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Crosscut Now: Seattle Opera presents Malcolm X’s life

Seattle Opera presents Malcolm X’s life

For the first time ever, Seattle Opera is presenting a mainstage production of a work by a Black composer. With a score that blends elements of jazz and swing into traditional opera, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Feb. 24 - March 9) traces the civil rights leader’s life from his childhood in Lansing, Mich., to his assassination in Harlem.

The opera was the first composed by Anthony Davis, who has since created seven more — including The Central Park Five, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2020. But when X was first performed in 1985, biographical operas — much less operas about Black figures in recent history — were not commonly seen on stages. 

X went largely unperformed for decades, until a collaboration of several opera companies brought it back to life with a grand restaging that premiered at the Detroit Opera in 2022, appeared at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera in 2023 and now takes the Seattle Opera stage.

In addition to exploring the cultural and historical significance of Malcolm X, the piece reflects a vital shift in contemporary opera: an effort to bring diverse and important real-world stories to the stage.

As soprano Leah Hawkins told Crosscut Now when we went behind the scenes during a rehearsal of X, “I don’t want [it to be] a ‘special event’ that we’re doing this Black show. It should be normal. We should see Black stories, we should see Asian stories, we should see Hispanic stories … It should be normal.”

Watch the full interview and rehearsal footage in this episode. Plus, we take a look back at 50 years of the Boldt Decision, and legislators consider a financial safety net for striking WA workers.

Bainbridge Couple: Contracting the Virus

After weeks of being turned away from testing due to CDC limits, Tom and Marnie Malpass tested positive for COVID-19. The couple became cases number 1 and 2 in Kitsap County.


Are you interested in sharing your story? Do you know someone whose story you'd like to see shared? We're on the hunt for stories across the PNW that truly speak to issues we're facing during the pandemic, and we need your help in finding those stories.

Post your own video diaries to social media and tag them #IsolationDiaries or email us directly at crosscutaudience@gmail.com. Or tag a friend or neighbor on social media and introduce them to us.

Bainbridge Couple: Difficult Testing

Tom and Marnie spent weeks trying to be tested and then watched hospital procedures change as the pandemic grew.


Are you interested in sharing your story? Do you know someone whose story you'd like to see shared? We're on the hunt for stories across the PNW that truly speak to issues we're facing during the pandemic, and we need your help in finding those stories.

Post your own video diaries to social media and tag them #IsolationDiaries or email us directly at crosscutaudience@gmail.com. Or tag a friend or neighbor on social media and introduce them to us.

Bainbridge Couple: Surviving COVID

Tom and Marnie on their body's very different reactions to COVID-19 and how contagious and easily spread the virus is.

After weeks of being turned away from testing due to CDC limits, on March 7th Marnie tested positive for COVID-19. The next day, Tom's test came back positive as well. The couple became cases number 1 and 2 in Kitsap County.


Are you interested in sharing your story? Do you know someone whose story you'd like to see shared? We're on the hunt for stories across the PNW that truly speak to issues we're facing during the pandemic, and we need your help in finding those stories.

Post your own video diaries to social media and tag them #IsolationDiaries or email us directly at crosscutaudience@gmail.com. Or tag a friend or neighbor on social media and introduce them to us.

Climbing for the origins of life

Dr. Robin Kodner regularly goes to extremes in the name of science. That’s because the microscopic algae she studies live only on glaciers and snowfields high in the mountains. At 2 billion years old, these single-celled colonies predate plants, animals and even fungi. By observing these archaic creatures, Robin can learn how all life evolved in the very beginning — and how it might survive into the future.

How one scientist tracks giant, invisible cats

What's it like to study an animal that is almost impossible to see? Wildlife biologist Lauren Satterfield leads us on an epic adventure by car, snowmobile and on foot through deep snow to track elusive mountain lions in the wilderness. As human development expands into their territory, her work might help us learn how these big cats and humans can coexist without conflict.

When giraffes speak, this scientist listens

Dr. Bonnie Baird can talk to animals — but she doesn’t chirp or growl. Instead, she carefully observes the behavior of the many species that call Woodland Park Zoo home. Though the creatures can't say how they feel, Bonnie uses data to translate their behavior into something we can understand and respond to. Are the giraffes happy? Do penguins get too hot? Can the sheep get a good night’s sleep? As the zoo’s animal welfare scientist, Baird answers these questions and more to help keep the animals healthy and content.