Editing Anthony Davis (composer) (section)

==Biography==
Davis was born in [[Paterson, New Jersey]] in 1951.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The son of Professor Charles Davis, an expert on author [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]], Davis was brought up in a series of college towns.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ullman |first1=Michael |title=Anthony Davis: He composes |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-03-23_11_12/page/n107/mode/1up |access-date=August 11, 2024 |work=The Boston Phoenix |date=March 23, 1982}}</ref> He has a 1975 degree from [[Yale University]], and has taught at Yale and [[Harvard University]].<ref name = UCSD>{{cite web|url=https://music-cms.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/regular_faculty/anthony-davis/index.html|title=Anthony Davis|website=Music-cms.ucsd.edu|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>

Davis is a Distinguished Professor of Music at the [[University of California, San Diego]], having joined the department in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/anthony-davis-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-the-central-park-five-opera|title=Anthony Davis Wins Pulitzer Prize for 'The Central Park Five' Opera|last=King|first=Anthony|date=May 7, 2020|work=UC San Diego News Center|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref> He has received acclaim as a [[free-jazz]] pianist, a co-leader or [[sideman]] with various ensembles.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Such ensembles include those that featured Smith as [[bandleader]] from 1974 to 1977. He has played with [[Anthony Braxton]] and [[Wadada Leo Smith|Leo Smith]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In 1981, Davis formed an [[Octet (music)|octet]] called Episteme.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He also wrote the [[incidental music]] for the 1993 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] version of [[Tony Kushner]]'s ''[[Angels in America]]''.<ref name = UCSD/>

Many of his operas have explored people and events from African-American history. In a 1986 interview with writer [[Samuel R. Delany]] and historian [[Henry Louis Gates Jr.|Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]], Anthony Davis provides a detailed account of his influences and motivations for writing ''[[X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X]].''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Delany |first=Samuel R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48139558 |title=Silent interviews : on language, race, sex, science fiction, and some comics : a collection of written interviews |date=1994 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=0-585-37120-2 |location=Hanover, NH |oclc=48139558}}</ref> In 1997 his opera ''Amistad'', with a libretto by his cousin [[Thulani Davis]], premiered at the [[Chicago Lyric Opera]]. Its ambition was recognized but the production received mixed reviews. It was accepted for production in 2008 at [[Spoleto Festival USA]]. It underwent a major revision and the production was highly praised. ''Opera Today'' said that the revised ''Amistad'' was "much leaner, more focused and dramatically far more effective than the original. And in so doing they [the Davises] created not only a masterpiece of American opera, but further a work that — against a contemporary horizon darkened by undercurrents of racism — resonates today far beyond Memminger and Spoleto USA."<ref name="revised">[https://www.operatoday.com/content/2008/05/revised_amistad.php "Revised ''Amistad'' makes its mark"], ''Opera Today'', May 2008, Accessed June 25, 2019</ref>

Davis has also explored Native American history in his work. His opera ''[[Wakonda's Dream]]'' (2007), with a libretto by [[Yusef Komunyakaa]], is a tale of a contemporary [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Ponca]] family in Nebraska and the history that affects them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Steve |date=2007-03-09 |title=Of Coyotes, Men and Tribal Memory |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/arts/music/09drea.html |access-date=2022-07-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

His opera, ''Lilith'', ([[libretto]] by [[Allan Havis]]) had its world premiere at the Conrad Prebys Music Center at [[UCSD]] on December 4, 2009. The story is about the demon figure of Jewish mythology who was sometimes said to be biblical [[Adam]]'s first wife. It is set in a modern era.

