X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X.

The article focuses on the 2024 Seattle Opera production of *X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X*, a 1985 opera by Anthony Davis and the Davis family, notable as the first by a Black composer staged at Seattle Opera. The opera, with a libretto by Thulani Davis based on Christopher Davis’s story, presents an unflinching critique of American racism through a modernistic and dissonant score, challenging audiences with its emotional intensity. Robert O’Hara’s futuristic staging incorporates symbolic elements like a spacecraft representing Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line and references to contemporary police violence against African Americans. The production features strong performances, particularly by bass-baritone Kenneth Kellogg as Malcolm X and soprano Leah Hawkins, and is praised for its artistic ambition and contemporary relevance.