Davis Operas - 2023

Anthony Davis OPERAS X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (1986), Under the Double Moon (1989), Tania (1992), Amistad (1997)

“...a great American opera.”

The New York Times

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X An opera in three acts (1986) Libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis Premiere: September 1986, New York City Opera, Christopher Keene, conductor Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes

“...a riveting work...”

Edward Said, The Nation

cast

Lead Roles MALCOLM X: Baritone ELIJAH MUHAMMAD / STREET: High Tenor LOUISE / BETTY: Soprano Featured Roles REGINALD: Bass-baritone Supporting Roles SOCIAL WORKER / REPORTER: Soprano QUEEN MOTHER PREACHER: Mezzo-soprano COP / REPORTER: Tenor GARVEY PREACHER / ENSEMBLE: Bass MALCOLM LITTLE (12-14 Year-old): Child Tenor (Michael Jackson voice) Ensemble 16-24 SATB

orchestra

2(II:pic,afl).1.2.1./2.1.1+btbn.0/timp.2perc/str; Improvisers’ ensemble: wwI(asx,ssx,fl), wwII(tsx,bcl,ssx), wwIII(cl,cacl[=barsx]), tpt, tbn, dmkit, pf, db(elec bass)

synopsis

The opera traces the life of Malcolm X (1925-65) from his boyhood in Lansing, Michigan, through his early brushes with the law, his conversion to the teachings of Elijah of the Nation of Islam, his own ministry and his breach with Elijah, his pilgrimage to Mecca and his assassination.

press

“Interwoven with Malcolm X’s own words, Thulani Davis’s revised libretto is as fierce as it is compassionate, matching composer Anthony Davis’s weaving of art and vernacular music into a profound whole.”

— Jennifer Goltz-Taylor, Opera News “X feels all-too-relevant today — in its summoning of a painful national past, in its attention to the structural racism built deeply into our society, and in its honoring of a single extraordinary life bent on challenging the status quo. Some of the lines of the libretto by the playwright Thulani Davis (Anthony’s cousin) after a story by Christopher Davis (his brother), could have been written yesterday.”

— Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe “...a work of remarkable inventiveness and cogency that moves surefootedly through a range of musical settings.”

— Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle “X is a work that deserves to enter the American repertory.”

— Andrew Porter, The New Yorker

Amistad An opera in two acts (1997) “Amistad is...full of satrical wit and fantasies.”

Rainer Wagner, Opern Welt

Libretto by Thulani Davis Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes Premiere: November 1997, Chicago Lyric Opera Premiere of the revised version: May 2008, Spoleto USA Festival

synopsis

In 1839 the slave ship Amistad was discovered drifting near the US coast. The African slaves had revolted against the Spanish crew, killing all but two members. The US Navy jailed the Africans and released their hostages. For nearly three years the courts debated their fate: Spain wished to recover their property but a group of abolitionists sued for the Africans’ freedom. Former president John Quincy Adams argued their case before the Supreme Court. The testimony provided a rare glimpse into the horrors of the ‘Middle Passage’ that slaves endured in crossing the Atlantic.

Adams won the case; the Navy was ordered to return the Africans to Africa.

full orchestra

2+pic.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn./4331/timp.3perc/pf(cel).hp/str; Jazz ensemble: 2ww, tbn, db

reduced orchestration

2(pic).2(ca).2+bcl.2/2.2.2+jazz tbn.0/timp.perc./cel.hp/str Jazz ensemble: 2ww, perc, db

cast

THE TRICKSTER GOD, an African deity: Tenor CINQUE, African captives’ leader: Bass-Baritone REP. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, lawyer for captives: Bass THE GODDESS OF THE WATERS, an African deity: Mezzo-Soprano THE NAVIGATOR: Tenor ABOLITIONIST TAPPAN: Tenor THE PHRENOLOGIST: Character Tenor ANTONIO, slave cabin boy: Baritone KALEH, captive, male: Tenor MARGRU, captive, female: Soprano GRABEAU, captive, male: Baritone BUMAH, captive, male: Bass KINNAH, captive, male: Tenor BAHIA, captive, female: Lyric Mezzo-Soprano AMERICAN LIEUTENANT, a merchant seaman: Baritone THE JUDGE: Baritone DON PEDRO, a Spanish slave trader: Bass THE SPANIARD, a government official: Bass PRESIDENT MARTIN VAN BUREN: Tenor SOUTHERN SENATOR: Baritone ABOLITIONIST LAWYER: Baritone SHIP COOK: Bass SIX REPORTERS: Basses, Baritones and Tenors

press

“...a masterpiece of American opera...”

— Wes Blomster, Opera Today “In Davis’s brash music, I hear the deconstructive ethos of contemporary drama — more declamation than song, more through-composed and divisionless than ariatic, more polyphonically textured than tonally cadential, as much visually as musically vibrant: in short, socially driven dream-telling.”

— Thomas Larson, Los Angeles Review of Books

Tania An opera in one act (1992) Libretto by Michael John LaChiusa Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes Premiere: June 1992, American Music Theater Festival

“...the merging of classically oriented synopsis vocalism with jazz-based instrumental Based on the kidnapping of Patricia writing is nothing short of brilliant.” Hearst in 1974 by the Symbionese Libera-

tion Army, this opera examines the loss and destruction of an identity and the John Story, collapse of an established social structure.

Fanfare

press

“Davis...writes in a fully modernist mode that is winningly underlaid by grooves ranging from fusion to samba. The harmonies and melodies, even at their most astringent, remain quite compelling with the beat as a point of reference. Davis always seems to be monitoring the proceedings with his shrewd ear...”

— Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News

ensemble

3ww.bn/2perc/pf/vn.vc.db

cast

Soprano Bass Mezzo-soprano Tenor 2 male 4 female

Under the Double Moon An opera in two acts (1989) Libretto by Deborah Atherton Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes Premiere: June 1989, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

“...mainstream atonality, bits of jazz and rhythm and blues, traces of avantgarde effects and generous helpings of controlled improvisation are among the ingredients in Davis’ sonic stew...”

Kenneth LaFave, The Kansas City Star

cast

2 Tenors, Baritone, Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Bass-baritone, Bass

orchestra

2(pic,afl)12(cbcl[bamboo fl])1/2120/timp.3perc/hp/str

synopsis

Under the Double Moon is a science fiction opera about human choice and change. Set in the far future on the planet Undine, the opera tells the story of the telepathic twins, Tarj and Xola, as they are forced to grow from troublemaking children into decision-making adults.

press

“...a good, colorful story...”

— John Rockwell, The New York Times

Photo by Michele Zousmer

Anthony Davis is an internationally known composer of operatic, symphonic, choral, and chamber works. He is also known for his virtuoso performances both as a solo pianist and as the leader of the ensemble Episteme, a unique ensemble of musicians who are disciplined interpreters as well as provocative improvisers. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, on February 20, 1951, Davis studied at Wesleyan and Yale universities. He was Yale’s first Lustman Fellow, teaching composition and Afro-American studies. In 1987 Davis was appointed Senior Fellow with the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University, and in 1990 he returned to Yale University as Visiting Professor of Music. He became Professor of Music in AfroAmerican Studies at Harvard University in the fall of 1992, and assumed a full-time professorship at the University of California at San Diego in January 1998. photos

Cover: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, rendered by Peggy Monastra

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at Theater an der Wien, photo by Johannes Ifkovits Amistad at Chicago Lyric Opera, photo by R. Kusel Tania at Musikwerkstatt Wien

Under the Double Moon at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, photo by Ken Howard

For more information contact Peggy Monastra peggy.monastra@schirmer.com, 212-254-2100

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