He began working on the music for the opera ''[[The Central Park Five (opera)|The Central Park Five]]'' in 2014. An early version, titled ''Five'', was performed in [[Newark, New Jersey]] in 2016 by the [[Trilogy: An Opera Company|Trilogy Company]].<ref name="cooper">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/arts/music/central-park-five-opera.html|title=This Summer, Opera Grapples With Race|last=Cooper|first=Michael|work=New York Times|date=May 30, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}</ref> The librettist for both the early and final versions was playwright [[Richard Wesley]]. ''The Central Park Five'' premiered on June 15, 2019, in a production by the Long Beach Opera Company in [[San Pedro, California]].<ref name="midgette">{{cite web |last1=Midgette |first1=Anne |title='The Central Park Five' in song: Composer Anthony Davis on his new opera |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/23/the-central-park-five-in-song-composer-anthony-davis-on-his-new-opera-2/ |website=The Mercury News |access-date=July 3, 2019 |date=June 23, 2019}}</ref> In 2020 the work won him the [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]].<ref name = yahoo/> He is the third UCSD professor in the university's 60-year history to win a Pulitzer.<ref name = UT>{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2020-12-06/pulitzer-prize-grammy-nominations-and-library-of-congress-induction-cap-banner-year-for-san-diego-musicians|title=Pulitzer Prize, Library of Congress induction and Grammy nomination cap banner year for San Diego musicians|last=Varga|first=George|date=December 6, 2020|work=San Diego Union Tribune|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref> He commented, "it's also very exciting for me that you can create political work that has an impact and speaks to issues in our society. I've done my career creating political works, and I never thought I would ever get a Pulitzer."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2020-05-04/anthony-davis-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-the-central-park-five-the-uc-san-diego-professors-fiery-opera|title=UCSD professor Anthony Davis wins Pulitzer Prize for fiery opera 'The Central Park Five'|last=Varga|first=George|date=May 5, 2020|work=San Diego Union Tribune|access-date=May 5, 2020}}</ref> He learned that he had won the prize while in a [[Zoom (software)|Zoom]] meeting with music faculty colleagues, so they all heard the phone call; one of them later commented "Best Zoombomb ever!"<ref name = UT/>

In 2022, the [[Detroit Opera House|Detroit Opera]] staged a production of ''[[X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X]]'', directed by [[Robert O'Hara]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woolfe |first=Zachary |date=2022-05-15 |title=Review: After 36 Years, a Malcolm X Opera Sings to the Future |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/arts/music/malcolm-x-opera-detroit.html |access-date=2022-07-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This was followed by the [[Metropolitan Opera]]'s production of the same opera in Fall 2023, which received significant critical acclaim in sources such as [[The New York Times]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barone|first1=Joshua|date=2023-11-05|location=[[New York City]]|title=Review: Anthony Davis's Malcolm X Opera Finally Arrives at the Met|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/arts/music/review-x-life-and-times-of-macolm-x-met-opera.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|language=en-us|access-date=2025-02-22}}</ref> San Francisco Classical Voice<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kerekes|first1=Emery|date=2023-12-12|title=Two Extraordinary American Operas Receive Their Metropolitan Premieres|url=https://www.sfcv.org/articles/feature/two-extraordinary-american-operas-receive-their-metropolitan-premieres#|website=San Francisco Classical Voice|language=en-us|access-date=2025-02-22}}</ref> and [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Nowakowski|first1=Teresa|date=2023-11-09|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|title=Malcolm X Opera Opens in New York|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/malcolm-x-opera-makes-its-met-debut-180983228|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]]|language=en-us|access-date=2025-02-22}}</ref>

In 2023, he composed the opening fanfare "If a Fish Kept His Mouth Shut, He Wouldn't Get Caught!" for the Bandshell's 100th anniversary, commissioned by the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, and performed in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notable Events and Performers |url=https://naumburgconcerts.org/notable-events-and-performers |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Naumburg Orchestral Concerts |language=en-US}}</ref>

Since 2024 he has been composing an opera based on the children's book ''Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote'' by [[Duncan Tonatiuh]].<ref>https://operawire.com/anthony-davis-to-compose-pancho-rabbit-and-the-coyote-opera-for-bodhi-tree-concerts/</ref>

Davis's first wife was the science fiction writer Deborah Atherton (1951-2014),<ref>https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/the-queen-of-grace-and-kindness-deborah-atherton-1951-2014/</ref> and their son, Timothy (born c. 1980), is a science fiction writer living in New York City. In 1994 Anthony Davis married his second wife, the opera singer Cynthia Aaronson-Davis,<ref name="timteeman.com">https://www.timteeman.com/2023/11/11/how-anthony-davis-put-malcolm-x-and-black-power-center-stage/</ref><ref>https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/anthony-davis</ref><ref>https://time.com/archive/6712252/music-up-from-the-underground/</ref> and the two had a son named Jonah (born c. 1997), who was a professional baseball player.<ref>https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2020/05/04/ucsd-professor-anthony-davis-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-fiery-opera-the-central-park-five/</ref><ref name="timteeman.com"/>