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classical music, opera, theatre
Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
18 November 2023, Saturday
6 pm - 9:45 pm
Two intervals
Festival Theatre
Produced by Müpa Budapest
The Met: Live in HD at Müpa Budapest

Malcolm X, the prominent figure from the African-American civil rights movement who suffered a tragic fate and remains divisive to this day, is probably best known to Hungarian audiences through Spike Lee's biographical film. This time, however, we get to meet him as the title character of an opera. This work Anthony Davis composed in the 1980s is now making its debut at the Met, starring baritone Will Liverman, who at the same theatre recently brought tremendous success to Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a wonderful contemporary African-American opera with a similarly sensitive theme.

This first opera by Davis, who has since won a Pulitzer Prize for music among other awards in the course of his career, received its official world premiere in 1986 at the New York City Opera, right next door to the Met. Yet X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X would still take 37 years to make it to the other side of Lincoln Center. However, both the subject and Davis's music, rich in jazz, blues and gospel sounds - and newly revised for this occasion - promises an exciting experience, just as Robert O'Hara's directing is certain to be electrifying, presenting the narrative of Malcolm X's journey through his operatic life as a universal one, a story spanning space and time, on the stage and on the screens of the global broadcast. Conducting the new production will be Kazem Abdullah, who is well known both at the Met and within the American concert and opera words, as well as in Europe. Will Liverman's Malcolm will be joined by a cast of uniformly exceptionally talented African-American singers in the performance.

The performance is not recommended for audiences under the age of 16.
Content Advisory: the performance contains strong language.

The superior quality broadcasts in Müpa Budapest are screened in the original language with Hungarian and English subtitles.

The ‘Metropolitan Opera Live in HD' transmissions have been made possible through the cooperation of our partner, liveincinema.eu s.r.o.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest

Conductor:

Kazem Abdullah

Performers:

Louise/Betty Leah Hawkins
Ella Raehann Bryce-Davis
Elijah/Street Victor Ryan Robertson
Malcolm Will Liverman
Reginald Michael Sumuel

Featuring:

The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra

Creators:

Libretto Thulani Davis
Set design Clint Ramos
Costumes Dede Ayite
Lighting Alex Jainchill
Projections Yee Eun Nam
Choreographer Rickey Tripp
Director Robert O'Hara
  • We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.

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