Composer

### Event Description: The Reef - Berkshire Opera Festival Workshop Performance

**Event:** The Reef - Workshop Performance  
**Date:** Wednesday, April 10  
**Time:** 7:00 PM  
**Duration:** 1 hour, 30 minutes  
**Location:** Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY

**Overview:**
Join us for the Berkshire Opera Festival's exclusive workshop performance of "The Reef," a new opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis and librettist Joan Ross Sorkin. Based on Edith Wharton's novel, this opera delves into the complexities of race and social class on a sugar plantation in Martinique. The performance will feature Act One of this two-act opera, showcasing a talented cast of emerging artists from notable conservatories and music schools.

**Creators:**
- **Anthony Davis:** Composer, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music for "The Central Park Five."
- **Joan Ross Sorkin:** Librettist, playwright, and screenwriter with extensive experience in opera and musical theatre.

**Cast:**
- **Anneliese Klenetsky:** Anna de Chantal
- **Erin Reppenhagen:** Madame de Chantal
- **Erik Grendahl:** George Darrow
- **Nicoletta Berry:** Sonya
- **Ryan Bryce Johnson:** Christophe de Chantal
- **Chantal Freeman:** The Invisibles, Soprano
- **Markel Reed:** The Invisibles, Baritone

**Synopsis:**
Set in 1911 on the Caribbean island of Martinique, "The Reef" tells the story of Anna Leath, an American widow trapped on a French sugar plantation. The opera explores themes of unrequited love and societal intolerance, heightened by the racial and class inequalities of the time. The Invisibles, a Greek chorus of islanders, provide social commentary and represent the natural forces governing the island.

**Post-Performance:**
A Q&A session with the opera’s creators will follow the performance.

**Ticket Information:**
- **Premium Tickets:** $50 (includes prime seating and an invitation to a post-show reception with an open bar and complimentary desserts)
- **General Admission:** $25
- **Student Tickets:** $10 (available in-person at the Merkin Hall box office or over the phone)

**Sponsors:**
- **Performance Sponsors:** Ken and Susan Kramer, National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks grant
- **Reception Sponsor:** The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home

**Additional Information:**
For directions and more details about the venue, visit the Merkin Hall website. Join us for an evening of compelling opera and insightful discussion.

EPSG:4326

The Reef

Kaufman Music Center

Activist. Orator. Husband. Leader. One of the most misunderstood figures in US history, Malcolm X was an icon of the civil rights movement. Get to know the man through a series of biographical vignettes that follow Malcolm X from his interrupted childhood in Lansing, Michigan to his tragic murder in Harlem. With a score by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Anthony Davis (Central Park Five) that fuses elements of modernism, minimalism, and jazz, X produces a sound world that is unmistakably individual.

X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X

Seattle Center

X: the Life & Times of Malcolm X

Learn how Malcolm X, a monumental figure of the civil rights movement, inspired the Davis family team of creators to adapt his story for the opera stage. Moderated by our scholar-in-residence Dr. Naomi André, this talk will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis, librettist Thulani Davis, and story writer Christopher Davis as they discuss the genesis of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X and reflect on the continued significance of this work nearly four decades after its premiere.

Opera Talk: The Making Of X

Seattle Opera

Truth to Power

Paramount Theatre

Here and Now Series: Dana Brayton, Lei Liang, Ravel, Kareem Roustom, Arson Fahim, Paul Desenne, Anthony Davis, Betty Olivero, Niloufar Nourbakhsh / Donald Berman

Bargemusic

Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X

Lincoln Center

A Far Cry

Central Park

AMFS artist-faculty, all top musicians from renowned orchestras, opera companies, and conservatories, come together to play their favorite chamber music works. Always a joyful and creative 75 minutes of music-making.

Chamber Music

Aspen Meadows Resort

These lunchtime discussions feature prominent performers, composers, and musicologists in lively discussions with AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher.

Free general admission tickets will be available starting at 12 pm MT the Friday before each High Notes event. If an event is not noted as sold out online, patrons may walk up in person for any last-minute availability.

High Notes

Hotel Jerome

For this season’s final "What I Hear" event, American composer Anthony Davis curates a program of chamber music in connection with the BSO's performance of his You Have the Right to Remain Silent later that evening. New England Conservatory musicians perform a program including his works Middle Passage, Still Waters III, and the aria “They Wanted a Girl” from his opera Amistad, along with Alvin Singleton’s Be Natural, for strings. BSO Artistic Administrator Eric Valliere moderates a conversation with the composer.

"What I Hear" - Anthony Davis

New England Conservatory

Back by popular demand and increasing societal relevance, THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE will return to Long Beach Opera in a brand new production directed by Juilliard-trained actor / director and star of Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” Desean Terry and conucted by Anthony Parnther. The harrowing account of five teenagers wrongfully convicted, incarcerated and eventually exonerated remains a devastatingly relevant indictment on racial injustices in America. LBO’s 2019 world premiere of the opera brought composer and “national treasure” (Opera News) Anthony Davis additional recognition when the score was selected for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music. “Davis’ supercharged score grippingly conveys the claustrophobia of a racist legal system and society from which there was, for these five innocent boys and their families, no exit.” (Los Angeles Times).

After the critical acclaim of the world premiere and the collective awakening of the Black Lives Matter movement, LBO brings back this important, lauded work in a brand new production, featuring many of the original cast members along with some new additions. Terry’s new production of THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE will reinvigorate the story of five innocent Black teenagers trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare of the American criminal justice system.

The Central Park Five

Jordan High School

Three portraits of America. Missy Mazzoli creates a solar system of sound, and John Adams pulls out the stops in his virtuosic orchestral showcase. Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill is the soloist in Anthony Davis’s autobiographical depiction of an unequal encounter with the police. Dalia Stasevska — the rising star who conducted the 2018 Nobel Prize Ceremony — leads the program.

An American Triptych: Mazzoli, Davis, and Adams

Experience the profound musical journey of "Legacy: On the Shoulders of Giants," presented by the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus. Under the masterful direction of conductor Sameer Patel, this concert promises to be a celebration of musical heritage and innovation. The performance will take place at the renowned Mandeville Auditorium, a venue known for its exceptional acoustics and intimate atmosphere.

"Legacy: On the Shoulders of Giants" is a tribute to the timeless contributions of past musical legends, whose works have paved the way for contemporary compositions. The program will feature a carefully curated selection of pieces that highlight the enduring influence of these giants on modern music. Audiences can expect a rich tapestry of sound, blending classical masterpieces with contemporary interpretations, all performed with the passion and precision that the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus is known for.

This event is not just a concert but a reflection on the enduring power of music to connect generations and inspire future artists. The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, with its commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement, invites you to immerse yourself in this unique musical experience.

Legacy: On the Shoulders of Giants

University of California San Diego

Anthony Davis: Amistad

The Bushnell Performing Arts Center

 Anthony Davis, composer of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music for this true story adaptation of systemic discrimination. This gripping opera follows the wrongful convictions of five African American and Latino teenagers in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park. 

Anthony Davis

Composer

Events

Upcoming events

1 - 2 Feb, 2025

Legacy: On the Shoulders of Giants · La Jolla Symphony & Chorus

May 1, 2025

Anthony Davis: Amistad · Connecticut Virtuosi

10 - 18 May, 2025

The Central Park Five · Detroit Opera

Past events

Apr 10, 2024

The Reef · Berkshire Opera Festival

Feb 24 - Mar 9, 2024

X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X · Seattle Opera

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