Will Liverman (center) in a scene from Anthony Davis's ‘X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X’ Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan OperaNew YorkNearly four decades after its birth, Anthony Davis ’s “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” has arrived at the Metropolitan Opera. At the time of its 1986 New York City Opera world premiere across the Lincoln Center Plaza, its controversial subject and unconventional musical idiom would have been unthinkable at the conservative Met; today, it is part of a vigorous company initiative predicated on the idea that new operas attract new audiences. The times have finally caught up with “X,” even as the events that it chronicles have receded into the more distant past.

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Persons: Will Liverman, Anthony Davis's ‘, Malcolm X ’, Marty Sohl, Anthony Davis ’, Malcolm X ” Organizations: Metropolitan Opera New, Metropolitan Opera, York City Opera, Lincoln Center Plaza, Met Locations: Metropolitan Opera New York