UC San Diego Today: A Standing Ovation for Opera Icon Anthony Davis

UC San Diego Today
By Erika Johnson

This January, UC San Diego Distinguished Professor of Music Anthony Davis was inducted into the Opera Hall of Fame. The honor comes on the heels of an immensely successful production of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” at the Metropolitan Opera, a work he composed 37 years ago, and which drew packed houses nearly nightly. “It was a fantastic experience, one of the highlights of my life,” he shared.

A Pulitzer prize-winning musician who has written eight operas thus far, Davis is unafraid to spotlight some of society’s most pervasive problems—from racism and police brutality to immigration reform and political unrest. Yet the weighty topics are counterbalanced by a sense of play and an affinity toward “trickster” characters that are difficult to pin down. His four-decade dedication to composing music that elevates unsung voices contributed to his selection by Opera America as an artist who has strengthened the field—one of only five composers to be honored in the history of the award.

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Photo Credit: Marty Sohl/Met Opera