magnetic effect of his rhetoric. In revising the score, Davis set to music lines originally spoken by Malcolm, yet the few that remain here prove effective. Davis also added a few lines of singing to musical interludes and did some tightening, but overall there revisions were not major.

The production by Robert O’Hara is inspired by Afrofuturism, which imagines a future for black people through fantasy or science fiction. This is primarily evident in swirling images above the stage that, depending on fluctuating lighting and projections, variously resemble cosmic planetary formations or even UFOs. They have little discernible bearing on the action, which is straightforwardly presented.

Davóne Tines gives an accomplished portrayal of Malcolm. Victor Ryan Robertson deals ably with the high-lying tenor roles of Elijah Muhammad and Street, a petty crook. Whitney Morrison shines in “When a Man Is Lost”, an aria sung by Malcolm’s wife Betty in which she urges a pilgrimage to Mecca, and doubles as his mother, Louise. Ronnita Miller also does well in twin roles. The conductor Kazem Abdullah holds things together handsomely.

★★★☆☆

To May 22, detroitopera.org. ‘X’ is a co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, Opera Omaha and Seattle Opera