RECORDINGS
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X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X Composed by Anthony Davis/Libretto by Thulani Davis The first opera from Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Anthony Davis, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X depicts, in a series of fast-moving vignettes, the galvanic life and career of the controversial African-American activist Malcolm X (1925–1965). Through a combination of operatic writing and swing, scat, modal jazz, and rap, the opera echoes the “sound” of Malcolm’s era and opens a powerful conversation about the history and living legacy of Malcolm X — in Boston and around the world. BMOP’s new series, As Told By: History, Race, and Justice on the Opera Stage, encompasses a powerful range of 20th- and 21st-century works, starting in June 2022. The most extensive and ambitious presentation of opera by Black composers ever to take place in Boston, As Told By features five phenomenal operas showcasing the rich depth and breadth of Black creativity. These operas depict the lives of vital figures of Black liberation and thought as told by Black composers and librettists, bringing distinct and necessary perspectives on American music and history to audiences |
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BERNSTEIN: Songfest | GERSHWIN: An American in Paris | COPLAND: An Outdoor Overture
An American in Paris is one of Gershwin’s most vivacious works, an orchestral ballet saturated in homesickness and the blues. This recording, however, uses the new 2019 critical edition and offers Gershwin’s original orchestration, unheard for 75 years—leaner, more angular and transparent, it also employs the correct use of the iconic taxi horns, for a new sonic experience. The breezy vitality of Copland’s An Outdoor Overture is balanced by Bernstein’s Songfest—written to celebrate the Bicentennial Year in America, setting the verses of 13 of the country’s poets. |